Ok, so I lanced an abscess - what should I do for it next to make sure it does n!
Question: I had an abscess the size of a kiwi under my harm, below my arm pit - TMI SORRY - and I used ice to freeze the skin, then cut it open and drained it and it feels a lot better! I have been keeping it clean and been putting bactene on it, using antibacterial soap, and warm compresses with a tumeric salve to help it drain out more. Is there something else I could do (other than going to a dr... that's not a possibility unless I'm pretty much near death, lol) ?
Answers: I had an abscess the size of a kiwi under my harm, below my arm pit - TMI SORRY - and I used ice to freeze the skin, then cut it open and drained it and it feels a lot better! I have been keeping it clean and been putting bactene on it, using antibacterial soap, and warm compresses with a tumeric salve to help it drain out more. Is there something else I could do (other than going to a dr... that's not a possibility unless I'm pretty much near death, lol) ?
You will probably do just fine. Always wash your hands very well before working with it or anything you use for dressing material. Keep a dressing on it to collect drainage, do the warm moist compresses 4 times per day, use your antiseptic, and press on it a couple times per day to expell fluid. That will keep the wound open. It will start to fill itself in and will close in a week or so.
If you had this procedure done at a doctors office, you would probably get a prescription for an antibiotic. Generally, abcesses are a closed pocket and once you open them from the outside and drain them, you will heal nicely without having to worry about infection. That is assuming that you are in good general health. If you develop a fever of 101 or higher, see a doctor.
The warm, moist compresses are good to help draw out the infection. I would check in with the doctor. You may need oral antibiotics. Particularly watch for any red steaks that may appear around the wound which could be a sign of what we used to call "blood poisoning."
damn, self surgery? you are nuts my friend. I know you said you can't see a doctor, but you NEED to see a doctor.
How did you sterilize your knife/blade? You run a risk of infection if you didn't do it properly. If you notice, in an OR, the whole placed is sterilized. They do this for a reason.
You need a doctor, Never do something like that yourself. You run a high risk of infection and then you will be near death.
Pay the doctor it is well worth it as I have found out.
You should never ever play doctor & do what you did. Yikes!!! You could end up with a horrific infection. That abcess sounds like a "boil" & you don't mess with those. You should have been poring Hydrogen Peroxide on the area, not Bactine. You really "do need" to see your doctor at this point in time. He'll probably put you on an antibiotic. Follow his instructions to the "T."
listen to holly. :)
the last time i had an abcess, it was where i couldn't reach it, right in the middle of my back. i was forced to go to a doctor, who cut it in the wrong direction so it didn't drain properly and then i ended up going to a surgeon to correct his mistake. but i reacted badly to the general anesthesia. so i don't blame you at all for avoiding doctors!
by the way, all that business about hospitals being so sterile is nonsense. many decades ago, i was on the housekeeping staff of a 500-bed hospital - and the infections you can get from hospitals are so much more drug resistant than in real life. there just isn't enough cleaning in the world to get rid of every dust particle that might harbor a staph germ....
as for avoiding infection, i swear by my vitamin C....