Skin Abscess

A skin abscess is a collection of pus and infected material in or on the skin. A boil generally starts as a reddened, tender area. This collection of white cells is known as pus. They are caused when a localized infection causes pus and infected material to collect in the skin or subcutaneous tissue. Eventually, the center of the abscess softens and becomes filled with infection-fighting white blood cells that the body sends from the blood stream to eradicate the infection. They can develop after a minor wound, injury, or as a complication of folliculitis or boils (furuncles, carbuncles). Skin abscesses may occur anywhere on the body. Pus also contains many germs and the dead body cells that they have killed. It usually contains white blood cells, dead tissue and bacteria. Abscesses inside the body usually occur in the spaces between the internal organs. White blood cells, migrate through the walls of the blood vessels into the area of the infection and collect within the damaged tissue.Abscesses in the skin are readily visible and are red, raised, and painful. Abscesses in other areas of the body may not be obvious, but if they involve vital organs they may cause significant damage. A skin abscess is better known as a common boil. A peritonsillar abscess is a persistent collection of pus behind the tonsils and a perianal abscess is a pool of pus that forms next to the anus.

Abscess is a localized collection of pus under the skin. Over time, the area becomes firm and hard. They affect people of all ages. Pus is mainly a collection of millions of dead cells from your immune system that have tried to deal with an infection. The organisms or foreign materials that gain access to a part of tissue kill the local cells, release toxins and trigger an inflammatory response by drawing huge amounts of white blood cells to the area and increasing the regional blood flow. The cardinal symptoms and signs of any kind of inflammatory process are redness, heat, swelling and pain. Abscesses may occur in any kind of solid tissue but most frequently on skin surface (where they may be superficial pustules or deep skin abscesses), in the lungs, brain, kidneys and tonsils. The treatment of first choice is the surgical drainage of the abscess. It is important to note that antibiotic therapy alone without surgical drainage of the abscess is seldom effective. The drainage of the lung abscess may be performed by giving the patient a certain position that enables the contents to be discharged via the respiratory tract. Perianal abscesses are seen in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn's disease, or diabetes. This wound typically becomes infected as a result of the normal presence of feces in the rectal area, and then develops into an abscess.

Causes of Skin Abscess

The common Causes of Skin Abscess :

The diabetic patients are more prone to get affected by skin abscess.
Some boils can be caused by an ingrown hair.
The injury to the skin, may also cause abscess .
The recent surgery may be a cause of infection to the skin.
Folliculitis is an infection of a hair follicle, which causes the skin abscess.

Symptoms of Skin Abscess

Some Symptoms of Skin Abscess :

Skin lesion.
Fatigue.
Loss of appetite.
Affected area may be warm to touch .
Fever or chills.
Localized swelling, induration (hardening of tissue).
The infected part may swell due to the bacterial growth.

Treatment of Skin Abscess

Antibiotics such as dicloxacillin are given to control the infection. The goal of treatment is to cure the infection.The doctor may cut and drain the abscess to clean the area and control the infection.
To heal an abscess, it is recommended to have plenty of bed rest , drink plenty of fluids , and either apply ice packs or take hot baths to alleviate the pain.
Keep a daily record of your weight .
Surgical incision and drainage of the abscess, with or without packing for 24 to 48 hours, cleans the area and allows infection to be controlled.
Heat may speed healing, reduce inflammation and make the area feel better.

Nails Care

Anychia
Clawing of the Nails
Clubbing
Discoloration of the Nail Plate
Ingrowing Toe Nail
Koilonychia
Longitudinal Striations
Loss of Nail Plate
Onycholysis
Paronychia
Pitting of Nail Plates
Pterygium
Thickening of Nail Plate
Transverse Ridges

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