Sounds horrible right?!?! I’m not really sure why they call it a disease. It’s more of a chronic infection or abscess than anything. My husband calls it BLOGGER BUTT.
They aren’t really sure what causes it but it could be from blocked hair follicles, family history, type and amount of hair, size of pores, injury to the tailbone such as a fall, and/or sitting improperly or for too long – hence the Blogger Butt idea! Watch out bloggers! 🙂
Pilonidals can go dormant for years at a time, lulling their owner into a false sense of escape. Every sufferer’s Pilonidal experience is uniquely their own – experiences range from regular flare-ups and constant miser to flare-ups that occur randomly with long gap (sometimes years) in between.
What It Is
“A Pilonidal (Abscess, Cyst, Sinus, Dimple) is an abscess in the natal cleft (more commonly referred to as your butt crack) that tends to become infected and cause intense pain and drainage.”
It’s most common in Caucasians between 16 and 26. It effects males slightly more than females.
Everyone has a Pilonidal sinus opening in their butt crack. YES everyone! It’s hard to see, but there is a tiny little hole there, sometimes it’s accompanied by a dip. Most people associate the word sinus with the nose, but sinuses can occur anywhere in the body. Sinus is simply a medical term for channel or cavity.
How It All Started
I first noticed some pain on my tailbone. Much like I had fallen and bruised my tailbone. The only problem was, I hadn’t fallen.
As it got worse and worse I thought maybe I had sat on something like a tack or needle… and didn’t notice it. (Not likely)
So then I started wondering if I had been bitten by something. A tick, a spider… something.
Then the next day pus started coming from the hole! (Not good) And then we started researching. We search for “pus coming from lower back butt area” and found exactly what we were looking for!
Treatment
Once you know you have a Pilonidal Abscess you have two choices: surgery or try to live with it. The decision will be based on the frequency and severity of your flare ups. Antibiotics usually aren’t helpful. I am currently taking Cephalexin, which helped at first but now it’s coming back!
So they decided to switch me to another antibiotic called Ciprofloxacin – which can cause ruptured tendons in your legs if you do any kind of physical activity. (Just what I need)
Although Ciprofloxacin is considered compatible with breast-feeding by the American Academy of Pediatrics. In one case report, a 2-month-old girl developed perforated pseudomembranous colitis following ingestion of ciprofloxacin via the mother’s milk and subsequently required a bowel resection.
So I WON’T be breastfeeding while taking it. I will either pump enough for two weeks or feed her formula for 2 weeks (if she’ll take it)
If the medicine doesn’t work, I’ll need surgery. If left untreated, the infection can expand or tunnel causing more issues. The surgery itself looks pretty nasty! All of the infected area must be removed and it can go up to 4 inches deep!!!
Warning you again… it’s pretty gross!
Picture post-op
{For the record, this is NOT my butt. I have NOT had any surgery… yet!}
and 
SICK right?!? Hopefully this medicine works! I’m not looking forward to a gaping hole in my butt!
More Info/Support
I was having same problem and was checking on internet for the solution when I cam across a link and did what they recommended:
1) clean the hairs from that part
2) daily in morning and evening chew 1 clove of garlic.
3) daily applied castor oil packs.
4) reduced sitting to 2 hours and was doing all my work while standing . I am an IT professional so you can understand how tough it was for me.
And believe me it was cured within 2 weeks. I noticed it when the pain and a hard lump started forming and after 2 weeks it’s gone and lump softened and eventually disappeared.
I hope these solution will help somebody. I am feared of surgeries so always try to find some natural cures.
