Abscess

What is an abscess?

An abscess is a small collection of pus, an accumulation of bacteria, white blood cells, plasma and cellular debris in a closed cavity originating from inflammation and lysis of the tissues. Sometimes, the local inflammatory process, with the accumulation of immune cells, can be also resulting from parasitic infestations or the penetration of splinters or foreign bodies.

How is it recognized? Symptoms

On palpation of an abscess, when possible, it seems that something soft moves slightly inside it, as if coming out of its red-purple edges, and in addition to the pain, a sense of local warmth can be felt to the touch. In fact, the traditional classification of abscesses divides them into hot - the most common, a sign of an acute inflammatory process - and cold or chronic, typical of tuberculosis.

Small abscesses are, for example, those "hateful" yellow-tipped pimples, indicating a local accumulation of purulent material, with lesions and inflammation of the surrounding tissues. It is no coincidence that it is known that the boil is caused by the proliferation of skin bacteria inside the hair follicles and sebaceous glands, whose oily secretions they feed on, producing inflammatory metabolites.

Examples of Abscesses

Not all abscesses, however, are so harmless and transient; the best known example in this regard is the dental abscess: there are three types, in increasing order of severity, gingival, periodontal and periapical. With regard to both skin abscesses and dental abscesses, "adequate and regular hygiene acts as an adequate preventive tool."

Other rather common abscesses develop around the anus and vagina (the so-called abscesses of the Bartholin's glands), a little "higher and back" in the sacro-coccygeal area (pilonidal abscesses) or a little "forward in the" inguinal.

Risk factors

Aggravating factors, in addition to poor hygiene for the examples already illustrated, are represented by all conditions that weaken the immune defenses, such as chronic therapy with cortisone, diabetes, AIDS, chemotherapy, leukemia, severe trauma, extensive burns and so on.

Complications of abscesses are represented by the spread of the infectious process in depth; for example, gingival access develops following a superficial infection of the gums, typically following a small wound from a thorn or toothpick.

In the periodontal abscess, on the other hand, a predisposing factor is given by the accumulation of tartar in the gum pockets, which extends the inflammatory and infectious process in depth, until it opens its way into the pulp with involvement of the nerve endings (periapical abscess).

The more the infection spreads in depth and the more the symptoms of the abscess worsen, regardless of its location, with severe sense of malaise and fever. When these symptoms appear, or when the abscess becomes particularly conspicuous, especially in the presence of the aforementioned aggravating factors, it is very important to request immediate medical intervention.

Care and Treatment

See also: Medicines for the treatment of abscesses

Treatment of abscesses depends on the causes and the areas in which they have developed; often, in addition to the use of antibiotics to eradicate the infection, it is necessary to incise the abscess and drain its contents; all, of course, with the help of sterile instruments, often under local anesthesia and with all the medications required by the case. This operation should never be performed by the patient (do not squeeze pimples, we all know ...), for the risk of spreading the infection to deeper tissues; rather, when the abscess is small (less than one centimeter), applying warm compresses for about thirty minutes four times a day may help.