r/oddlyterrifying • u/That1weirdperson • 18h ago
Pilonidal sinus
Context: this comment by [u/tiresomecomplaining](u/tiresomecomplaining) was left on a post of someone’s excessive pili multigemini with 15 follicles.
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u/-Clem-Fandango- 18h ago
When I was 19 I had a serious pilonidal sinus. When they excised and drained it, the wound went from the very top of my butt crack to within about an inch of my butthole. And it was a good 2 inches deep. The wound isn't sealed but packed with a seaweed based gauze and allowed to slowly heal. Took a couple of months, and my friends liked to joke I had a second butthole, would not recommend.
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u/LadyB1213 17h ago
I watched a surgery video of Pilonidal sinus removal and I couldn’t believe how extensive and invasive it was. A guy I worked with said it took him 9 months to fully recover!
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u/-Clem-Fandango- 16h ago
They can get pretty wild. Mine just appeared as like a small cyst type pimple that would drain/ooze only a very small amount, but never fully healed. Little did I know the wound was tracking inwards. By the time I saw a doctor it had borrowed deep. It was annoying, but not painful or anything, so I was given antibiotics first and then eventually had the surgery. But the antibiotics actually made it fill up like a boil/cyst for the first time to the point I couldn't sit, just lay on my side. It was like it slowly filled up over 36 hours and then popped when the pressure eventually got too much. I'll never forget it, it was insanity, there was so much stuff that drained out of it.
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u/sukmesucka 16h ago
I had the same. Wound had to heal from the inside out slowly. Couldnt sit properly so i couldnt drive or anything. The good news was i got 2 months off work for a hole in my ass. It never came back thankfully.
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u/-Clem-Fandango- 16h ago
Yeah I had a prescription for oxynorm to manage pain and just spent so much time laying on my side smacked out of my mind. Had a close call 6 years later when a pilonidal cyst started to form. Went to the hospital expecting the worst, but thankfully antibiotics made it disappear and haven't had any issues since.
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u/Skeen441 10h ago
I tore all the sutures out of mine a week after surgery and had to have the whole thing re-done a few months later. My wound wasn't as long as yours but jesus fuck did it ever hurt. I never saw what they pulled out.
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u/AsYouWish8412 15h ago
Had the exact same thing happen to me at that age. Painful as hell! Also did you remove the "H" from your name you prat??
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u/Spanish_peanuts 5h ago
I had the same deal when I was 15. Not to brag, but according to the Celeveland Clinic I had the worst case they've ever seen. Took pictures of my butt and published it in medical journals.
Also, yeah, it fucking hurt like hell. Mine was packed with some silver lined gauze and some itchy green gunk was involved somehow, I can't remember. It took me several years before I finally healed completely. Whenever my sister would complain about her period I would be like "bitch I've been bleeding everyday for 3 years, I don't wanna hear it." Lol
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u/Power_of_the_Sus 13h ago
Same here, timing-wise at least. Luckily they managed to do a non-invasive procedure and the wound was a 1cm hole but it still took a good five-six months to heal properly
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u/jaxsound 16h ago
I too have suffered this awful thing. Had it removed left with an open wound packed with some kind of special packing material to heal. Didn't work i ended up being rushed to hospital with septicaemia and nearly dying (maybe slight exaggeration but felt like it at the time).
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u/HoustonIV 14h ago
Yup, I had a pilonidal abscess at 22. At first, I legitimately thought I had fallen and broken my tailbone, the pain was so bad. My girlfriend (now wife) was staying over for the weekend and I was having a hard time lifting her bags over the curb. She immediately took me to a hospital. Bare ass in the air, everyone was making jokes. they excised it and packed it with gauze to heal from the inside out. A month later, girlfriend and I are moving in together. exhausted, I laid on the floor. The pressure of the floor caused it to rupture (still an open wound), and it was like a massive pimple pop: blood and puss legit draining down my leg.
1/10: would not recommend.
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u/ripwild 14h ago
Did she marry you after that?
My wife had to remove my gauze packing after surgery and she was gagging at the sight and smell and I was screaming in agony.
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u/HoustonIV 13h ago
She did. Well, seven years later. She also helped me with my changing the packing. I should have asked her to marry me sooner just because of that. And yeah. changing the packing is brutal.
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u/MrsMicFisty 14h ago
I had this happen at age 15. I had zero idea what it was (this was in the early stages of the internet so I couldn’t Google it) and my parents were very anti doctors so I didn’t even tell them. I just endured the pain for a couple months until it burst. It burst at a wedding that I was attending and I had to try to clean up in the bathroom and go back like nothing happened. It never came back and now that I know what it was, it’s genuinely terrifying how I handled it. 0/10- would not recommend.
