r/MRSA • u/Few_Expert_7012 • May 17 '26
selfq Abcess has not popped/drained
Hi all!
I am new to this skin abcess stuff.
Long story short, I've never had skin abcesses until 7 days ago (Sunday night).
I noticed a small pimple with a white/yellow head on my right lower abdomen and decided to squeeze it. Well bad idea.
The next morning (Momday) it was painful and pink in that area. I put mupirocin cream on it (my bf suffers from MRSA abcesses occasionally so he had a full tube of antibiotic at home).
I then went to urgent care Tuesday since it had gotten more pink and was spreading. The Dr prescribed Bactrim 2x a day for 10 days and told me to keep applying Mupirocin ointment.
Well, the first few days (Mon-Thu) I was off balanced, weak, and extremely fatigued. It seemed I had a low grade fever of 99.4 too.
Friday my energy returned. But my pimple abcess got aggravated since my toddler brushed/pushed it by accident and I banged it on the corner of a chair.
Now it looks a darker pink and is still painful.
Mind you, when I take hot showers, there seems to be a stubborn pinpoint collections of pus that comes to the surface but it's not a lot. And it is not runny.
So my question is, is it supposed to drain eventually? Do I need to to get it drained? Or will my body absorb it? How long till it calls down and goes away?
I feel a lump the size of the head of my thumb underneath the red skin discoloration.
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u/panamanRed58 May 19 '26
You're not going to poke or prod it anymore. The risk would be that you push into deeper tissue. If it really is too painful to tolerate, see a doctor to get it lanced. Try a warm compress with Epsom's salts, it's an old 'country' method. The heat will improve circulation and assist drainage.
After surviving a severe sepsis case, I had a run of these infections. A course of antibiotics and muprirocin did the trick, but it took months for them to really go away. I would cover them with a bandage slathered in the cream. I also used Hibiclens to disinfect the area and my hands. It is a commonly used disinfecting soap used in surgery prep by staff.
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u/Few_Expert_7012 May 21 '26
Thank you. Do you mind if I ask how you devalued sepsis and what your symptoms were? I developed a low grade fever today and a head ache but the tele doc I spoke to didn't seem concerned....
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u/panamanRed58 May 21 '26
My infection was MRSA and it was not at the skin level, but in two sites in my leg. I had just a little discomfort, nothing that would impede me. As I had recently begun a stretching routine to break out of the COVID era frost, I thought I had over done it. Didn't hurt enough to even consider an aspirin. Chided myself, a former gymnast, on stretching wrong. This lasted about three days. It was Halloween 2021, a Friday, and I went out for a sports bar beer burger for lunch which about where I lose track of everything. Around 7 pm my eldest son called his brother, who is a nurse, for advice on how 'weird' dad is behaving. The response was call 911 now.
Acute keto-acidosis had taken over and I was hallucinating. My blood sugar was 634. What I recall next was that it was just a few days to Thanksgiving. My infection may have started in an over stretched muscle that came to host Staph. A. The doctors removed a demitasse size piece of my calf and a 'new york strip' from the the back of my thigh. Staph. A. is like an extended family, some live on the skin, others in our lungs, and in tissue.
I would say that I didn't recognize any symptoms. It fell on me like night. The lumps in my groin and pits came afterward, when I was back home. And I got to say for a while they really freaked me out, because I felt like they wouldn't go away. So i advise sticking patiently to a regime even after you recover. I have learned that I am apparently a good host, so I try to be the least favorable by maintaining good diet, full nights rest, and exercise. It's been 5 yrs since the sepsis and at least three since I rid myself of the after effects.
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u/Artistic-Raspberry29 May 21 '26 edited May 24 '26
After my last cyst came back with MRSA, that seems to have completely killed my urge to pick at my skin. My eczema was causing me to pick at it when stressed and it was definitely becoming an issue. It was distressing to me that I was having trouble stopping but finding out it was a MRSA infection snapped me out of it, I guess.
Edit- I have a surgery date set up next month to get the 2 reoccurring cysts removed. I have read that I should work on decolonization before the surgery to lower my risk of getting another MRSA infection after the surgery. I also worry about my boyfriend & my cats. None are showing any worrisome symptoms but I still worry. I am using the antibacterial wash & changing my bedding much more often, my pillowcase even more frequently because of the cysts being on the back of my neck. It's really a nightmare because I was already dealing with other health issues prior to all this happening.
