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A Pilonidal cyst is a sac-like growth near the tailbone filled with hair and skin debris. Pilonidal cysts typically develop due to hair penetrating the skin and becoming trapped. If infected, it can cause severe pain.
Treatment is required for pilonidal cysts that cause pain. These cysts can be one-time cysts or recurrent. If left untreated, chronic pilonidal cyst can lead to abscesses and sinus cavities.
Symptoms
Symptoms of a pilonidal cyst may not be present. However, if the cyst becomes infected, the surrounding skin may swell and cause pain. The following are signs of an infected pilonidal cyst:
- Pain on affected area
- Skin inflammation
- Extreme exhaustion
- Fever
- Nausea
- A crater close to the buttocks crease’s top
- A pus drainage from the skin that smells
Consult your doctor if you experience any pilonidal cyst symptoms.
Causes
Most pilonidal cysts are caused by loose hairs that penetrate the skin. Friction and pressure from rubbing, tight clothing, cycling, or extended period of sitting can force the hair into the skin.
To try to push the hair out, the body forms a cyst around it. On the tailbone, pilonidal cysts typically develop.
Risk factors
The following factors may increase the risk of developing a pilonidal cyst.
- Obesity
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Prolonged sitting hours
- Stiff and thick body hair
- Wearing tight clothes
- White and male young adult (between 20 and 35)
Diagnosis
The doctor may diagnose a pilonidal cyst by examining the affected skin and asking questions about your symptoms, medical history, and lifestyle habits.
Treatment
Your need for surgery to remove your pilonidal cyst will depend on how severe your symptoms are. In addition to surgery, there are various additional possible treatment options, such as:
- Cyst drainage: This operation can take place right there in the doctor’s office. Your infected cyst will be opened, and fluid will be drained from it, using a small incision (cut).
- Injectable medication: Mild to moderate pilonidal cysts can be treated and prevented using injections of phenol, an acidic chemical molecule.
- Antibiotics: Skin irritation is treatable with antibiotics. Antibiotics, however, are unable to treat pilonidal cysts on their own.
- Laser. Hair that may otherwise develop ingrown and bring back more pilonidal cysts can be removed with laser therapy.
If you have a chronic pilonidal cyst or it has gotten worse and formed a sinus cavity under your skin, it’s a serious case and you may need surgery to excise (remove) the cyst entirely. Afterward, the surgeon might either leave the wound open for packing (inserting gauze) or close the wound with sutures or a skin flap (skin taken from a healthy part of your body).
