Having suffered with one myself for about 2-3 months, the agony caused by the cyst almost drove me crazy. All of a sudden, simple everyday tasks such as walking, sitting, even laying down had turned into moments of continuous discomfort. I felt all I could do was wait for it to somehow disappear, and after waiting for about a month, all the while the cyst getting bigger, I eventually went to the hospital and was admitted in for surgery.

Of course, living in London, I faced a wait of ~12 hours to be put under general anesthetic to have the cyst removed, after which I would have faced an indefinite nurse visit every few days afterwards to change the dressing.

I took the decision to discharge myself from hospital, and later that night it popped of its own accord whilst having a hot bath, finally getting rid of the pain and discomfort caused by the pilonidal cyst.

Some people with a pilonidal cyst may have no symptoms at all, especially at the start. However, if the pilonidal cyst get infected and turns into an infection, there can be several distinguishing symptoms that will be noticeable.

Pain at the tailbone (coccyx) or the top of the buttocks, slowly worsening. This will often be accompanied by a large, growing spot (cyst), not there before.

An inflamed redness on the affected area of skin, usually accompanying the skin on and around the cyst.

Pus leakage from the skin or cyst.

Extremely uncomfortable movement in the area between the buttocks, affected when walking, sitting and even laying.

Much less commonly, fever, and cysts in the hands.

You are advised to seek help from a doctor if any of these symptoms appear, or even if you suspect you may have a pilonidal cyst.

If caught early, doctors will prescribe strong antibiotics which may well stop the cyst from developing further, and swelling up with pus. This may be all that is needed to get rid of the pilonidal cyst so therefore I recommend that you schedule a visit with your doctor as soon as you suspect you may have one.

However, if it develops, the professional recommended treatment of a pilonidal cyst is to be put under general anesthetic, and have the cyst basically cut off from under the skin. This is done in a hospital, after which a nurse will come to your home indefinitely to redress the wound, every couple of days.

I personally wanted to avoid the surgery and the hassle afterwards, and while in some cases it is essential to have this done, in some cases, such as myself, it’s not. In the last few days of my pilonidal cyst, I took many hot baths to reduce the swelling, which in the end was enough for mine to pop of its own accord.

However, I have been told professionally that if lancing the cyst yourself, it can be dangerous as if the pus inside the cyst was to go back inside your skin or body, it could cause major complications. This is what made me seek other treatment, and as much as I wanted to cut the cyst off myself, I refrained.

All in all, the best treatment is prevention, so I’d like to say again, if you suspect you have one, get to the doctors urgently and you may well save yourself some nasty surgery and a lot of pain.

If one is developed, then bathe, head to the hospital and await professional advice.