Pilonidal CYST – Along with COVID-19, flu, and other viruses, there are a huge number of Conditions that are known to impact day-to-day activities. Pilonidal CYST is one of those common conditions.
Pilonidal CYST is a common condition, and the United States records more than 200,000 cases each year, as per the Centers for Disease Control and prevention of the United States. It’s a common condition, and medical professionals can easily treat the condition with minimum Medical procedures.
What is Pilonidal CYST?
Pilonidal CYST, also known as pilonidal sinus, is a common condition that is located at the top of The crease of the buttocks. The cyst is known to get filled with pus, fluid, air, or hair and cause discomfort.
Due to its unique location, a huge number of people do not even talk about it with their healthcare provider. People who sit for a longer period are more vulnerable to developing pilonidal cysts, and it is also more common in young adult males.
What are the Causes of Pilonidal CYST?
The right causes of the colonial system might be unknown, but healthcare experts believe that ingrown hairs found in the crease of the buttocks are one of the biggest causes of the condition.
Those ingrown hairs in the crease of the buttocks are known to cause skin infections that can further trigger a pilonidal cyst.
For a brief moment, during World War 2, the pilonidal cyst was also known as Jeep disease. Health experts named it Jeep disease as soldiers who were riding in bumpy jeeps were brought with the condition.
Experts say that friction and pressure from rubbed skin, tight clothing, and longer cycling can also trigger the condition. All these things are known to put pressure on the hair into the skin.
Apart from that, the pilonidal cyst is also more common in babies who were born with a small dimple in the skin between the buttock. That pimple in the buttocks is known to get infected and later trigger a pilonidal cyst.
Several other risk factors are known to increase the chances of pilonidal cysts, including obesity, excessive sweating, large amounts of hair, not enough exercise, and prolonged sitting.
What are the Symptoms of a Pilonidal CYST?
A pilonidal cyst is not a serious disease. The condition is not known to cause severe symptoms, and most people can get better within a few weeks after getting help from a medical professional.
Still, you should be very careful when it comes to conditions like a pilonidal cyst. The pilonidal cyst is known to cause huge discomfort and perfect day-to-day activities.
- Pain at the bottom of the spine
- Redness at the bottom of the spine
- Swelling at the bottom of the spine
- pus over blood draining out of the point
- Tenderness to the touch
- Light grid fever
- Bad smell from the pus
- Extreme tiredness
- Nausea
These are the most common symptoms of pilonidal cysts. If you are experiencing a group of the upper given symptoms, we highly recommend you consult with your healthcare provider and seek medical assistance.
These symptoms might not cause life-threatening conditions, but you never know when acute pilonidal cysts can become chronic. If left untreated, the pilonidal cyst is known to keep coming back again and again.

How Severe is the Pilonidal CYST?
Diseases like pilonidal cysts are not known to cause severe complications. It is a common disease, and most people can easily recover from the disease with minimum medication.
Still, healthcare experts around the world believe there are some complications that you should be keeping in mind when it comes to pilonidal cysts and other similar Conditions.
There are 2 things you should keep in mind when it comes to the pilonidal cyst.
First of all, you should make sure that you are getting treatment from a healthcare expert as soon as you get to know about the condition. If you are lifting the condition unattended, it might increase the risk of skin cancer.
Similarly, you should also make sure that you are not getting the pilonidal cyst again and again, as it also increases the risk of skin cancer.
If you have recently been diagnosed with the condition, we highly recommend you consult all the prevention techniques with your healthcare provider so that you won’t get the condition again and again.
How to Diagnose a Pilonidal CYST?
Conditions like pilonidal cysts are not very hard to diagnose. Your healthcare provider can easily diagnose you during a full physical examination. The pilonidal cyst might be a new condition for you, but it is not rare for healthcare providers.
A healthcare professional can easily diagnose you during the physical exam by just taking a look at the bump and the symptoms you are experiencing.
A pilonidal cyst is usually visible to the naked eye, and healthcare experts can easily diagnose it without any tools or tests. At first glance, the pilonidal cyst might look like a pimple.
In rare conditions, where your healthcare experts are not able to diagnose the condition with the naked eye, they might ask you to go for a CT scan or MRI scan. Healthcare experts usually try to look for any sinus cavities under the surface of the skin with the help of these professional scans.
What is the Treatment of Pilonidal CYST?
A pilonidal cyst might not impose any risk, but the patient will have to visit the office of the healthcare provider for treatment.
A healthcare provider Is going to numb the area of the cyst And then make a small cut to drain the cyst. This is the typical treatment procedure for the pilonidal cyst. If the pilonidal cyst does not return after the procedure, your healthcare provider will declare you fit and fine.
At the same time, people who will develop the pilonidal system, again and again, might require Advance surgery. Advanced surgery is the only option for people who have developed a chronic pilonidal cyst.
Options after the Procedure
There are 2 options, and every patient of pilonidal cyst surgery will have to select one.
- First of all, your healthcare provider will leave the wound open and pack it with a dressing after the surgery. This process will take a little bit longer time to heal as open wounds take a little bit more time to heal, but the patient might not develop a Pilonidal cyst again.
- Secondly, your healthcare provider, over the surgeon, can close the wound with stitching to increase the healing process. The stitches will decrease the healing time, but they can increase the risk of cysts coming back.
Care after Surgery
Wound care after the surgery is highly important as it can become the determining factor of a pilonidal cyst coming back or not.
Most times, healthcare experts show how to take good care of dressing and the points to increase the healing process. Still, healthcare experts suggest everyone learn as much as possible about it on their own To enhance recovery.
- Patients should make sure that they are keeping the wound clean and away from all the dirt. Dirty wounds tend to get more bacterial and viral infections.
- Patients should also make sure that they are checking for new signs of infection, including redness, pus, and unwanted pain.
- Kindly follow all the instructions of the healthcare provider to take good care of the wound.
- Do not miss any follow-up appointments despite the low levels of pain or high levels of recovery.
Conditions like pilonidal cysts are known to affect the patient again and again. Every patient should be very careful when it comes to these conditions, as they can also come back even after advanced surgery.
What are the Best Ways to Prevent Pilonidal CYST?
Conditions like pilonidal cysts are known to keep coming back despite their treatments. These conditions are also known to become chronic. Still, there are some steps you can take to prevent a pilonidal cyst in the first place or prevent it from coming back.
- Everyone should make sure that they are washing and drying the pilonidal cyst area. Any type of dirt is known to increase friction and become the cause of the pilonidal cyst.
- Obesity can also increase the risk of pilonidal cysts, and healthcare experts suggest everyone come out of obesity to prevent Pilonidal cysts.
- Everyone should avoid Sitting for a longer period to keep the pressure off the pilonidal cyst area. Despite having a sitting job, everyone should avoid sitting for a longer period to decrease the risk.
- Shaving can also be one of the best ideas to keep the hair and other dirt away from the pilonidal cyst area.
Does a pilonidal cyst cause any complications?
Conditions like pilonidal cysts do not cause major complications. At the same time, chronic pilonidal cysts may also cause several types of skin cancers. Kindly do not leave the pilonidal cyst unattended and untreated.