Long term abscess

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Sylkwood

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Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
It is common knowledge that we diabetics are prone to an abscess. I have had one on my face for at least 15 years if not 20years and in the last few weeks it just burst and this horrible puss came out for days. My GP gave me antibiotics to help clear any further infection, but my question is this, Could this have been infecting me all of the time or does it only become a problem when it bursts ?

Any help would be greatly appreciated..

Carl
 
Was it an abscess or was it a cyst @Sylkwood ? Cysts can sit there for years and then suddenly become infected. Abscess are more acute.
 
Inka said:
Was it an abscess or was it a cyst @Sylkwood ? Cysts can sit there for years and then suddenly become infected. Abscess are more acute.
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GP called it an abscess but maybe it was a cyst as I had for getting for 20 years on my face. I know what came out of it stunk to high heaven.
 
Sylkwood said:
GP called it an abscess but maybe it was a cyst as I had for getting for 20 years on my face. I know what came out of it stunk to high heaven.
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It seems that when a cyst becomes infected it becomes an abscess and would then need urgent treatment.
I hope that the antibiotics will do the trick.
 
Sylkwood said:
GP called it an abscess but maybe it was a cyst as I had for getting for 20 years on my face. I know what came out of it stunk to high heaven.
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That fits with it being a cyst that became infected and so much so it formed an abscess. Yes, they can smell a lot! I’ve got HCPs in my family and have heard rather gruesome stories!

Now it’s burst and you have antibiotics, you should be fine. To answer your question, it’s infected once it becomes infected, if you get what I mean. It wouldn’t have sat there full of pus for 20 years. Something or some bacteria started the infection. Sometimes it’s a knock or a scratch, but either way the harmless ‘filling’ is replaced with infected pus.

I hope you feel better soon and it goes away and stays away.
 
Inka said:
Yes, they can smell a lot! I’ve got HCPs in my family and have heard rather gruesome stories!
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Oh yuk @Inka !!

Best wishes for a speedy recovery @Sylkwood ! Hope the ABs do the trick. 🙂
 
Thanks to all of you for your kind and helpful posts. 3 days after the antibiotics and it is filling up again and starting to hurt a bit. Not sure what to do now.
 
Sylkwood said:
Thanks to all of you for your kind and helpful posts. 3 days after the antibiotics and it is filling up again and starting to hurt a bit. Not sure what to do now.
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Are you due a follow-up appointment with your GP to check how things are going @Sylkwood ?
 
Get back in touch with GP if it isn't resolving.

You could try warm antiseptic compresses to try to draw it in the meantime if you feel it is continuing to fill up. It will likely continue to fester if you don't get all the puss out. Something like Betadine diluted in water as hot as is comfortable obviously without scalding yourself on some thick cotton wool pads might help.
If it was me, I would probably use some of the poultice material (AnimalLintex) I use on the horses to draw abscesses. My parents used to talk about using hot bread poultices to draw abscesses when I was young, but I have not had an abscess myself so far to try that. There are probably suggestions on You Tube for how to draw an abscess.
 
Sylkwood said:
Thanks to all of you for your kind and helpful posts. 3 days after the antibiotics and it is filling up again and starting to hurt a bit. Not sure what to do now.
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Maybe phone the surgery tomorrow for advice.
A warm cloth might help if you are in pain tonight. Make sure the cloth is clean, dip it in boiling water if you need to be sure, then rinse it in warm water, make it into a pad and put it onto the painful area. Don't press or poke, just some gentle warmth which will, hopefully be soothing.
Cut up a tee shirt or old towel for the cloth if you don't have anything new to use - it needs to be very clean.
 
Sylkwood said:
Thanks to all of you for your kind and helpful posts. 3 days after the antibiotics and it is filling up again and starting to hurt a bit. Not sure what to do now.
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Give your GP surgery a call. It might be it needs draining or it might be the antibiotics you’re taking aren’t strong enough or the right ones - or both. Don’t let the surgery give you an appointment days away. Explain the problem and ask to be seen quickly and/or get further advice.
 
Thanks very much for all your advice. I have seen a GP again today and I am now on a different course of antibiotics which are supposed to be stronger and on them for the next 10 days instead of 7.
Hope they do the trick.
 
Sylkwood said:
Thanks very much for all your advice. I have seen a GP again today and I am now on a different course of antibiotics which are supposed to be stronger and on them for the next 10 days instead of 7.
Hope they do the trick.
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Did your GP take a swab of your abscess? That can be very helpful in ensuring an effective antibiotic is prescribed.
 
After 3 days on the new antibiotics things were geting worse, so GP sent me to our local hospital (Macclesfield), but they do not do face treatments here and I had to travel to Wythenshawe. They told me that the antibiotics GP had put me on were wrong for this abscess and have put me back on flucloxacillin but doubled the dosage and increased the rime on them. So 4 grams (8 Tablets) per day for 10 days. Then got to travel back for assesment and then go again for surgery, All this four weeks after they found I had gall stones and need my gall bladder removed. I must have been a bad person recently for all for this to land at my door. (Sorry for moaning).
 
Sylkwood said:
After 3 days on the new antibiotics things were geting worse, so GP sent me to our local hospital (Macclesfield), but they do not do face treatments here and I had to travel to Wythenshawe. They told me that the antibiotics GP had put me on were wrong for this abscess and have put me back on flucloxacillin but doubled the dosage and increased the rime on them. So 4 grams (8 Tablets) per day for 10 days. Then got to travel back for assesment and then go again for surgery, All this four weeks after they found I had gall stones and need my gall bladder removed. I must have been a bad person recently for all for this to land at my door. (Sorry for moaning).
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And they wonder why antibiotic resistance is increasing!
Pleased you now have targeted treatment and a follow up appointment to deal with the cyst. Hope it clears up promptly now.
 
Sylkwood said:
After 3 days on the new antibiotics things were geting worse, so GP sent me to our local hospital (Macclesfield), but they do not do face treatments here and I had to travel to Wythenshawe. They told me that the antibiotics GP had put me on were wrong for this abscess and have put me back on flucloxacillin but doubled the dosage and increased the rime on them. So 4 grams (8 Tablets) per day for 10 days. Then got to travel back for assesment and then go again for surgery, All this four weeks after they found I had gall stones and need my gall bladder removed. I must have been a bad person recently for all for this to land at my door. (Sorry for moaning).
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I hope the new antibiotics work well, it is important with any infection to get the correct one as not all infections respond, UTIs are particularly tricky.
The gall bladder surgery is usually very straightforward and recovery pretty quick. My daughter had hers removed a few months ago, done laparoscopically as day surgery, she recovered really well, even did a 60 mile charity cycle ride 3 weeks later.
 
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