Thanks
I am an IT Professional who was diagnosed with pinodial cyst and had surgery 2 days ago. My story is very similar to the authors one were I experienced svere pain in my tailbone out of no where this was when I was in my teens. The pain went on it’s own after a while and I made self analysis that the pain was caused due to bad sitting posture during uni days. The demon returned last year and low and behold this time the pain was so bad I couldn’t sit, walk or lie down on my back needless to say out of embarrassment I hacked the pain as long as I could and then one day decided to discuss this with my GP. Post assessment he advised that their was no boil formed around the area of pain but this could be related to pilonidal sinus. I was prescribed clarithromycin (antibiotics meds) which worked wonders and the pain was gone in 2 weeks. This year again the demon retuned only to be much worse than last year and guess what this time I also had a small boil around the pain area. Being the geniuse I am I didn’t see any GP initially and decided I will go back to my antibiotic prescribed last year and the pain will most likely go away again in sometime but this only made the situation worse as my pain and the lump now was growing and i finally decided to see my GP who advised me that my pinodial sinus has now formed into cyst due to my delay and I need to get surgery the same day or the following to avoid any further complications. I went to the hospital and was admitted straight away and operated the following day. Mind you I am the kind of guy who is afraid of needles and avoid injections and prefer or rather insist on tablets were I can. So you can only imagine the nervousness, anxiety and discomfort I was going through this phase. I tried to dodge the operation just before signing the consent form by asking doctor if ithere is any med or precautionary measure I can take and skip this operation only to be told that no amount of medication can cure me and only surgery would heal the pain and remove the puss, ingrown hair. I manned up and got the surgery done under general anesthesia and the worst is now over or so I thought… I now have nurses coming my home everyday to pack the scab and will continue to do until the hole is healed completely. This process is extremely painful and requires a lot of strength and pain killers.
hello, in a scale from 1 to 10, how painful was it ?
and was it just one lump ?
hey, ive had 3 appendix surgeries, two of them with full anesthethic and the last one with local. I have to say that I though the pain is somewhere around 6-8 (for after surgery pinodial cyst, and around 8-10 for my appendix one, especially the 2nd and 3rd one and post operative manipulations were excrutiatingly painful. My doctor told me if one stays with this cyst it becomes hard to perform surgery on it and there are cases of it going all the way to the colon and the surgery becomes extremely dangerous. Also he assured me that it wont come back in any case, idk about that though.
How can you have had 3 appendix surgeries? There is only one appendix!
cant he have 3 times surgery on one appendix lol.
I don’t have a dip or a hole. Thankfully! My husband does tho and he will experience pain. What I researched was that it was an almost spina bĂfida that closed up and just left a tiny hole.
What I find weird is..I’m 19 and i have 2 holes, but I have no lump, no pain, just some drainage once every month or so. I’m very confused since everywhere claims that there is a lump, it hurts, etc.
I have one hole and I doesn’t hurt I’m just embarrassed. One thing that helps is Neosporin. Hope this helps.
I have had the lump and then in between flare ups I have been only sore with drainage been dealing with it since high school I’m 25
I suffered with these terrible accesses from age 18 through to 29 when I was finally diagnosed and had the surgery. At first I thought it was a bite of some sort and the pain and infection got so bad, I went to a doctor who told me it was a boil. When it kept returning approx once every year, I was just suffering waiting for it to clear up on its own as I was too embarrassed to see any more doctors. I definitely attributed mine to sitting for too long as it would flare after long car/plane rides or anytime I sat for long periods. At 29 I had an abcess that would not heal (they usually cleared up in two weeks) and so I had to visit a doctor who straight away said Pilonidal disease and sent me to a General Surgeon. The process was not as scary as I thought and afterwards didn’t look anything like those pics with a giant hole. It was neatly stitched, looked like a train track and healed perfectly well. From what im aware, there are different kinds of surgeries they can perform. The best thing is that I’m 38 this year and it hasn’t recurred. Yay!
Could you tell me what I should tell my doctor because I need the surgery but have not received it due to not wanting to go through the pain of that big hole and have 3 kids to be moving around for
Hi, Nicole. Let me assure you, these images are needlessly disturbing. Surgery usually doesn’t end with that. Regardless, you will need to plan it well because you will not be able to do heavy housework or lifting for some time due to the sutures. To get a referral, you can complain to your primary care physician of recurrent discharge and pain/discomfort, upon examination they should send you to a general surgeon. You can then discuss your concerns and course of treatment with your surgeon.
I don’t know how they treat it where you live, but mine was repaired in an outpatient procedure under general anesthesia and after a week or two I had to get the sutures removed and waited it out until it was healed. No gaping holes here. Regardless of how they’ll treat it, you’ll need to follow the hygiene and care routine strictly afterwards for a couple of weeks because it is fairly easy to get an infection. As you can’t really see it yourself I recommend to get a trusted family member or friend to help you clean the dressing and check on it. Mine has healed pretty well; the scar pulls a bit whenever I’m sitting too long with poor posture and gets irritated when rubbing against clothing but it’s quite flat and doesn’t usually bother me.
