Pilonidal disease
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Pilonidal disease
Pilonidal disease is a chronic infection of a cyst that develops near the top of the crease of the buttocks (pilonidal cyst). When the infected cyst—also called a pilonidal abscess—in the skin does not heal, it is referred to as pilonidal disease.
The cause of a pilonidal cyst is not clear. It may be caused by a hair follicle in the skin that becomes blocked and then infected. Continued exercise or walking can pull hair into the infected cyst, forming an abscess. Treatment may include keeping the area clean, draining the cyst, and sometimes surgery to remove the cyst if it does not clear up on its own.
Credits
| Author | Jeannette Curtis |
| Author | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Editor | Kathleen M. Ariss, MS |
| Editor | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA |
| Associate Editor | Tracy Landauer |
| Associate Editor | Pat Truman |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Patrice Burgess, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Last Updated | May 25, 2007 |
| Last updated: | May 25, 2007 |
|---|---|
| Author: | Caroline Rea, RN, BS, MS |
| Reviewed By: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine |
| Editors: | Susan Van Houten, RN, BSN, MBA, Pat Truman |
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