What is Tailbone Cysts?
What is a tailbone cyst and who is often affected by this health problem? What are the causes of these cysts? Here are some things that may give you the answers to these questions:
- A tailbone cyst is also called a pilonidal cyst and is found at the very end of a person’s vertebral column. These pilonidal cysts often have pus and hair in them and is more frequently seen affecting young men ages 15 to 24.
- Certain activities like cycling or even horseback riding can trigger the occurrence of these cysts.
- Tight clothing that hugs the butt area can also be blamed for the appearance of tailbone cysts.
- A hair follicle blockage that is found in the tailbone area can also be the cause of this cyst.
Signs and Symptoms of Pilonidal Cysts
When a person has tailbone cyst or pilonidal cyst problem, he may be experiencing some of these symptoms as part of the ailment:
- Pain in the infected area and some swelling can be seen in the same area where he feels the pain.
- The infected area can also become red and swollen and can feel tender to the touch as well as show signs of fluid buildup or pus buildup within the swelling.
- Fever and chills can also be part of the symptoms being experienced by a person that is infected with a tail bone cyst.
- Difficulty walking and sitting can also be something a person with a pilonidal cyst may experience.
Treatment and Home Remedies for Tailbone Cysts
When a person finds that he or she has a pilonidal cyst, he or she may need to consult with a doctor to know what kind of treatment is best for this problem. Treatments include surgical removal of the cyst, draining of the pus in the cyst, and antibiotics. Here are some home treatments you can try to help relieve yourself of this problem:
- You can drain the cyst yourself if you are brave enough. Use a hot compress to bring the cyst to a head and you can drain the pus from this bump by using a sterilized syringe needle.
- After removal of the cyst and the draining of the pus, you will need to keep your tailbone area clean at all times. This is to avoid any infection to the wound.
- Try to avoid wearing tight clothes during and after the healing process. Since tight clothing can be a cause for this problem, wearing them again can make your cyst return.
- Try not to sit for long periods to stop the recurrence of the cyst.
- Related Topics
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- Pilonidal Disease | Pilonidal Sinus Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
- Tailbone Problems: Causes, Treatment For Tailbone Pain And Hurts
- Bruised Tailbone Symptoms | Bruised Tailbone Treatment | Sore Coccyx
- Fell On Tailbone: Treatment For Fell On Coccyx, Tailbone Pain
I have a pilonidal cyst right now. I had my 1st one 2 years ago (age 17), the day I was moving into my 1st home by myself. I went to get it removed and they drained and packed it. It was the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life. Now at age 19, I have my second cyst. I have been using a heating pad and warm baths. It popped itself which was awesome because I don’t want to go through the pain of draining the cyst again. Unfortunately, it filled back up again just a few days later. Now I’m sitting here with intense pain and I am going to the ER tomorrow to see what they have to say. Hopefully it will never come back again but by reading what you all are saying, I’m sure I’ll have it back again.
I am studying Reflexology and because my daughter has one of these cysts, I am trying to find out if I can cure it with therapy. I know these cysts can be stress related even though most people deny or don’t think they are suffering from stress. Also, Reflexology works on the body systems holistically, and any areas of the body with problems are most likely to be picked up during treatment. Treatment helps clear blockages in the body so that healing can commence. I would also recommend bathing in Epsom or sea salts as this eliminates toxins from your system and regulates the Endocrine system as does Reflexology.
I have one on my tailbone, it started about 2 years ago, I am 23 and they do suck, the first time it happened I went to the ER and the lanced it, it was horrible, I screamed and cussed, I felt everything, I sure hoped it would be done after that, I had thought I chipped a part of my tailbone because when I sat in my car and I hit the round plastic knob on the side of my car seat, but it didn’t flare up, until about a year later when I was taking a shower, I slipped and fell right on it, about a week after that was when it flared, I thought maybe I had chipped the bone, and after about a week it looked like a tail and hurt very badly. I finally went to the ER where they lanced it, and trying to drive myself home was insane. I couldn’t sit down and had to look weird to be driving with my body held in the air. They packed me with the gauze and I had it changed, but it had come back many other times, this winter I did have pain but it never drained, its sore again and I am sick of it, they want me to have surgery also but I have no medical insurance. So I just am goanna wait it out and let it drain on its own. I have begun to notice that it flares mainly when I sit on a hard surface, like the tennis court, or on the sand at the river, or the floor. I feel for all of you that have one of these, and I wish there was a way for it to be permanent. Good luck to you all, but if yours is like mine I would say to avoid sitting on hard surfaces, or directly where the cyst was.
Hi my daughter had a surgery last week and it is difficult for me to change her dressing twice a day. We were told to use hydrogen peroxide to clean it but my heart drops all the time is this is only the solution, tell me some better solution is there rather than this one.
