I had a cyst/abscess in my right tonsil. I lanced it a few weeks ago, and normal white pus came out. Gross but it didn't alarm me too much. Earlier today, I noticed it was back (I couldn't see anything on my tonsil but could feel a hard lump inside), so I lanced it once more - this time, the pus was a kind of brown colour and tasted worse. What's going on here? Note: Both times I lanced it, it was done with a sterile syringe needle. Between the two events, I suffered from a mild ear infection and a cold.