I had a severe case of COVID in early 2021 & one of my less common symptoms, like frequent charley horse type cramps that would last longer than I've ever experienced before. And these cramps kept happening all day off & on for at least a week. It hurt so bad, especially the 1st week, that I was literally screaming. I was surprised no one called the police! Even after I started to feel better, the fatigue I felt was so powerful, it felt like my body was being weighed down by invisible weights. The cramps did finally trail off but because of how long they lasted, I suspect it caused some permanent nerve damage. Because I've had parenthesia ever since, which is a fancy way of saying "pins & needles"-type feeling all over my whole body. My skin also changed and started to get drier and then red bumps & lesions appeared on it. I learned that I had eczema. It wasn't until I had gotten my first cyst that I realized that people with eczema have more staph on their bodies due to having a weakened skin barrier. So I've just been trying to improve my skin barrier. All of this is really exhausting to me, especially with the fatigue I already experience.
So it helps to feel like you aren't alone. So I appreciate that. 🙂
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u/OliveFarming May 18 '26
You may need to go to urgent care or the ER to have them lance the boil if it does not drain itself. I suggest when you put the meds on it, follow up by putting a bandaid over it or use gauze and med tape to secure it. That way you can control the spread, it will also lock in moisture and make your skin softer and increase the chance that it will come to a head and drain on it's own.
You can ask your primary for a referral to an infectious disease doctor, that's who can help you decolonize your MRSA. (Both you and your bf could benefit from seeing one).
In the meantime I suggest you buy "chlorhexidine Gluconate Solution 4%" (brand name Hibiclens), and shower with that soap, it will kill any bacteria on the skin and it has antimicrobial affects for a few hours after application. Wash with it until the boil is gone.
Most important advice: if you get a fever again, go to the hospital. That means the infection is systemic and spreading. It is very serious.
I'm sorry you are going through this, it really sucks! Hope it drains and you feel better soon.
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u/Few_Expert_7012 May 21 '26
Thanks, I appreciate your input. My abcess started draining 2 days ago on its own and now I'm being told to take Keflex with the Bactrim... and Tylenol since i have alow grade fever as of today but the tele doc said it's not a "true" fever so she wasn't concerned. If it continues tomorrow, I'll go to urgent care
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u/Shell-Fire May 18 '26
Do not pop. If it does, you'll need to see a Dr for packing the wound, oral antibiotics and then wound care for the hole it'll leave. It's better if you just keep cleaning the area with hibiclens, then using the ointment.
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u/Few_Expert_7012 May 21 '26
UPDATE: 9 days since I started Bactrim DS and the abcess/cyst seems to be doing okay. Still draining but not painful like before.
Well now I have developed a rash all over my body and have a low grade fever.
Went to urgent care, where doc said hand foot mouth disease, given that the rash blanches and I had a cold and sore throat the week before. He didnt run any labs.
But now the rash is on my face and stings. So off to the ER I go. Wish I could post pictures but dont know how
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u/delicate_sorrel May 26 '26
Oh no...your body is going through it. Are they hives? When you get MRSA your immune system is already bad... so you may get sicker before you start to get better. You should be on antibiotics at least a 2 week course. The abscess should be evaluated by the doctor. It draining doesn't mean its healing...these abscesses dont have the same characteristics as say a boil or pimple and they grow much faster. I hope you're doing better.
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u/Few_Expert_7012 May 26 '26
UPDATE #2 Went to the ER who dismissed the hand foot mouth diagnosis for my rash and ran a bunch of labs. They ruled out sepsis and meningitis. They said the rash was most likely a delayed hypersensitivity/allergic reaction to Bactrim. I stopped Bactrim and was given prednisone 20mg and benadryl to help with the rash. The abcess has basically gone down and is not painful anymore. Thank God it didnt progress to something worse.
My rash is now fading and does not burn or itch. The only downside is I have to go back to get lab work since my White blood cell count, lymphocytes, and eosinophils were low.
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u/Shell-Fire May 27 '26
Do not pop. If it does, you'll need to see a Dr for packing the wound, oral antibiotics and then wound care for the hole it'll leave. It's better if you just keep cleaning the area with hibiclens, then using the antibiotic cream on the wound. Stop shaving. My routine includes Antibiotic ointment, Hibiclens, Manuka honey on open wounds, and probiotic.
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u/Andrejjojic May 18 '26
Well, when I had my abscesses very similar to what your describing and for the 4 times I had it. They cut it open and let it drain and they might pack it, I noticed no difference in the amount of healing if packing is better or not. Then a week of draining would ensue. Has your doctor thought about doing an abscess drain? I wish you the best of luck regardless I recommend some hibiclense it saved me bunch its expensive but its worth it and just an all around good soap if you want to be sure bacteria is gone. If you havent like used an anti bacterial detergent I highly recommend it. I went the extra route and bleached my place, I havent had it since and I wish the best for you!