Treatment
An abscess often contains large numbers of
live germs. However, antibiotics are
useless in the treatment of a well-established
abscess because they can’t reach the contents.
Antibiotics
reach their target by way of the blood,
but a walled-off abscess has no blood supply.
Antibiotics can certainly help in the very
early stages before the abscess wall is
fully formed; but once the wall is there,
antibiotics will do nothing to help.
The treatment
of an established abscess is to open it
surgically and let the pus out. It may be
necessary to keep the opening from healing
over. This is done by leaving in a tube
or a strip of rubber called a drain.
Once an abscess
is effectively drained, it will usually
heal. It may, however, be necessary to remove
the abscess wall.
Sometimes
an abscess forms its own drainage track
to the surface. Called a sinus, this tends
to be permanent unless both the abscess
and the track are removed surgically.
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Abscess