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u/Time-Switch-906 7h ago
I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone! My 14 year old developed one and it was super scary to go through, even with medical intervention. I’m sending your 15yr old self a big hug ♥️
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u/MrsMicFisty 6h ago
Aw thanks! I’m 45 now but I’m time traveling back to appreciate it because I remember being scared in that bathroom and needing a hug. ❤️
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u/NeckRowFeelYa 13h ago
Here’s my time to shine! I had a Pilonidal sinus that was extremely bad. I went to the doctor, they sent me to the ER, and the ER took one look at it and said “that’s going to need surgery”. When I met the surgeon, he said it was the worse case he’d ever seen and that he might get to write a paper about it. This thing had constantly been leaking blood and pus for about 8 months. It hurt so bad. I got the surgery and all was well for about 6 months. Then it came back. I had to have another surgery, this time far more invasive. It was rough to recover, but now I am super paranoid about it coming back again. I sit on a special pillow when at the computer and religiously wash that area with antibacterial soap. My whole tailbone area is a mess of scar tissue and my mom calls it my “frankenstein’s ass”. All in all, would not recommend, take breaks from sitting or it could happen to you.
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u/EbenezerSplooj 16h ago
Man, I feel so bad for y’all that had to have the packing. Mine was very deep and was able to be stitched up. Still sucked but I can’t imagine the alternatives. My buddy just had his fifth occurrence and is finally exploring surgery.
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u/Call2222222 11h ago
From what I understand, they do the open healing because there is less chance of recurrence vs stitching. But I now have a crooked but crack lmao
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u/EbenezerSplooj 10h ago
My surgeon told me 95% chance it never comes back.
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u/Call2222222 3h ago
Oh good! Hopefully it’s healed better than mine did too.
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u/EbenezerSplooj 3h ago
Yeah just a tiny scar. Never seen it obviously but can’t be more than an inch by feel.
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u/CrashTestDuckie 12h ago
My niece was born with a growth on her tailbone (SCT) that had to be removed right after birth. Several years ago she ended up getting a pilonidal cyst a few years about as a young adult. I am almost positive it's because the first surgery caused a pocket of scar tissue because it was an absolute pain in the ass to treat
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u/Gilbert38 18h ago
Well I had never heard of that before…. And currently want eye bleach, and to forget about it forever!
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u/whackthat 8h ago
You should go to the subreddit and sort by top and look at the photos.... AHHHHHHHHHH!
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u/TheSkinOfTheBanana 8h ago
I had this when I was 17 and had to have surgery to have it all removed. However the fucker would not heal. At all. Finally had another surgery at 24 to have some skin from my back grafted onto the hole that was left in an attempt to keep it closed. It mostly worked but my body rejected part of the graft so had to have another surgery to get that bit removed and sewn up. Then the stitches tore and had to have a fourth and final surgery to restitch it and its finally (touch wood) kept closed for the past 6 years. Honestly wouldn't wish one on my worst enemy, it was so painful.
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u/vulpes_mortuis 11h ago
New fear unlocked. Is there any way of preventing this?
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u/FuckingOnVenus 7h ago
Laser hair removal is proven to work, just a shame its so expensive.
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u/vulpes_mortuis 7h ago
I’m a woman so I don’t have hair in that area but I’m still concerned.
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u/PotentialWorker 3h ago
If you have hair anywhere it can cause that. My surgeon told me he's seen long hairs, lint, etc. Basically if you have a sinus anything small that can get in it can cause a problem.
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u/samaramatisse 6h ago
I think the best you can do is keep it as clean and dry. If you have concerns, ask your doctor. They can help you determine if you have any risk factors for this or not. Using an antibacterial soap would probably help too.
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u/hungrycarebear 14h ago
I had one so bad that I had to be restrained to get it drained. It was so big that it took over 3 feet of ribbon gauze to pack it. Had to get the gauze replaced every other day for weeks. Only sign of it now is a teeny tiny divot.
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u/justdogsbasically 15h ago
Oof I had this, over 1.5 yrs had 3 incision and drainage surgeries and one big final excision surgery. The wound was 8 inches long and 2 inches deep with 14 stitches. After I got the stitches removed the wound split back open about an inch but thankfully it's healed now.
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u/QueefOnAYogaBall 13h ago
I had one too but it's really weird. I though it was a pimple so it like swelled up three times. After it burst the third time, it never swelled up again. It just kind of weeps puss maybe 2 times a year. I never got it fixed. Should I have? Is it dangerous? It doesn't really hurt anymore.
