A Pilonidal Sinus is a minute hole in the skin. It might fill up with pus or fluid, leading to the formation of an abscess or a cyst. It usually surfaces near the tailbone, on the split above the buttocks. The pilonidal sinus may comprise dirt, hair, and debris. It might cause extreme pain and is prone to infection. If it gets infected, it may discharge pus or blood.
A Pilonidal Sinus affects men more than women, especially young adults. It is also commonly found among people who sit continuously, such as desk workers, taxi and bus drivers, etc.
Although the precise cause of a Pilonidal Sinus is unknown, medical experts believe a combination of hormonal changes, hair growth in the area, or prolonged sitting is the reason.
Activities like sitting cause friction, affecting hair growth in the area, and push such hair back under the skin. Your body now treats this hair as foreign objects and counters them with an immune response. This is similar to how your body would react to a splinter. The immune response from your body leads to the formation of a cyst around the hair. In some cases, a person may have more than one cyst connected below the skin.
The people most at risk to develop this disease are:
Initially, you might not notice any significant symptoms other than a hollow hole on the skin’s surface. If this hole gets infected, it might turn into a cyst filled with fluid or an abscess filled with pus.
The symptoms of infection are:
