At the end of June Lance had an abscess "lanced and drained" it closed up the next day. I thought of taking him back in to keep it open, but I figured since we have the antibiotics it would get rid of it and no big deal. Well, it's back again and the same size. So my questions are: I thought abscess' meant it was an infection that had no place to go...so wouldn't that also mean it can't come back as easily? Why didn't the antibiotic work? Will he need a stronger one? Is the doctor going to have to cut it open, drain it all out, then because the cut is so big he'll need stitches? Could it be a sign of some other illness or something? And I guess mostly, just why? Why is it back? Anybody know? TIA!!!
http://www.medicinenet.com/boils/article.htm Here is a link that I found about them. I don't really know anything, hope this helps or someone else may know.
If its what I got a while a go ----- a big ol swolen lump on my gums...... I popped it myself, and just kept pushing on it. Gargle with listerine (its an anticeptic) I had lancetts from my glucometer
If its in his mouth, the dentist has a special mouth wash that kills the bacteria. I had to use it myself for a while. It tastes AWFUL but it works. If your talking about a skin boil then I would worry about it being a MRSA infection. That is going around big time around here. Most antibiotics wont touch them, you have to take other antibiotics because its resistant to them. I know this because I had one a couple years ago. The doctor did a smear and tested it for MRSA and then I had to go in again to get different antibiotics. I dont know if you can get an MRSA in the mouth or not but I would ask your dentist. It would worry me that it did not go away.
It's actually behind his ear, the part that indents into your head and is sort of covered by the soft fleshy part of the ear. Since it was there I didn't see it for who knows how long. What is MRSA? Nevermind I googled it. He wears glasses, I wonder if that could have anything to do with it. The ear pieces sit almost right at the spot of where it is. I'm thinking I will call the doctor this week to get him in, instead of waiting another almost two weeks. That way he won't be completely traumatized for regular yearly check ups.
Where is it located? Oral antibiotics have a hard time pentrating into an abscess. It has to do where it is located between the skin layers. The primary reason for the antibiotic is not to get rid of the infection, but to prevent the infection from spreading into the body. It only takes ONE bacteria that didn't die to recreate a massive infection. You can try heat compresses to get it to burst on it own or at least bring it to a head where you can put a sterile needle into it. And empty the abscess yourself. This is NOT good medical advice btw. Squeezing an abscess can push infection into the blood stream, so the opening and removal of infected areas really should be done by a doctor. (small disclaimer) Reoccuring abscess can be a sign of a weakened immune system. However, usually the person is hosting the virulant staph in their nose
MY 4 1/2 yo DD gets boils BAD! She carries the MRSA bacteria in her system (not the deadly one though). Some of the best ways I have found to get her through are; use a drawing salve - this will coax the infection out - this is funky, stinky, tar-like salve. But it works like a charm - Ichthammol BLACK Draw Out Salve or BoilEase - boilease has some numbing agent in it but is harder to find than the Ichthammol. You have to ask at the pharmacy counter for it. the drawing salve will help with not having to have them lanced - the lancing is the worst part for the kiddos hot compress - as hot as they can stand without burning the skin epson salt soaks - but that may be hard behind the ear wash with an antibacterial soap while the boil is active - we do not use AB soap except for hands after the toilet otherwise. We wash her with regular soap when she does not have any boils.
Does that help even when there is no head on it? I can't even see a tiny pin prick or some sort of an exit hole.
Usually it will take a few days to bring the head out. When you saw the doc, did they give you a topical antibiotic or oral? The one time she had a super bad one and we had to apply Bactrim to the sore as well as to the anus and nasal cavities of ALL family members.
Emma continued to get an abscess and after many rounds of antibiotics, the dentist pulled the tooth. He said the adult tooth was trying to come in and the baby tooth wasn't ready to come out so it was compressing the gum. Sure enough. Once the tooth came out, the abscess was gone in a couple of hours and never came back again. When he pulled the tooth, I could see the other tooth trying to come out. It was pushing up against the side of the gum.