All the best.
P.S.: To anyone else reading this, please don’t feel embarrassed, physicians see stuff like this every day. 🙂
Very reassuring, thanks. I’m in IT and sits for long hours plus I fell from a tree around age 10. My surgery is next week kinda worried.
Hi I hate to break it to you but I am now going on my 4th surgery for this and those pictures especially the first one is exactly what they all looked like. It is the worst thing I have ever been through hurts more than childbirth.. I understand your concern and it is scary. It’s extremely difficult to go trough this and the healing time is long.. hang in there if anyone knows of a good Dr that can actually help me I would appreciate it.. can’t live like this anymore
That’s great news! Thanks for sharing your story. I also had a less invasive surgery that didn’t look anything like these photos. My scarring was very minimal. It’s been almost 6 years since I had my surgery and I haven’t had any flare ups.
What procedure did you get?
I’m a 21 year old woman and have been having these symptoms. It hurts and itches but I haven’t noticed and discharge, just severe pain if I sit the wrong way. I’m… honestly kind of freaked out reading this; should I.. go see my doctor? I’m too embarassed.
Go to the doctor..I was in Fl and I got one that went all the way up my crack and hurt very bad..I made it home and went to the ER..While I was there it busted by itself. I am know on the 4th day of drainage and I will be calling the doctor in the AM…what is more important..the pain or embarassment…Please get it checked.
Hey im krystal please email i have had 25 surgeries for hidradenitis and i have some photos of a pilonidal cyst that was twice bigger than the one you posted the eound vac is what made the difference for me but now my butt splits all the time
I have had this recurring for 20 years a vary small 1/4 inch cut like red opening . I just keep it vary clean and unobstructed by any build up of dead skin and gently dab it with peroxide daily and will apply some hydrocortisone Valerate 0.2 % cream if it gets inflamed. gently clean and wash and keep open when inflamed .
Finally!! After dealing with this since I was 18 (now 33) I finally know what it is!! I have one hole & it’s currently draining and I’m on my cycle. The last couple of months it’s flared up more than ever before or maybe once a year! Now that I know I will be calling my doctor to hopefully get a referral to see about getting this taken care of!
Had it the worst part is the Pilondial Sinus. Access or Cyst not that bad. Had the core removed back at work in 3 days same gaping hole lol. Now if you have the sinuses well that’s anesthesia a month out of work and lots of complications.
The pilondial abcess fully healed in a month. The Sinuses not so easy, even with stitches. Incision is bigger goes all the way to my anus and takes longer.
Don’t let it come to a point where you have multiple sinuses. The procedure gets complicated then.
You won’t have a gaping hole. I had the surgery, they cut it out and stitch you back together. I just have a crooked butt crack now.
The treatment surgery isn’t that bad at all really I’ve had this three times in a year now it was like hit 30 boom have fun this year ??
But seriously I got to the stage of not being able to walk properly because of the pain it was causing the surgery is the way forward and I’m now in the process of having to problem fixed with a long term solution can’t wait weird to say it but I have to say it is definitely and pain in the ar@e. Pun intended ?
i get an abcess there every month without fail just after mothers day i had the op in which to drain it and leave it heal form the inside out so basically a hole. but they don’t leave the hole like that they do pack it . i can safely say it does not hurt as much as not doing anything about it after. i was so relieved for it to be gone the only pain you actually feel after, is however when then clean it pack it and prod it every day. unfortunately mine has come back within a week of it being fully healed safe to say I’m not impressed. coping with this ocurring problem and a six month old is not good.. only problem is now I’m trying to figure out why it has re occured i don’t sit down for long. and all infection has been removed. and I’ve only suffered them sine my l/o was born six months ago.
Even if you have surgery they can come back. Some people are lucky and it never occurs, some people have to keep getting surgery.
I’m 12 lol I know but the bottom of my back aka butt crack started to hurt when I sat down it’s as if I had bruised it by falling on it or something but I hadn’t done anything like that at all. It only started yesterday with a small amount of pain but when I woke up it was worse I went out for the day and came home to blood in my underwear were my butt crack goes but I wasn’t on my period(thank god for that.) i cleared all the blood away but it still hurt like a bruise if I touched it with babie wipes or tissu so my mum looked and saw that it was a little hole. I don’t know if this is this disease thing but it’s still bleeding. My mum said it’s a bed sore coz I stay in all day I only do that because I like to read and I get depressed when I go out for some reason. So if there’s anyone I can rid of it please tell me and if it’s this disease or not.
