Conditions
Pilonidal Sinus
This condition is more common than some might think, and is caused when a small tunnel or cleft develops under the skin at the base of the spine. This cleft fills with hair, bacteria and dead skin, eventually forming an abscess that can be sore and painful. The pain generally subsides when the pus is released from the abscess, but re-infection will occur as the hole continues to fill up with detritus. Symptoms can be alleviated by extensive washing of the infected area, but if it continue to reoccur, or occurs quickly and severely, surgery has to be considered. This normally involves the removal of the sinus, but reoccurrence is a possibility. In these cases laser hair removal can be considered if it is a hair follicle that is causing the problem.
Comments and Questions
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Hey, I've just read through these comments and I'm shocked at how many different experiences people have had with Pilonidal Sinus (and quite scared at how many people have had recurring ones!). I had my first operation in September of 2011 when I was 18. At first I thought I had just pulled a muscle or done my back in, but within a week it looked like I had a golf ball under my skin, I was in agony, couldn't walk or move - it was even painful to wear clothes! I somehow got to the doctors and was sent straight to hospital. My GP that sent me was very vague and couldn't tell me if it would be general or local anethsetic, if I'll have the operation that day or not and if I'll be kept in over night so I had no idea what to expect! As it turns out I had my operation that day, under general anethsetic and was in over night. When I had my operation I was relieved that the agony was over, but I didn't realise what was to come - the month off work, the 2 months of getting my dressing changed everyday (weekends were the worst having to go to an NHS walk in centre), the cost of prescriptions when I wasn't entitled to sick pay etc.. Nearly 5 months on and all is fine, I have a big scar that dents a little and sometimes a little pain but no reaccurance as of yet (thank goodness!) I was recommended to shave the area but with it in such an awkward area I think I'm going to try hair removal cream, has anyone tried this? I wish the best to all dealing with this HORRID condition!
ive had two opps since 1999, im 34, and refuse to have any more, ive been on and off to the district nurses for 12 years, ive been told i need another opp yet again, but am refusing until they find surgery to solve it, ive got an 8/9 year old who has no skin pigmintation in that area, and all ive been told is to recomend i shave him in that area, wont give him prevention methods!!
Hi im having my first surgery on 6th Feb and after reading all of this im scared. will i actually be asleep for it? ive had mine for 6 years now come up shortly after i crushed my coccyx and every time i get results from a blood test he tells me my white blood cell count is very high so im wondering could this be the reason me and my partner have not yet conceived? Hope everyone is recovering well.
dont worry about the op ive had 4 now and all very different procedures but all very quick every op ive had ive been asleep for them depending on which op you get the aftercare that is needed is great dont expect to be back to normal after the op the road to recovery is long but hopefully worth it my last op hass so far been a sucess i wish you luck
hi,im like the rest of you with this damm annoying abscess which will not leave me,this has been going on for just over 2yrs now and i have had it drained&packed about 4times,3times it has just burst and i have had to have packing or either just antibiotics,after this i finally went in for the main op where they can open it properly and take the area that keeps getting infected out and close it up,i was told that depending on the size of it,it would either be stitched or packed,anyway it was stitched with drain attached i was in hospital for 3days until the wound stopped bleeding,and yes like you all thought hopefully this will be the last!!well no i ended up having 11 stitches but at the very bottom the skin hadnt quite gone together,The surgeon still took my sticthes out after 3wks even tho it was open and it had got infected,since then been on 3different antibiotics which it then cleared but i still have a slight hole but only a couple of days ago the top part was very sore,it had only opened up there too and was bleeding alot,i just wanted to cry.iv now had to start having that part packed everyday and on more tabs again!im surprised im not immune to them by now iv been on that many,so sorry to the people who think it may go after your op but there are chances it will just keep coming back :(,feel free if anybody wants to ask me anything.good luck everybody.
hi, i had my 1st pilonidal sinus removed 4 week ago which i must of had for 5year but just done nothing about it.its an open wound which district nurse are saying is healing nicely.i spoke to my doc who said it was down to ingrowing hairs so iv been looking to buy a home laser hair removal kits so this horrid blyter has less chance of it reoccurring.has anyone tried and tested this? will it work? or is laser the best option? as there are other treatments, ipl hair removal and electrolysis which i not sure about at all.cheers 4 reading an i will appreciate any response.
