I woke up a few days ago with some pain near my tailbone when I sat down. It got progressively more painful as the day went on. Yesterday morning, I headed over to the Emergency Room at the local hospital, where my fears were confirmed – I had a Pilonidal Cyst. I had figured as much, as I had Googled my symptoms on Monday and all signs kept pointing to the cyst.

So what does this have to do with Blogging? If you’re like me, you spend the majority of your day in front of the computer screen. Excessive sitting is thought to predispose people to Pilonidal Cysts because they increase pressure on the coccyx region. In fact, the condition was widespread in the United States Army during World War II. More than eighty thousand soldiers having the condition required hospitalization. It was termed “Jeep riders’ disease,” because a large portion of people who were being hospitalized for it rode in jeeps, and prolonged rides in the bumpy vehicles were believed to have caused the condition due to irritation and pressure on the tailbone.

In severe cases, the cyst may need to be lanced or surgically excised, and recovery (which sounds brutal) takes 4-8 weeks! Thankfully, I caught mine early enough, and it’s being treated with antibotics, ibuprofen, and hot compresses.

It’s not fun.. Many women have claimed that it’s actually more painful than childbirth!

With that said, make sure you take a break every few hours.. Get up and move around, give your eyes a rest, and takes some pressure off of your tailbone.