Info on Treating an Abscess?

[chicagojan]

After doing a search and reading information from various sources, it looks as though my "Flake" has an abscess on her side. It's a soft, squishy lump (big) that hadn't been there the day before. The lump has what looks to be a black scab in the middle of it. Based on what I've read, and pictures I've looked at, the black area is necrotic tissue. I found a great article on "Critter City" that starts to explains in detail how to treat an abscess, but the article cuts off before the end.

From reading through messages here, I understand how to "coax" the abscess to open and drain, and then how to flush the area, but I don't know how to do the packing.

1. Should I apply Neosporin and then put gauze over the abscess followed by wrapping it so the gauze stays in place?
2. How often should I change the packing each day?
3. How do I know when to stop flushing and packing the area and to let it stay open to finish healing?
4. At what point can I put her back in the "big cage" with her buddies? I know she misses them! :sad3:

If there's an article here (or elsewhere) that answers my questions above, please let me know where I can find it.

I'll let you all know how Flake is doing, and as I'm now registered here, I'll come back and post about how she came to live with me a couple of years ago. It's a nice story.

Thanks so much for any help!

 

[jorats]

A typical abscess should not be packed at all. Ointment should not be applied either. The abscess needs to heal from the inside out which is why we recommend peeling the scab away and flushing it several times a day with a saline/water mix.
Even when it starts to close off, it's best to try to open it again to keep on flushing. Neosporin will close the hole to fast trapping the infection inside which will cause for deeper abscess or cause it to travel and pop out somewhere else. I learned that the hard way...

1. Never apply neosporin on any open wound on a rat, unless otherwise instructed by a vet or dealing with a really stubborn wound.
2. Do not pack or bandage a rat. It will simply cause the rat to chew away at the packing or bandage which will stress him/her out.
3. You stop the flushing when it's healed, when there are no more hole or lump.
4. The rat should never be separated from buddies, this can cause more stress on him/her and can lead to a longer healing process.

 

[chicagojan]

Thank you very much for the information! I'm going to pick up my boyfriend so he can help me with the compresses and flushing, but first I'll put her back home in the big cage. I was worried that her buddies would just aggravate things for her, so I appreciate you letting me know otherwise.

I'll post an update this afternoon. Thanks again!

 

[jorats]

Good luck!

And welcome to the forum!!