Boils and Abscess

A small septic lesion close to the top of the skin is a pustule. The skin over it is thin so the pus in it can easily get out. Boils are deeper and usually start in the place where hair grows. A larger lesion full of pus is called an abscess.

Small boils in a well child need no treatment. Try covering a larger boil with a dry dressing for a few days to see if pus will come out. A hot compress sometimes helps pus to form more quickly. Soak some pieces of cloth in very hot water and put this on the boil. When they get cold, warm them again in the water. Do this several times but be careful not to bum the child.

Never squeeze (press) a boil because this may spread organisms through the tissues or into the blood.

Give a child a course of penicillin if cellulitis has devel­oped around a boil, or there is fever or several boils. Only use sulphadimidine for septic lesion if the boil is already open and pus is coming out.

Give the child's mother some permanganate crystals to wash the infected area with. This will help to stop bacteria from spreading on the skin and causing more boils. Instruct the mother to bathe the child and wash his or her clothes. Sometimes you have to open a boil or abscess. Wait until the lesion fills the fluid and its top is thin. This shows that pus has formed and the boil is ready to be opened.

Opening a Boil or Abscess

Tell the child what you are going to do. Say that it will be over quickly and that it will not hurt as much as cutting healthy skin. Ask a helper to hold the child for you. Take a sterile scalpel and quickly cut into the top of the abscess only. Then put a pair of forceps into the wound and open them. This will provide an exit for the pus without harm. Don't put the end of the scalpel into the wound or you may cut an artery or nerve.

Put a piece of wet gauze into the hole in the abscess. Take it out slowly and change it every few days until the absc