Have you heard of Pilonidal disease? Does someone you know have it? Are you dealing with it currently? Well I will tell you something personal. I am.
Pilonidal disease is defined by Google as “An abnormal skin growth located at the tailbone that contains hair and skin.” This skin growth or cyst is caused by pits along the tailbone area, usually two or three, which collect hair, skin, and sweat. When the pits get irritated by these elements they become infected and produce the painful cyst. This cyst can be as big as a grapefruit if untreated or it could be as small as a raisin. Thankfully mine stays between the sizes of being as big as an almond and as small as a raisin. The pilonidal cyst usually develops right at the base of the tailbone and right at the top of where the intergulteal cleft or butt crack starts. It is often very painful to do daily activities such as sleeping, sitting for long periods of time, walking, or different exercises for me. I also need to be very careful at dance and bending down at work. The cyst is constantly draining which is both annoying and embarrassing. You must check on it numerous times a day to make sure the area is clean and dry. Because this area is constantly draining I must cover or protect it from my clothes with the use of thin pads or liners. These can really add up or even worse, be ineffective.
To keep this area clean I have to clean it in the shower with a liquid called Hibiclens. This is an antibacterial wash commonly used in doctors’ offices as a hand wash to kill any bacteria and it can be also used on wounds like the pilonidal cyst. This is actually my second cyst that has developed in that area. The other one that I had became a problem this past summer. Once I went to the doctors they confirmed I was actually born with the pits and the disease was just inactive up until the point it became irritated. The first cyst was drained through a very painful process involving needles, lidocaine, and a surgical knife. After this was done I thought the pain would be over, but my doctor wanted my packing from the incision taken out after 48 hours. First I had to make sure it was wet and then my mom had to take it out which almost made me pass out. I recommend if you ever have to do this make sure the packing is fully wet and to make sure you are in a comfortable position maybe with something to grab onto or squeeze to help relieve some of the pain.
The healing process than began for that incision. It went well and the pain went away. One day I noticed that it did not feel as flat and closed as it should. I had my mom look at it and it turned out that within the incision another smaller cyst had developed which is the one I have now. The next step for dealing with this problem is to have a surgery that would remove the cyst, the pits, and the tunnels beneath them. The doctor would then fill the tunnels with a substance that would hopefully wipe out any remnants of the disease coming back again. The recovery period for this surgery is a few weeks so the doctor recommends I wait until the summer of 2017. This surgery has a 70% success rate with a 30% chance of coming back and the surgery being ineffective.
I hope by sharing my story that this article has shed some light on this common disease that is often not talked about. If you think you may have this disease please consult with your doctor on what the best options are for you. Thank you!