Splitting at the top of your bum, often in the crease, can be an anal fissure (tear near the anus from hard stools/diarrhea) or pilonidal disease (hair/debris getting stuck, forming a cyst/abscess). Other possibilities include skin infections like intertrigo (moisture-related rash) or even stretch marks. Causes range from constipation, diarrhea, childbirth trauma, to irritation from hair/sitting. See a doctor if you have pain, bleeding, or a persistent lump, especially if it's infected.
Pilonidal sinus. A pilonidal sinus is a small hole or tunnel at the top of your bottom, between your buttocks. Treatment is usually only needed if it becomes infected.
Use skin barrier creams or anti-chafing gels: Creams or ointments with zinc oxide and/or petrolatum can help reduce friction between your affected skin by creating a barrier. Use fiber skin barriers: Use materials such as clean gauze or cotton to separate the affected skin that is touching can help reduce friction.
Pilonidal disease forms at the base of your spine, near or at the top of your butt crack. Usually, the disease begins as an area of irritation, which may be itchy or painful. As the disease progresses, it may form a cyst over the entrapped hair.
Javaid. The intergluteal cleft (a.k.a. gluteal cleft / natal cleft / cluneal cleft / butt crack) is the posterior deep midline groove in the gluteal region. It separates the two glutes (and the buttocks) from each other and extends downwards from the third or the fourth sacral spine, deepening as it goes inferiorly.
An anal fissure is a crack or tear in the lining of your anal canal. It's a common cause of anal pain and rectal bleeding, especially during bowel movements (pooping). Anal trauma usually causes a fissure, especially from straining to pass hard stools. Anal fissures can occur suddenly or gradually.
These usually have a characteristic red, raised appearance. They usually will drain on their own, but on occasion need to be drained by a surgeon. These will not go away without surgical removal. You can read more about pilonidal sinus by following this link.
Risk factors for intertrigo include obesity, incontinence, poor hygiene, hyperhidrosis (excessive sweating), and medical conditions that suppress your immune system. These can include diabetes, HIV, and other conditions.
Pilonidal disease is common in teens and young adults. It happens when the pilonidal sinus between the buttocks gets infected. This can happen because of many things, like poor hygiene, sitting too long, or being overweight.
Anusol Cream provides soothing relief from the discomfort of internal and external piles (haemorrhoids), fissures and anal itching. It contains active ingredients that soothe itching, shrink piles and prevent bacterial growth which can promote healing.
The first signs of Grover's disease (transient acantholytic dermatosis) are a sudden onset of intensely itchy, small, reddish bumps or blisters primarily on the chest, back, and upper arms, often appearing as clusters with a swollen red border. These bumps can crust over, and the severe itching, sometimes worse with heat or sweating, can disrupt sleep.
No, keratosis pilaris (KP) is not a sexually transmitted disease (STD) or an infection; it's a common, harmless skin condition caused by keratin buildup in hair follicles, making skin bumpy and rough, especially on arms and thighs, and it's not contagious, though it can run in families and be linked to genetics or dry skin.
Pat dry the wound and apply antibiotic ointment such as Fucidin or Bacitracin twice a day. Cover with a dry gauze. Continue this care until the skin closes. Keep the area free of hair.
A pilonidal (pie-luh-NIE-dul) cyst is a fluid-filled sac just under the skin close to the tailbone (coccyx), near the crease of the buttocks. A cyst may not be visible or can look like a small pit or dimple in the skin. Some can swell and feel like a bump under the skin.
Cleaning and dressing wounds
Inverse psoriasis is easily mistaken for infectious dermatoses, particularly bacterial or fungal intertrigo. Intertrigo is inflammation of opposed skin folds caused by skin-on-skin friction that presents as erythematous, macerated plaques.
Bacterial rashes often show acute signs like pus, rapid swelling, warmth, and pain, spreading quickly and treated with antibiotics (e.g., impetigo, cellulitis), while fungal rashes develop slowly in warm, moist areas, causing intense itching, redness, scaling, and distinct rings (like ringworm, athlete's foot), requiring antifungals and keeping the area dry. The key difference lies in appearance, location, speed, and treatment: bacteria cause rapid inflammation and need antibiotics; fungi cause itchy, scaly patches in damp spots and need antifungals.
In most cases, the main symptom of folliculitis is red bumps that look like pimples on your skin. These could also look like they're white-filled bumps or they could be filled with pus (pustules). Folliculitis can feel itchy and uncomfortable.
Keep affected area clean and dry. Applying an ointment (Vaseline, A&D, others) to the rash can help. Loose-fitting clothing and weight loss also may help.
Is it even safe to shave a hairy butt crack? Generally, the answer is yes, according to both derms we spoke with. But before you spread your cheeks and go at it, there are a few things to keep in mind.
Use toilet paper that has been moistened with water to clean the anal area after bowel movements. Vaseline or petroleum jelly can be applied to the anal region 1–3 times a day to decrease symptoms. Avoid commercial wet wipes; chemicals in these products may exacerbate the problem.
But, if you are dealing with any of the situations described above, it is possible to get along without surgery, but the pilonidal disease is going to be an intermittent long term problem and, contrary to some rumors, will not just disappear after age 40.
Symptoms of an infected pilonidal cyst include:
Hidradenitis suppurativa and pilonidal cysts cause lumps to form beneath your skin. In either case, the lumps can develop into uncomfortable abscesses. Both conditions are frequently unreported by patients, misdiagnosed by doctors, and mistaken for one another.