Abscess Treatment
Abscess Drainage
An abscess can be treated in different ways, depending its size and the type of abscess you have.
The most common treatment options are antibiotics, a drainage procedure or surgeryto remove it.
Abscess treatments at the IPSA clinic are undertaken by an experienced doctor with a background in A&E.
You will be seen and examined immediately in a clean quiet environment, and we will carry out a full examination of your abscess.
If you need antibiotics or analgesia we will provide you with this immediately. Depending on the size and severity of the abscess you will be advised on the treatment options available to you.
During your consultation at IPSA, you can have the abscess drained under local anaesthetic and then cleaned and dressed.
We will provide the best range of dressings suited to your wound to speed up recovery of the tissue. We will also provide you with thorough aftercare advice and review your abscess until it is fully healed.
Contact IPSA for medical help with abscess drainage and care.
Abscess Treatment Options
- Antibiotics: Antibiotics are usually prescribed for large abscesses that are persistent. The antibiotics work by clearing the infection and stopping it from spreading to other areas.
- Drainage: Antibiotics by themselves may not clear your skin abscess completely. Often a doctor will need to drain pus from the abscess too to ensure that all the infection is gone. If we do not drain the abscess, it can continue to grow and could eventually burst – which is often very painful. If it is not treated by a medical professional and you allow the abscess to burst, the pus may not drain properly and the abscess could return or the infection may spread to other areas.
- Surgery: You may need a small operation to drain the abscess. Surgery is usually carried out under local anaesthetic, meaning that the area around the abscess is numbed so we can perform the procedure without causing you any discomfort. You may be offered another type of anaesthetic depending on the size and severity of the abscess.
Our doctor will cut the abscess, allowing the pus to drain out. They may also send the pus for testing to find out which bacteria caused the infection and ensure that no further treatment will be needed. When the pus has been drained, the wound is cleaned using a saline solution.
The doctor will leave the abscess open so that if any more pus is produced, it can drain away. If it is a deep abscess, an antiseptic dressing may be used to keep it open so that pus can continue to drain. This procedure may leave a small scar.
Contact IPSA to book a same-day appointment with an experienced doctor.