thats what i was told when i got my 1st one when i was 16 so i got a laser hair removal waste of money i continued 2 get them even as recently as a couple of months ago(im now 24)the cause is not just a hair it cud be a damaged folicle which in my case turned out to be just that but i still keep the area as clean as possible and hair free (shaving or waxing) just incase
I had an operation just over a week ago to remove a pilodinal sinus. When I went in I was under the impression that I would be having a general anaesthetic but then they decided to give me an epidural instead; I was also told that they would be leaving the wound open and packing it, and so you can imagine my suprise when I was told afterwards that I'd had it sewn up instead! In fact, all 3 of the district nurses that I've seen since have been surprised - the first said she'd never seen anything like it, as on top of the stitches they'd put a piece of gauze (between the cheeks, not in the wound as some kind of drain) and over that they put 2 stiches to keep it in place. The nurse I saw yesterday confirmed my confusion by saying that, in all her many years experience, she'd never seen one not left open. Should I be worried and has anybody ever heard of this kind of treatment before?
hello, sounds rather painfull:( i had my pilonidal sinus removed 2 week ago doc said it would be an open wound an needed to be packed but afterward i discovered they stitched it closed but without this gauze u mention,doc told me on off chance it would heal as closed wound(less recovery time) but unfortunately mine got badly infected(v painful) 1 week in and had to go back to hosp 4 it to be opened up which was an absolute relief ha.i presume this gauze will do its best to keep infection out which seems a good idea just make sure u stay super duper clean to prevent infection and eat very healthy,i hope u do well an wish you the best of luck:)sorry cant be more of a help.
Hi all... I had my first Pilonidal Sinus when i was 18 i had an op and it stayed away for 7 months and then came back again. i ad another op, then threee weeks later i had another then a few weeks later another. i have had 6 in total now. the last 2 i have managed to stop by a very strong antibiotic for anthrax that was prescribed to me. i have an op now booked in jan where i will be in hospital for at least a week completely immobile and the recovery time following that is at least a month. it is severe surgery however there is less than a 5% chance of it returning. i have found myself feeling depressed before when i have not been able to see a light at the end of a tunnel, lying in bed asking my mum to help me out of the bed and to the toilet or try and help lift me out of the bath, having to live your life having the district nurse come out and change your dressing (which is realllllly painful btw!) every single day!! But stick with it!! 18 months since my first one and having 3 months solid off of my work which i am dedicated to.. there finally is hope!!
just come home after surgury this is third one got to say last op was 34 years ago now im 62 and am dreading the time it will take to heal its left open with packing but stuff is coming from there constently have to change panties and even dressing gowns is this a norm for all this liquid to be coming from there unable to dress goes strait through any tips or advice would b appre__thanks for reading this .
Hello.. Iv'e had 6 ops in the last year and have had the same problem everytime! i would suggest that you ask your nurse for a large dressing which acts kind of like a sanitary towel to catch all of the gunk. I have had all of mine packed and after the first week, i changed onto dressing which are a pinky/orange colour. these are dressings that do not let anything escape. maybe ask for different dressings as i find these to be much more efficeint and saves on washing 20 pairs of undies a day!! hope this helps :)
http://www.wounds-uk.com/pdf/content_9418.pdf read through this website abit long winded but might shed some light
I suffered with this for 2.5 years until finally it was fixed in a plastics surgery (still however suffering after affects), since then I've been keen to help other sufferers offering a shoulder or basic advice, we have a facebook group for anyone who is interested: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2204636042/ Most members are open and very helpful however if you prefer to remain anonymous, you will find me as one of the admins where you can PM me any questions should you not wish to join the group. :) Thanks for reading.
I am now 38, in October was my 12th surgical removal of a sinus/ abscess. Believe me it is such a drain on you. I have found a good solution for bathing though. Normal Temp of water for yourself!!!!!!!! Salt, a good amount. A glass of MILK (yes, you heard that right, as milk is sticky and shall help the salt penetrate along with ) Tea Tree oil, this is a natural antiseptic Lavender oil (basically to smell nice) There you have it. Something to clean the would and keep it clean after you have bathed. Believe me after the amount of times I have been operated on, this really does help. If anything, however, strange your skin feels great afterwards. :)
I'm 27 and noticed a lump near my tale bone which onver a weekend grew to the size a a golf ball. I when to the doc who gave me antibiotics. this cause the lump to burst and discharge for the next few days. after a few days the discharge stoped and spent the next few days bleeding until the wound closed. this also caused trapped nerve like pain from my right buttock and down my leg. Now 3-4months later the lump has returned and the doc has sent my for the operation. I am waiting to meet the surgeon and do not know what to expect. I cannot afford 4-6 weeks of work. Does anyone know the normal recovery time after the op?
use castor oil packs with hot water bottle everyday for one hour.that really works. I used on my infected and very painful cyst and its gone now.hope it works for u too. good luck.
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