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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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How Can An Abscess Be Treated?

Can an abscess go away on its own? How do you tell if it s popped yet? My daughters abscess is about half an inch and it used to be bright red now it s getting darker to like a purplish brown color. It also has a little hole on the tip of it that s dark brown. I was prescribed antibiotics for it but I ve read that it needs to be popped first.
Mon, 28 Aug 2017
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  User's Response
Hi there,

You're right in that an abscess usually needs to be drained, but it will usually burst open on its own if given enough time. I would not pop it yourself, usually the physician will either cut it open or use a syringe and needle to aspirate it. Something besides antibiotics that you can do is to use a warm compress, which will usually cause the abscess to express out the fluid or pus on it's own. I'd recommend a warm compress - as warm as possible for 15 minutes, off for 10 minutes, and keep repeating as much as you can.

I hope this answers your questions. Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.
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How Can An Abscess Be Treated?

Hi there, You re right in that an abscess usually needs to be drained, but it will usually burst open on its own if given enough time. I would not pop it yourself, usually the physician will either cut it open or use a syringe and needle to aspirate it. Something besides antibiotics that you can do is to use a warm compress, which will usually cause the abscess to express out the fluid or pus on it s own. I d recommend a warm compress - as warm as possible for 15 minutes, off for 10 minutes, and keep repeating as much as you can. I hope this answers your questions. Please feel free to contact me should you have any further questions.