Posted by A pilonidal cyst or pilonidal sinus is a kind of disease of unnatural growth of skin that is developed at the tailbone or near the tailbone. The main cause of pilonidal cysts is the ingrown hair that penetrates the skin. Being affected by a pilonidal cyst, you will encounter symptoms such as fever, pain, redness, drainage of fluids or blood from the pilonidal cyst, and bad smell from the drainage pus. People are likely to be affected by pilonidal cyst if they have excessive hair, sweat a lot, and sits for long hours. If infected, they should not leave this disease without treatment as chronic pilonidal cyst does not go away on their own. Leaving a pilonidal cyst without treatment can cause abscesses and sinus cavities. Sometimes it can even cause skin cancer called squamous cell carcinoma. So, one should treat them to avoid serious complications they might cause when leave untreated.
There are many effective pilonidal cyst treatments available such as hot compresses, antibiotic treatment, and topical treatment. However, surgical treatment is necessary for severe cases. But first, let us know some steps which will help prevent pilonidal cysts. Those steps are as follows:
- One should avoid sitting for long hours
- One should keep their buttock area clean and dry
- One should not carry or lift heavy things
- One should stop wearing tight-fitting clothes
- One should try to lose weight, if you are significantly overweight
- One should shave the excess hair around your buttock if you had any
Treatment for pilonidal cyst
As mentioned above, the treatment of pilonidal cysts includes hot compresses, antibiotic treatment, and topical treatment. These treatments will help you relieve pain, discomfort, and irritation.
Hot compresses
One can apply a hot, wet compress to the pilonidal cysts. This method will help you ease your pain, itchiness, and discomfort. This is because the heat from the hot compress helps in pull out the pus that results in draining the cyst. You can follow this step a couple of times a day for the best result. Another way is to soak your buttock in warm water. For this, you can use your regular bathtub or use a sitz bath.
Antibiotic treatment
Antibiotic works best in getting rid of mild pilonidal cysts. These medicines are useful in getting rid of infections. In addition, it also stops the spreading of further infection. However, one must remember that one should take only the prescribed medicines from a doctor. So, here are some of the best and most effective antibiotic medicines. They are as follows:
- Metronidazole: One of the most commonly used and prescribed antibiotic medicines is metronidazole. Because this medicine help in clearing abscesses. Not only this but also helps in reducing or decreasing the growth of bacteria and protozoa in the cyst.
Metronidazole can be taken orally or topically and sometimes given as an injection before the surgery. One best thing is to use this medicine immediately after you encounter pilonidal cyst symptoms.
- Erythromycin: This antibiotic medicine is also helpful in getting rid of pilonidal cysts. This medicine works in two different ways i.e. either decreasing the growth of bacteria or destroying the bacteria. Like metronidazole, you can use this antibiotic topically, orally, or in the form of intravenous. However, one should take erythromycin before meals for the best results.
- Flucloxacillin: Flucloxacillin is a type of penicillin that is useful in getting rid of certain infections. However, this antibiotic will not be suitable for people with an allergy to penicillin because it will end up causing further irritation instead of ease.
- Clindamycin: Clindamycin is a type of lincomycin antibiotic which is useful in reducing the growth of bacteria. It also stops the spreading of bacteria. This antibiotic medicine can also be used either orally or topically. For people with penicillin allergy, you can take this antibiotic medicine instead of flucloxacillin.
- Clarithromycin: This antibiotic medicine is also useful in decreasing the spreading of bacteria to a larger area.
All these antibiotic medicines may not be able to get rid of severe pilonidal cysts completely as they cannot heal the sinus tract. But, may provide temporary relief from pain, discomfort, itchiness, and irritation. If you have multiple cysts, then you are at high risk of getting a pilonidal cyst again.
Surgical treatment
Surgical treatment for pilonidal cysts is effective in treating a large severe case of pilonidal cyst. The surgeon mainly performed this type of surgery in an in-office procedure. During the surgery, the surgeon will give you anesthesia. This will help in numbing the area so that you do not feel any kind of pain or discomfort during the surgery. The surgeon uses a surgical knife to make a small cut to the cyst. This will allow the fluid and pus from the cyst to drain. Depending on the location, the surgeon may either stitch the wound or pack the wound with sterile gauze. Make sure you follow the doctor’s aftercare advice well. This will helps in preventing infection and also will help in healing faster.