It may drain naturally, but you shouldn't attempt to drain or burst an abscess at home. If you try to squeeze the pus out of an abscess yourself, it can easily spread the bacteria to other areas of your skin. Your healthcare provider may prescribe an antibiotic.
Abscesses get better after they open and the pus drains out. Applying a warm compress can help that happen. To make a compress, wet a washcloth with warm (not hot) water and place it over the abscess for several minutes.
However, antibiotics alone may not be enough to clear a skin abscess, and the pus may need to be drained to clear the infection. If a skin abscess is not drained, it may continue to grow and fill with pus until it bursts, which can be painful and can cause the infection to spread or come back.
If pus builds up close to the surface of the skin, such as in pimples, medical intervention is not required. The pus may be drained at home. Soaking a towel in warm water and holding it against the infected pus for 5 minutes will reduce the swelling and open up the pimple or skin abscess for a faster healing process.
If you don't get a skin abscess drained, it can continue to grow and fill with pus until it bursts. A burst abscess can be very painful and cause the infection to spread. Treatment for tooth and other mouth abscesses is especially important. Untreated tooth abscesses can kill you.
If left untreated, abscesses can spark an infection that spreads throughout your body, and can be life-threatening. Call your doctor if your skin abscess does not go away on its own, or with home treatment.
Do not squeeze the pus out of the abscess yourself, because this can easily spread the bacteria to other areas of your skin. If you use tissues to wipe any pus away from your abscess, dispose of them straight away to avoid germs spreading. Wash your hands after you've disposed of the tissues.
It may have a foul odor but that is not always the case. It may have no scent at all. But pus is a natural part of the healing process for wounds. Pus is a sign that a wound is infected but it is also a sign that your body is trying to fight the infection and heal the injury.
This drainage of pus often decreases the pain right away because it relieves the pressure caused by the fluid.
It's tempting, but popping or squeezing a pimple won't necessarily get rid of the problem. Squeezing can push bacteria and pus deeper into the skin, which might cause more swelling and redness. Squeezing also can lead to scabs and might leave you with permanent pits or scars.
The American Academy of Dermatology suggests soaking a washcloth in warm water and applying it to the area for 10 to 15 minutes, three or four times a day. This will help break down the pus from within.
Usually, an abscess is only surgically drained when more conservative methods, such as applying hot compresses or taking antibiotics, have not worked. If an abscess enlarges or becomes increasingly painful, it must be drained promptly to avoid the danger of systemic infection (sepsis), which is life-threatening.
Many people think that the common cause of abscesses is poor hygiene. However, while poor hygiene can certainly contribute to the development of an abscess, it is not the only factor. In fact, the primary cause of abscesses is Staphylococcus (staph) bacteria.
Apply warm compresses to the area for 20 minutes. You can do this four times a day to prepare it for drainage. Once you can see pus at the surface of the abscess, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water. You can then apply gentle, manual pressure to drain the pus.
Treatment generally entails keeping the area clean, and applying warm compresses to encourage pus to drain from the core. A person should never try to squeeze or burst a boil, as this can cause the infection to spread to other areas of the body.
With pustules, your body may be able to slowly absorb and break down the pus without treatment. The pustule may also drain naturally, eventually shrinking and drying up. Smaller abscesses near the surface of the skin may also do the same, but larger ones or those inside the body most often needed to be drained.
Over time, pus forms inside the boil, making it bigger and more painful. Most boils eventually burst. The pus then drains away without leaving a scar. This can take from two days to three weeks to happen.
After the initial discharge of a bit of pus and blood, your wound should be clear. If the discharge continues through the wound healing process and begins to smell bad or have discoloration, it's probably a sign of infection.
The wound may become swollen and tender and secrete fluid. This is your body's method of cleaning the area by flushing out impurities. The liquid may be pinkish or reddish, which is an indication that blood, nutrients and oxygen are getting to the wound. This stage usually lasts about 2-5 days or so.
Place warm compresses on the pimple: Gently place a clean, warm, wet washcloth on the area for about 10 minutes, several times a day. But make sure the washcloth isn't too hot. The warm washcloth helps pus dissolve or rise to the surface. Use topical treatments: Benzoyl peroxide products kill bacteria.
Epsom salt may be used to soak the boil or can be used to make a warm compress. The salt can help to reduce inflammation and dry out the pus, helping to resolve the boil. Dissolve Epsom salt in warm water. Depending on where the boil is, soak the affected area directly in the water or soak a compress in it.
Although pus is normally of a whitish-yellow hue, changes in the color can be observed under certain circumstances. Pus is sometimes green because of the presence of myeloperoxidase, an intensely green antibacterial protein produced by some types of white blood cells.
If you have purulent discharge or other symptoms of infection, you will need treatment so that it doesn't get worse. Your doctor may need to clean the wound and apply new dressings. They can rinse the site with an antibiotic solution if the infection is small.