Hello, I am a 17 year old girl. I know this post is pretty old but I’ve been looking up what has been going on with me on google to get an idea to help me. At the top of my buttcrack it is swollen red and extremely painful. It’s not a bump, the swelling follows the curvature of the buttcrack. At first there wasn’t any swelling but was still painful to sit so I felt back there to see if I had a bug bite or a pimple or something but all I felt was a little slit like hole, so I google and a lot of sites said to put antibiotic ointment on it, so I did and that’s when the swelling occurred and it became much more painful. I did a warm compress and it felt great, I didn’t have any pain. But when I stopped the pressure to the area all the pain came rushing back. Then I got a better look at the problem area and there wasn’t a bump it was just swollen. I don’t know what to do. I’ve been in pain for a week. Sitting in weird positions at school and home. I’m scared to talk to my mom and the doctor. Because this seems like a huge issue. I don’t want to be going to through this. I’m just really hoping it will go away on its own.
Does my situation sound like this could be the problem or is there Something else wrong with me?
My 17 year old daughter just got this for the first time and kept telling me how bad it hurt. I finally convinced her to let me see it and it was just a small red spot in the top of get butt crack… looked at it again today and it was horrible so I took her to the er. The numbed the spot and put a small incision in it and drained it… still hurts but is already starting to feel better after a couple hours. PLEASE talk to your mom, it is a simple exam from a dr and an in office procedure. There is no reason to be in pain when there is something that can be done for you. I wish you luck!?
I had surgery for it when I was 18 or 19. You really want to get it treated by a Dr. now, before it gets worse. It’s been 30 years but I remember the experience vividly. I had a huge baseball sized red area at the top of my crack and I was in severe pain. My mom looked at it and thought it was a boil. I ended up seeing a surgeon who lanced it first to drain the pus out of it. That did hurt, but the alternative was much worse. He then scheduled my surgery. By the time they operated, the Dr. told my parents that it had actually grown “feelers” on it. I imagine it kind of like an amoeba or something that grows appendages. I have a scar from the top of my crack to above my anus. I also didn’t have a gaping wound afterwards. I had major stitches with a small area at the top left open (to allow drainage and create a sinus). I’m now, 30 years later experiencing soreness again. Really hoping it won’t return. It’s more embarrassing when your young to go through this- believe me I know, but if you really don’t want to experience the level of pain when it gets worse!
What kind of doctor did you see for surgery? Was it a general surgeon or gastroenterologist?? I am in so much pain today with and need to have it taken care of.
I am 36 and mine first erupted when I was 24. This went on and off for years. Last year was my worst year so I has surgery 3 weeks ago (Jan 2019) – karydakis flap. Numbness is wearing off and I have some pain. Although 1 week post op and healed well, 3 weeks post op and has split and is oozing/bleeding a little. Too scared to bend down for long periods as it’s not pleasant knowing the wound has re-split! I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Antibiotics resistance is a world problem, I don’t recommend everyone just taking antibiotics when they have a flare up. The problem only comes back until it bursts again and again or you have surgery/surgeries.
*antibiotic resistance
So just yesterday I noticed an odd round “sinkhole” right above my anus. It’s almost like something caved in or is all of a sudden missing because I’ve never noticed ever before I am 39 w/ 2 kids so I would def notice something like that. Trying to find some info and came across this. Now, it’s not a hole per se as it does have normal skin over it & doesn’t appear to have fluid as described above but it is a bit tender if I push on it. Has anyone’s symptoms started like this? A sinkhole? Lol I’m a bit freaked out because this just appeared out of nowhere. Thanks in advance
Anyone..?
Did you ever find out what this was ? Thanks
I have read that Acupuncture by a qualified acupuncturist can set the stage for great healing.
“Everyone has a Pilonidal sinus opening in their butt crack. YES everyone!”
No… they don’t. A pilonidal sinus is a malformation. It is not a standard body part. It occurs for reasons that are unknown but generally have to do with hormonal changes, friction, ingrown hairs, etc.
