Abscess: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Cost, and Side Effects

Dead tissue, white blood cells, germs and fluid combine to form pus. When such pus collects together in a body cavity, they manifest as an abscess. The cavity itself gets created due to the death of tissue.

Swelling, redness, pain and fever are symptomatic of abscess. If an abscess has formed under the skin, it is easily noticed. It will feel warm and tender when touched. A boil is a typical indication of skin abscess. The most common skin abscess occur on the face, under an armpit, in the groin, the bum and anus areas or the throat and neck regions. There may be instances of cold abscess where redness, softness, warm feeling etc. are absent and yet an abscess has formed.nAn abscess may be formed inside the body, in an organ or in the spaces between them. These are internal abscesses and may not be easily detected. Your only indication may be through pain in and around the abscess affected part of the body. Other symptoms of abscess inside the body include:

• Uncomfortable feeling in the area where the abscess has formed.
• Increase in body temperature.
• Sweating more than you usually do.
• Uneasiness, feeling or falling sick.
• Feeling of chill.
• Pain with or without associated swelling in your stomach (tummy) region.
• Sudden loss of weight and appetite.

Internal abscesses are named on the part of the body where they occur. Mentioned here are the often searched ones among them:

• Perianal abscess or perianal abscess when it forms near the anus, rectum or perineal area.
• Liver abscess happens in the liver.
• Lung abscess is formed in the lungs.
• Breast abscess occurs in the breast.n
• Peritonsillar abscess happens in the tonsil region of the neck
• Dental abscess which may be a tooth abscess when in the tooth or a gum abscess when in the gum or periodontal abscess that invade locations surrounding the teeth below the gum. An abscess may even form in the “pocket” of the tooth or dental pulp and get named as a periapical abscess.
• Dentoalveolar abscess occurs at the alveolar bone that is at the innermost tip or root of your teeth.
• Gingival abscess forms from infection in the space between the tooth and the gum.
• Anal abscess happens near the anus and are often quite painful.
• Psoas abscess are those occurring in the hip-lumbar region.
• Brain abscess gets formed in the brain.
• Amoebic liver abscess signifies abscess caused to the liver due to amoebiasis. The parasite causing amoebiasis (Entamoeba histolytica) gets into the liver carried through the blood and starts killing liver tissue generating an abscess.
• Collar stud abscess happens when infection from the lungs migrates to lymph node and develops tissue death. The close proximity of the lymph node to the collar bone gives the nomenclature. This is often a stage of tuberculosis.
• Gluteal abscess is an abscess formed in the buttock region.
• Retropharyngeal abscess forms at the back of the throat.
• Ischiorectal abscess is often caused by pus from a perianal abscess gets to the spaces between the wall of the rectum and the lateral areas internal to the anus.
• Parapharyngeal abscess is also known as deep neck infections and are quite common in children. They are often the result of throat or dental infections.
• Pilonidal abscess or pilonidal cyst is located near the tailbone just above the cleft of the buttocks. It is usually due to body hair puncturing through the skin and getting embedded inside.
• Anorectal abscess is formed in the anus and rectum region.
• Vaginal abscess or Bartholin’s cyst is often the result of infection in one of the Bartholin glands or of a blockage in the duct therein.
• Subphrenic abscess is infection in the area bounded between the diaphragm, the transverse colon, the disease-prone / propagating mesocolon and the omentum.

Abscesses are generally the result of bacterial infection. Your body's immune system will attack and endeavour to stave off the infection. The tissue at the site of the battle dies off and cavities are created. Dead tissue cells, fluid mix to accumulate in the cavity and form pus. An abscess is formed. An abscess may also result from ingrown hair, non-bacterial infection and blockage in a gland or a duct.

Prevention of abscess needs a combination of hygiene, diet and lifestyle. Prevention mostly applies to skin abscesses but hygiene, diet and lifestyle does help prevent internal ones too.

• Take care of your skin. Maintain healthy skin and keep it hydrated just enough for its health.
• Ensure that scratches, nicks and cuts do not happen. If they do, treat them immediately.
• Eat healthy food.
• Wash sheets, clothes and towels on a regular basis.
• Build up a strong immune system through a balanced diet, exercise and regulated lifestyle.
• Keep yourself well hydrated.
• Sleep well and have your full quota of sleep.
• Ensure regular bowel movements.
• Keep blood sugar in check.
• Discard and dispose of used gauze and other wound dressing material.
• Keep your weight under control.

• Do not leave your skin oily, greasy or dirty
• Do not avoid bathing
• Do not use clothing, sheets and towels of others
• Do not consume food and edibles with high sugar content like syrups, carbonated drinks, sugar added fruit juices
• Avoid food made of white flour e.g. noodles, bread, pasta, cereals with white flour content
• Do not smoke
• Avoid foods rich in oils, ghee and other fats
• Sour, spicy and hot food is best struck off from your diet
• Smoking, alcohol consumption are best avoided
• Build-up of stress either in body and mind is best avoided
• Do not skip meals and sleep
• Moderate on intake of tea and coffee
• Avoid constipation

Diagnosing a skin abscess is easy as it is visible under physical examination and the symptoms like whitish or greenish pus, swelling, redness around the boil etc. are there to be seen.

Once you have disclosed your symptoms to your doctor, suspected internal abscesses are diagnosed through imaging tools.

For skin abscesses, tests on the pus sample helps determine the type of bacteria responsible for the abscess. This facilitates the treatment.

Internal abscesses are detected through tests like ultrasound imaging, CT scan or MRI.