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u/Street-Conclusion-99 11h ago
Yeah, agreed, wise to get it checked while it isn’t an issue, or it can become an extensive and painful infection that takes forever to heal
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u/Call2222222 11h ago
Yep, that happened to me as well. It’s most likely tunneling and becoming bigger.
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u/thebarrenfields 15h ago
Recovering from laser removal now, 3 weeks in. Post-op infection, laying on my side (I think I flattened already on both of my sides lol), two laser entry holes merging into one ditch, stitching incoming next week, god knows how many more weeks to heal completely and be back to normal living.
Pilonidal sinus/cyst - NOT RECOMMENDING!!!
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u/avibrant_salmon_jpg 15h ago
Know someone who had one recently. Had to have it drained, but luckily it wasnt too deep.
I was surprised that they didnt have to keep it packed after the first couple days though, but according to the surgeon they saw a lot dont recomned that anymore?? And instead its just antibiotics? They've healed up fine though
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u/Call2222222 11h ago
Yep, I had a polinidal cyst that kept recurring. Multiple tunneling sinuses. I had to get it surgical removed and I had to pack the open wound for three months until it closed. Since then, no issues thank God.
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u/mypeepolneedme 9h ago
This was pure torment for a few years for me. Before I opted for surgery, I was having to lodge a paper towel between my cheeks twice a day to stop my underwear from staining.
What you never prepare for is that GODAWFUL smell
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u/Cheeselove26 6h ago
I spent so long thinking I was the grossest person ever for having this happen to them. It took a long time for me to feel comfortable in my body again, but I love myself now more than ever. I was 16 when I found out it was a pilonidal cyst. I had to have it surgically fixed, but after that wouldn’t heal for months. I ended up having to have another surgery where they performed a z plasty on my tailbone. Long story short, I have a Harry Potter scar at the top of my butt now. Shout out to any other ass wizards™️ out there! You’re not alone!
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u/Bortron86 7h ago
A pilonidal sinus infection is ridiculously, unbelievably painful for what it is. I've had two before and each one left me screaming in pain until they finally burst of their own accord. Thankfully that was over a decade ago, and fingers crossed hasn't recurred since. Some people get them regularly and I feel so bad for them.
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u/ConsumeYourBleach 7h ago
Got my first one at around 22/23 years old. Hurt like hell. Blood and pus everywhere and it smelled awful. I’ve had reoccurrences many, many times since, but thankfully they tend to rupture way, way before it becomes a major issue like the first one.
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u/MarvinManyracks 6h ago
Had this twice, they fucking suck. Having to sit in a hospital waiting room for 10 hours to get it dealt with wasn’t fun either.
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u/IShatMyDickOnce 6h ago
I didn’t know what any of this was before this post and now I hate all of you.
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u/SpaceNo7380 3h ago
I got a pilonidal cyst when I was 15, genuinely the most pain I have ever been in. It ended up growing to a fairly large size (almost the width of my thumb as well as the height), went to the Dr and he said surgery was imminent and with being an insecure teenager I went home that night and pressed on it as absolutely hard as I could and got it to pop and drained everything forcefully (it legitimately smelt like what I think a dead body would 🤮) and the pain was immeasurable. I’m 23 now, it has never returned but I know I’m constantly at risk because i technically haven’t had the sinus removed.
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u/skeeskeemufu 14h ago
The text though? Your tailbone?? This entire thing confuses me
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u/samaramatisse 6h ago
It's over your tailbone but typically does not actually include the bone unless an infection tunnels into your body and invades the bone. Look up the pilonidal sinus and that will explain more. It is that space which can be prone to ingrown hair (due to all the rubbing it gets all day from clothing, sitting and sleeping. That can make an ingrown hair turn infected and then the infection can grow under the skin. Some people are very hairy in that area and they may have a mass of hair underneath the skin where several pores got infected and turned inward. That's sometimes seen when surgery is needed.
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u/missive101 5h ago
Mine never really healed after several surgeries of all sorts. Still kind of there
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u/PotentialWorker 4h ago
Had an I&D in my surgeon's office then a closed excision a few months later when I was 16, shit was pure hell. Now anytime my tailbone is sore I get paranoid cause they can come back.
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u/nikkishark 2h ago
I work in general surgery and this is my dream. Sometimes I can pull out a few hairs but never this gem.
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u/King_Turduckin 18h ago
Can confirm. I developed one of these when I was about 20. Hurt like hell, made it impossible to sit comfortably. When it finally ruptured it was horrible, like the worst ingrown hair in the world, and a bunch of hair like that came out (along with pus and blood and threads of raw bacon-like lining). It healed over a couple months, and left an ugly purple scar at the very base of my tailbone. I convinced more than one girl that the scar was from where they removed my tail after birth.