Humans *do not* normally have this opening until the problem develops. It is absolutely not something everyone has.
is that what happens when you don’t get the skin that was infected cut off by a dermatologist/dr?
i usually pop pimples on my boyfriends butt and a few months ago he had a polinidal cyst. it was like a fat piece of skin hanging by the beginning of his butt crack line and so they gave him cephelix as well to remove the infection so that once it wasn’t infected anymore he could go to the dr and get the skin removed. ever since he finished the cephelx pills MONTHS ago, i’ve kept telling him to go to the dr so they can schedule an appointment to get the skin removed. he never listened and in time the skin pretty much went into its natural form. it began to blend into his buttock but it looks more like a burn now and it’s purple kind of like a little bruise and about 2 months ago, i was popping pimples and noticed his butt crack line on the inside was like leaking clear liquid and saw it was just a little cut and i told him about it. days later i checked and it was gone. tonight, i popped pimples on his butt and i noticed the cut is back again but it’s more deeper. there’s puss when i open the buttcheek (keep in mind it’s not in the butthole it’s about the butthole!) and well the cut looks really bad now. is this what happens when you don’t get the skin removed??? im worried his butt will end up like the 2nd picture.
My nonverbal autistic son got one- and it was bad. 11 days In the hospital. He got Ecoli … that led to a very very serious diagnosis of sepsis. It almost killed him. My so. Is also a juvenile diabetic therefore it takes a very long time to heal.
Be careful. SEE A DOCTOR!
I know this thread is old, but in the last couple years I’ve had 4 pilonidal abscess. I noticed in the years before (25-30) when the pain would come but it would just go away on its own after hit soaks. But now I guess with my old age and weight gain they’ve started coming to the surface. I’ve had 1 lanced and drained and after finishing a round of antibiotics it came back the next week and spontaneously burst on its own. Since then I’ve gotten 2 more. One was in a different spot, closer to my anus the pain didn’t feel the same as the one near my tailbone but I waited a LONG time before going to the Dr because it just looked like a rash in the beginning. I ended up developing cellulitis with the one near my anus. Just earlier this month another came in the usual spot, the puss almost expelled in it’s own it was slowly leaking into the bandage and it only took 3 days to get that way but I ended up going to urgent care for antibiotics and the rest of the puss came out. This is probably one of the worst things I’ve experienced. I’m currently at work standing because my butt itches and I feel a small limp at the end of my tailbone that’s tender. Trying to prevent this one from coming. Wish me luck.
I’m a 19 year old female. It’s 12am and I just did a bowel movement I got up and went to lay down to go to sleep and it’s very painful at the end of my crack. I don’t know wether to tell my mom or to just put ointment on it.
I know I’m late to this conversation, however I feel like my experience and insight could be useful! When I was a freshman high school, 14 years old, I had my first experience with a pilonidal cyst. I specifically remember falling on my tailbone while tumbling, I was a cheerleader, and then for the next week I was in unbearable pain and ended up in the ER and having this cyst lanced and packed. Not even a full calendar year later in April of my sophomore year of high school, 15 years old, I woke up with the most unbearable back pain and when I went to the doctor they decided to see if maybe my cyst was back. My cyst was not abscessed, however this type of cyst tunnels and it was pushing on a nerve which was causing my severe back pain. I ended up having surgery the next morning and after that I spent about a month doing a whole lot of nothing except for laying on my belly and having wire stitches all the way up my butt crack for six weeks(I have pictures of these but they aren’t for the faint of heart). Typically whenever you have the big surgery to treat pilonidal disease it will “cure” you and you will no longer have issues, this was not true for me because almost 2 years it’s my senior year of high school, 17 years old, and I spent my senior year spring break in the hospital having the same surgery done for a second time… this surgery recovery is excruciating. And as I sit here writing this I have an appointment scheduled this week to visit with my surgeon because I think I’m having another flareup. I would definitely look into alternative treatments, however if you have a case as severe as mine sometimes the surgery is necessary. Just don’t go in with the idea I had the first time that this would be a “cure”, because in my case it was not.
HELP I AM SUFFERING TERRIBLE CANT LAY DOWN CANT SIT DOWN I NEED TO FIX THIS