You are usually able to check for skin abscesses only. If you feel pain at a point on your body, feel your skin for a bit of a lump at the spot, just below the skin. This may be the initiation of an abscess. Watch the point for the tell-tale signs of pus formation, redness and swelling as the boil grows in size and becomes visible to the eye. Feel the area for warmness and softness to the touch.

• Some boils or abscesses go away on their own. If not, some home remedies may be tried for skin abscesses.
• Applying a warm (not hot) compress using a mix of warm water and Epsom salt, helps the boil to drain. Do this thrice for about 15 – 20 minutes each a day until the abscess is completely drained out. Remember to clean and disinfect the skin around the area as the pus drains.
• A mix of about four to five drops of tea tree oil in a teaspoon of coconut oil or olive oil, applied on the boil using a clean cotton swab twice or thrice a day helps the boil to heal.
• The age-old haldi doodh remedy works for skin abscess. A teaspoon of turmeric powder mixed in a glass of milk, boiled and cooled before drinking constitutes this remedy. Drink it thrice a day until your boil is gone.
• You may also apply a mix of turmeric and ginger, powdered or ground, with water a minimum of twice a day on the abscess.
• Castor oil in small quantities applied directly on the boil, thrice a day works as an effective home remedy.
• Neem oil in small quantities, applied directly on the boil with well washed hands, 3 to 4 times every day, is also good in treating boils at home. Post every application, remember to wash your hands well.
• An over-the-counter antibiotic ointment applied to the abscess also works for treating skin abscess at home.

It is often seen that pus drains out from small skin abscesses by itself and heal. At times, these shrink and dry out by themselves. Larger ones and internal abscesses require treatment.

Fruits like pineapple, fruit juices, vegetables and garlic are good to have when you have an abscess.

Avoid fried food, sugar, edibles made of white flour, white rice if you have an abscess.

A combination of antibiotic medication, a process of draining out of the accumulated pus and surgery form the crux of abscess treatment.

In general, an abscess may not call for urgent care. However, if you have developed a skin abscess with increasing pain, the abscess has increased considerably in size, your body temperature has risen to about 1020F or more and you are nauseous or vomiting, it is time to go for urgent care for your abscess. For mouth and internal abscesses, immediate visit to your doctor is advised.

Your first call may be to a general physician or a dermatologist. Depending on the diagnosis, further consultation with any other specialist will be advised by your doctor.

Antibiotics are best for abscess treatment. Your doctor will prescribe you with an antibiotic deemed most suitable for your condition.

Antibiotics, by way of ingestion in conjunction with ointment application is likely to treat skin abscess. Large ones and those with heavy bacterial infection may not succumb to this non-surgical treatment. Internal abscess will need some form of invasion by way of treatment as only oral antibiotics may not be enough.

The primary objective of surgical abscess treatment is in draining out the pus in it. The abscess will shrink once the entire pus has drained out. You may own a small scar at the site.nFor internal abscesses, the process is somewhat complicated and depends on the part where it lies. This may be done using a needle aspiration or even a catheter drainage. In some locations, longer surgical procedures may be needed.

For skin abscess drainage, a cut is made in the skin and the pus drains out through it. The procedure may be executed sans anaesthesia, under local anaesthesia or using general anaesthesia depending on the location and status of the abscess. For deep abscesses, a small wick made of gauze may be kept inserted to allow the entire pus to drain out. Once drained, the area is wrapped off with a dry bandage until the incision is healed.

Internal abscess, on the basis of its location in the body may get drained using a needle reaching the abscess guided by an imaging aid e.g. ultrasound or CT scan (percutaneous abscess drainage). This is often the method adopted for liver abscess treatment as also for breast abscess treatment. At times, there may be need for an incision to be made for insertion of a catheter to remain for a few days to drain out the pus. For gum and tooth abscesses, root canal or tooth extraction may become necessary. For some parts of the body, like the tonsil, tonsillectomy may be needed.

Laser treatment for abscess has become quite popular. In this technique, a laser is used to create the opening for draining the pus leaving no incision marks, no scar and hardly a wound to heal.

Because of the variety in the type and location of abscesses, the cost of surgical removal of abscess varies from case to case. It is difficult to predict specific cost ranges in absence of precise diagnosis. Pristyn Care has arrangements for laser surgery for every type and grade of abscess. They will be happy to guide and provide you with the entire treatment when contacted.

In terms of surgical treatment of surgery, you are gradually relieved of pain and completely healed of your surgical wound in approximately a fortnight.

With thorough treatment of the affected area is completely treated, the abscess causing bacteria gets removed from your system. There is no cause left for the abscess to recur, and, generally surgical pus removal is a permanent abscess treatment.

Following a surgical treatment of your abscess, you will be advised to:

• Make an assessment of your wound on a daily basis.
• Refill the gauze placed in the wound, if any, every day.
• Change the dressing on the wound as may be required.
• Take your daily dose of prescribed antibiotic medicines.
• Have your follow-up visit on schedule.

In rare instances, you may show any one or more of the following side effects following surgical treatment of your abscess:

• Increase in body temperature (fever).
• Sudden or increasing pain.
• Swelling at the site.
• Redness at and around the site.

There are hardly any chances of unpleasant abscess side-effects when the surgery is performed by skilled and experienced doctors at Pristyn Care.

Skin abscesses, small in size and quite minor in nature, will usually go away on their own. Persistent abscesses merit a visit to your doctor. If left untreated, you run the risk of a burst abscess which is extremely painful and spreads your infection. The same happens if your abscess has not had proper draining of the pus in it.

Untreated abscesses in the mouth, teeth and gums and adjoining areas run the risk of getting spread into your body through the tissues surrounding them. This may lead to fatal complications like sepsis, the fast spreading necrotizing fasciitis etc. In effect, the prognosis for abscesses is entirely location and treatment dependent.