My 15 years old has a pilonidal cyst. It popped on its own, doctor sent us to a surgeon, he wants her to have it removed. It is her first one, he did not lance it, is there something else we can do. I really don’t want her to have the surgery…
My daughter had her first pilonidal one week before her 11th birthday… she had it drained and there was allot of pain involved… it comes back every year… she had surgery on December 2009 to have it removed, was in the hospital for over one week and had a wound vaccine sent home with her and a nurse would come every 3 days to change the dressing… she would scream and cry every time… very hard for me as her mother to listen to her… I thought after all that it would be worth it… If it never came back…well just 4 days ago… she started having pain and it is now back for the 5th time… the surgery did not worked. We have an appointment to go back to the same surgeon… don’t know what to do…
Help, not sure if I have over reaction or should go to ER b/c its sun. This is my 2nd pregnancy, first time was more painful, second time a week ago but less invasive due to the fact I am not 37weeks pregnant.
But after two days of wound packing, it hurts but not horrible and itches a lot. Is this normal? it still has pus that is mostly yellow and a bit green. I don’t remember of last time. It’s not really red around where they drained the cycst which I assume is good.
Itching is normal. It’s a sign that it’s healing. Mine had the yellow tinted pus also. The gauze is supposed to keep the area packed but its secondary duty is to keep draining the excess pus. You’re fine
I do wish all of ours would go away though.
I have had a pilonidal cyst now for over 9 years. At first, I was told by doctors to keep it clean and it would likely go away in a few weeks. After that didn’t work, I was put on antibiotics. After that didn’t work, I was told about surgical options, but because of how I had two openings in mine rather than one, the surgery would have been extensive and the healing process was supposed to last about 6 weeks and be quite painful. I decided not to do anything and now another 8 years has passed.
Does anyone know if the medical approach to these has gotten better in the past few years? I am very sick of living with this as I’m only 23 years old. It affects me every day and I just want to be rid of it for good.
After reading online recently, it seems like “for good” is just wishful thinking, but pretty unlikely.
Any ideas?
I had a pilonidal cyst when I was 13. Again now 13 yrs later. I had the first one removed surgically. Now its coming back. I have been taking care of it for a week. Doing hot compresses 3 times a week, cleaning the area with alcohol and rubbing neosporin on the infected area covering it up with gauze and repeating these steps 3 times a day. It is a week later and looking better. The cyst never came to a head. It turned deep purple and is no longer draining. Infection seems to be going away. Still a bit itchy at times and uncomfortable to sit. But I think its getting a lot better.
I cut a “module” out of a disposable heat wrap (I left the protective coating over the top) and made a bandage out of several regular band-aids. After a few hours this made it come to a head. I then drained it and medicated it myself.
I may have to follow up with a visit to the doctor next week but at least I won’t have to pay an ER visit this weekend.
Thanks for the help!
I went to the doctor to treat my pilonidal cyst (which I was supposedly born with) for the first time. The doctor numbed, drained and packed it. He prescribed me pain medicines and antibiotics, which I had to take four times a day and one every six hours for the pain medicine. He told me I could go to my family doctor or to a general surgeon to repack it until it heals. So I thought I should just go see my family doctor. Two days later I went into check it out, but instead of repacking it my doctor took out the gauze, swabbed out the remains of pus & put ointment. He gave me a prescription for the ointment & told me to use it three times a day, I did & it healed. It started to feel completely normal again. But I feel like it is coming back, not as painful or bad as before but it might be there. I really don’t want to get surgery done after reading horrible stories on the internet about it coming back even after surgery! I just wish it didn’t exist or there was a successful treatment, but until then I’ll have to suffer.
I have recently been having problems with my pilonidal cyst. For some reason it never healed and the pain is coming back. What should I do about the re-occurrence of this infected pilonidal cyst. Can you suggest some remedy to stop this infection.
I have been going through the same thing for the last three years. The first time the cyst flared up I was told it was an abscess and given horribly strong antibiotics and it went away after about a week and didn’t come back for about two years. For the last year and a half it has flared up about six times and I had to go to the hospital once to have it drained….most pain I have ever been in my life because the freezing didn’t take so I was cut open and the cyst squeezed with nothing for pain.
It came back about five months after that and finally I was scheduled for surgery to remove the cyst. After the surgery I was fine. I thought it was completely gone but just a few days ago it came back pretty badly and I think I’m going to have to go to the hospital to have it drained again because the two antibiotics the doctor put me on aren’t working.
The surgeon is now going to book me for a bigger surgery to remove a larger area around the cyst. He says he’ll most likely have to leave it open and I’ll have to get it re-packed every couple days for six to eight weeks. I’m definitely not looking forward to it and I also wish there was a successful treatment. I really hope this second surgery works because it’s really interfering with my life. I’m supposed to be on vacation for this whole week before Christmas but instead of enjoying it I’m pretty much laid out either in bed or on the couch feeling like crap. I hope you have success with treating yours!