Abscess has broken through

I had told my GI that I thought I had an abscess outside of my anus. He felt it and agreed. Put me on Cipro and Flagyl. Had to stop the Cipro immediately due to severe reaction, but finished the Flagyl (except for the last two days because it was giving me server nausea.) I went in for a flex sigmoidoscopy about a month ago. Showed some inflammation and a couple fissures, but nothing else thankfully. I told him I though I still had the abscess, but he said he didn't think so and didn't see any evidence of one. Suggested I go on Remicade yet again.

So the lump was still there, and I could almost see it wanted to break through the surface of the skin. Well, it finally has. There is a hole outside of my anus.
Can these heal on their own? Do I want it to close, or continue to drain? My mom also has Crohn's and she said she's had these and they have healed on their own for her. What have peoples' experiences been?

Hello,

I've had several peri-rectal abscesses. From what my Docs have told me, they do not heal without being opened up, drained and cleaned out. They are a pocket of infection that they body seals off. Antibiotics will help the surrounding tissue with infection but they can't get into the abscess. If your colo-rectal surgeon is not really experienced with CD, I suggest you go see one that is ASAP! The fact that your Doc didn't jump on it when he saw it the first time makes me suspect he isn't experienced in treating abscesses in CD people.

Once opened and scrapped out, you just need to keep it washed out. I go into the shower after every toilet use and spray it out with a hand-held shower hose. Then I apply guaze. I had a large, deep one that took 3 months to close. CD people heal more slowly. Patience and take it easy!!!

Hang in there!!

i get those once in a while since i have some mild active disease in the rectum/anus area. i notice that hot, humid weather exacerbates it and bring it out causing pain. once i notice the beginnings of swamp ass, i know i'm in trouble. once i get the sting ray then i'm hosed for a few days or so. totally sucks. but once they burst open - yahoo! sure the bleeding sucks, but the pain is relieved. i've had to go to my colorectal surgeon a couple times to get it lanced as it was taking way too long to burst on its own. i've been put on antibiotics for them before, but i never thought they did anything.

Thanks gang. I'm hoping this heals on its own. My GI and the surgeon I saw, well, I just plain don't trust them at all.

When I was first told I had Crohn's, it was after the surgeon said I had hemorrhoids and that I needed surgery to get rid of them. He told me how badly the surgery was going to hurt, and to expect to be in a lot of pain upon waking up from the surgery. The put me under and wheeled me into surgery. I woke up, and I wasn't in pain. I was totally confused. Supposedly, the surgeon told me I had Crohn's in the recovery room, but I don't remember any such conversation. I was never billed for anything, so suffice to say, they screwed up big time. I'm pretty leery of doctors right now and hope to not have to go again any time soon.

CrazyHarry,
I too have noticed that summer seems to be when I get these nasty buggers too. I think I had one last summer too, but it was internal. The hot weather seems to play some weird role in this for me too. "Swamp Ass?" Is that drainage? The "Stingray." I like the descriptions, -perfect! LOL!

I have two fissures internally, and I almost wonder if they aren't former sites of these abscesses? When I got my recent flex/sig, they were located right where I was having pain last summer. Hmmm...

Jen77 said...
I had one that opened up, drained on it's own. From there I was just left with a hole though, which was of course a fistula. I had it fixed surgically. Because at the time I didn't even know I had Crohn's. It took a whole year to heal up after the surgery. They are just the worse. I remember it taking a week for the abcsess to open, and I spent most of the time soaking in the tub!

Jen77,

Do you mean that the abscess turned into a fistula?

to clarify:

swamp ass - this is basically arse sweat. i have found, for me, it precludes a lot of problems for my anus and rectum (rectum, i hardly knew 'em).

sting ray - the miserable effect if you dont take heed of the onset of swamp ass. this is when your bum burns and stings. cant walk, cant drop the kids off at the pool, cant sit properly. stuff like that.

take that wikipedia!