Healing of a breast abscess | Breast abscess

Healing of a breast abscess

Usually a breast abscess has a very good prognosis. In most cases a complete healing of the breast abscess can be achieved by a timely and adequately initiated treatment. However, the affected patients must be aware of the fact that even under medical therapy it can take several weeks until the healing is completely finished.

In addition, some perseverance and discipline is required to promote the healing of the breast abscess. For the affected patients it is important to pay special attention to wound hygiene when treating the breast abscess. The breast abscess should never be touched with the fingers even when applying special ointments!

Ideally, protective gloves should always be worn when treating the wound during healing. After the treatment the hands must be washed and disinfected thoroughly. The time until the breast abscess is completely healed can also be shortened by avoiding excessive tension on the wound surface.

After surgical opening of a breast abscess and emptying of the abscess cavity, a sample is usually sent to a special laboratory. This sample can be examined for various germs in the pus. As soon as the causative bacterial pathogen is known, the targeted administration of an antibiotic can be ordered. In most cases, it is also possible in this way to shorten the time until complete healing. In patients suffering from a general immune deficiency or diabetes mellitus, the healing of a breast abscess can be disturbed and therefore a complex treatment may be necessary.

Male breast abscess

Also with men it can come to a breast abscess. However, this is much less common than in women. In most cases, it assumes an inflammation of the nipple (mastitis).

In contrast to the woman, where it mainly occurs after birth, there are other causes for the development of a breast abscess in men. One of these is the stinging of a nipple piercing. Through the puncture, bacteria can penetrate the breast tissue and lead to a purulent inflammation.

This can also be caused by other injuries in the breast area. In some cases, rubbing the clothing while walking causes small injuries in the nipple area, through which bacteria can migrate. It is mainly men who have breasts that are very similar to the female breast (gynaecomastia) who suffer from a breast abscess. This is due to overweight or because of a liver or hormone disorder. The treatment is the same as for women, with antibiotic therapy and possibly a puncture of the abscess to drain the pus.

Abscess during breastfeeding

In the case of an abscess that has developed from an inflammation of the breast (mastitis), in most cases the child can continue to be breastfed. The therapy consists of puncturing the abscess and, under certain circumstances, additional antibiotic therapy. When choosing the antibiotic, care must be taken to ensure that it is harmless to the breastfed child.

If the abscess has to be opened surgically, this should be done at an early stage, if possible, so that the limitations of breastfeeding are kept to a minimum. After the operation, breastfeeding is not necessarily necessary. Initially, one side can be breastfed until the wound on the other side has healed sufficiently.

Then breastfeeding can begin again on both sides of the breast. If a major operation is necessary due to the advanced size of the abscess, or if complications arise during treatment, breastfeeding should still be performed in order to avoid exposing the child to unnecessary stress. However, as this happens very rarely, breastfeeding can be continued in most cases.