Abscess - treatment at home?

[nattykins]

Could someone give me a step by step guide to treating a small abscess at home?

Remy has one - a small one by her groin - and I just want to make sure I treat it right!

I know that there's some directions in another topic here, but I'm just a little confused:
I think at this point (it has not popped) I should be washing it with warm water to quicken the popping, then flush it 2-3 times daily with a saline solution after it pops?

I guess if that's right, the only thing is the washing in warm water part - when I put her in, do I just wait for it to pop? Or did I get that all wrong? :doh:

Thanks

 

[lilspaz68]

I posted in this for anita1216 when she was trying to decide whether to try treating at home

viewtopic.php?f=20&t=7983

 

[nattykins]

Yea - that's the one I was reading at first...

How many times do you do the warm water bath (without saline) before it should burst, and for how long each bath?

Thanks again

 

[lilspaz68]

For the sitz baths I did it once for 5 mins a day...Twice would be better, and you can only do as much as your rat will allow, but the water and constant heat work better IMO than compresses do.

Each abscess will "come to a head" in its own time, depending on how deep inside it is. If its small and much more surface than a day or 2 probably. Another day or 2 of flushing and you should be fine

 

[nattykins]

Is it normal for more than one abscess to show up in the same area?

I've treated Remy's abscess and it burst...It's still not healed completely just yet. I just noticed today though, that she has another one growing right next to the first one...

Is this rather normal with abscesses, or should I be making a vet appointment? What causes them, anyways??

 

[lilspaz68]

Two bites one after the other could initiate 2 abscesses...one might have been deeper than the other and took longer to "surface"

 

[SQ]

You may want to put her on antibiotics as well.

 

[Jennicat]

Abscesses can also form "chambers". So you may be able to pop one part of an abscess, but there still be a lower chamber which hasn't popped. Oral antibiotics are a great help, as SQ mentioned, to help with healing and further infection.