Need help here

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Luckystar25

New member
First of all hey :wave: and hopefully this is the right forum for this.

About 2 weeks ago I noticed I had trouble sitting. It surprise me but I figure I must have sat on the toilet too long. The problem went away about 4 days later. Then last Friday the pain return and only this time more severe. I felt a swollen area under the skin down at the bottom of my left buttocks bordering into my butt crack. My lower half buttcrack just raw as anything. It was very painful.

I went to the doctor and I told her everything and she examine me. She mention it could be a hair follicle(sp?) developing into an abscess. She prescribe me antibiotics and a Topical cream. Also gave the number to a Surgeon who could drain it.

It took a few days the medicine started to do its job and clear up the infected area. However the swollen area started developing into a lump/bump(whatever its called).

It seem my overall condition is improving. I can walk better at times outside of the lump/bump rubbing against my other leg and causing pain because it is very tender without the cream and manageable with it.

Then last night the lump/bump started to develop into a golf ball size lump/bump. I am quite alarm by its size. I went to use the bathroom and it flared up. Almost seem like it got bigger. Not sure if it was because I went to sit down which was very painful or I was having a bowel movement. Soon afterwards it went down and has calm down.

Ok, I think that covers everything. Now to what I need help with. I have perhaps 6-7 days worth of antibiotics to take. With the recent increase size to the lump/bump. Should I finished my antibiotic treatment and then go from there. Or should I stop it and go have this area look at and perhaps go ahead and have it drain?

I have no health insurance. Money is tight at the moment. I also have a fear of this thing bursting on me when I least expect it(assuming it is somekind of abscess) and in effecting my bloodstream and/or other parts of my body.

I know I read some people say they have these lump/bump for months and have not burst. I do understand I might have a little bit more time. The fear part is still in the back of my mind.

Any help would be appreciated. By the way anyone know what my condition might be based on what I said?
 
A common name would be boil or carbuncles (a cluster of boils), most are caused by a staph infection. If it's getting larger on antibiotics, I think you need to get it drained. Call your doc first and see what she says, maybe she'll let you finish the pills before resorting to the surgeon.

Good luck, I've had boils before and, oh my, do they hurt - especially when they're in the wrong spot! ;)

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/staphylococcalinfections.html
 
You have an infected pilonidal cyst. Antibiotics generally don't help these, because antibiotic works by traveling through the blood stream, but the cyst has no blood supply of its own from which the anti-b can enter it. The topical cream isn't very likely doing anything, either. There's no good way to treat them non-surgically other than simply waiting for it to burst or to have a doctor lance it to facilitate faster drainage.

Eventually the cyst will burst on its own, and it will be messy. But it will feel oh so much better. It may never recur again, but it's likely to. The only permanent way to fix it is for a surgeon to open the cyst, clean out the debris, and fill it with packing that will allow the opening to heal from the inside out. Infection is not likely to re-occur after that.

My son had one repaired surgically; it has never recurred. My husband gets the occasional flare from his, but it's infrequent. So far, he has chosen not to have it repaired and just lives with the pain until it bursts.
 
I went to have the thing drain. Got there and the Doctor who does these things a lot. He didn't think it was an abscess. He said he could try to drain and see what happens. He had a lot of doubt. Just said it was just an infection that built up. He gave me the options of go ahead and drain it without being 100% sure of it being abscess or give me some new stronger antibiotics. I chose the antibiotics.

Well not too long ago the area burst. I have seen videos of abscess bursting and they have all kinds of weird stuff coming out. Well when my burst it was just blood. I stop the bleeding,clean the area, put the cream I have been using over the area, and then put gauze over it to catch whatever might be left. I will continue to take my new antibiotics to make sure to kill any infections.

Now that it is burst and only blood appears to have come out. What should I do now? I am guessing just keep the area clean,take the antibiotics, and use cream around where it burst. Does that sound about right? I just want to make I do things right. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.
 
It sounds as if you're doing everything right... keeping it clean, as dry as possible, using the meds you were given.

The drainage from my husband's pilonidal cyst is always bloody, but not totally made up of blood. I'd say it's maybe 25-75 blood and pus, very runny. I wouldn't think yours would be all blood or else you wouldn't have had all the symptoms of an infection.

I don't quite know what to make of any doctor who thinks an "abscess" and "built up infection" are two different things. :confused: Was he a rookie intern? Whatever... The worst of the pain should be over now. The drainage will continue for a couple of days.
 
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