The treatment of the breast abscess

In the initial stage an inflammation or abscess should be cooled and immobilised. In nursing mothers, breast milk should be pumped out and discarded to avoid milk congestion. Furthermore, it must be assumed that in the case of an inflammation of the mammary gland, the breast milk is colonised with germs and must not be fed to the baby.

In the early stages, an inflammation or an abscess is treated with antibiotics. In the advanced stage, the production of breast milk is inhibited with medication in addition to pumping the milk out. For this purpose, drugs such as bromocriptine, lisuride or gabergoline are administered.

In the late stage of an abscess, heat treatment with a red light consisting of short waves should be used to accelerate the melting process. Smaller abscesses are punctured, larger ones are incised and rinsed. Some women find homeopathic treatment helpful in addition to medication and surgery.

For example, hepar sulfuris and mercurius solubilis can be used to support the medical and surgical procedures. Potentiation is usually C 12 in the treatment of breast abscesses, but other potentiation may also be useful in individual cases. If the breast abscess has developed from an inflammation of the breast, arnica is often recommended.

In addition, homeopaths recommend complexing agents. A commercial preparation is for example Naranotox plus®. Since a breast abscess is a bacterial inflammation, antibiotics are often used in different ways.

Depending on the severity, type, localization and individual conditions, antibiotic treatment is given orally in tablet form, by infusion, locally in the form of so-called traction ointments or with the aid of antibiotic carriers that are introduced into the affected area during surgery. Puncturing a breast abscess is a minimally invasive method of removing pus that has accumulated in the breast. This is the usual method used when a breast abscess is present.

First the puncture site is locally anaesthetized before a thin hollow needle is inserted. The puncture is performed under ultrasound guidance, so that the doctors can see exactly where they are poking the needle and when they have reached the pus. A cannula is then used to drain the pus to the outside and, if necessary, saline solution is used to liquefy it before the puncture.

In some cases, the cannula is left in the chest first and the exit point is held together only with adhesive strips (Steristrips), padded softly and connected. This allows pus to flow out even after the procedure, which may be newly formed. In addition, the administration of antibiotics is usually necessary after the puncture, as the accumulation of pus is usually caused by bacteria.

A breast abscess does not necessarily have to be treated with surgery. Especially with small uncomplicated abscesses, cooling compresses and/or curd compresses should be applied to the breast surface at the beginning. In many cases these conservative treatment measures already lead to a significant reduction of the pus accumulation.

The affected women should also take care to relieve the affected breast and wear a tight bra, for example. In addition, an operation can often be avoided by taking various drugs. Since a breast abscess is an accumulation of pus induced by inflammatory processes and bacterial colonisation, anti-inflammatory medication and an antibiotic should normally be taken.

If these treatment methods do not bring success within a short period of time, surgery should be considered as soon as possible. In addition, large breast abscesses and those breast abscesses that are in critical positions should always be treated by surgery. In most cases the operation of a breast abscess can be performed under local anaesthesia.

Anaesthesia is only necessary in exceptional cases or at the request of the affected patient. In this context, however, it should always be considered whether the advantages of general anaesthesia outweigh the risks for the cardiovascular system. During surgery of the breast abscess, the skin surface overlying the pus accumulation is opened under sterile conditions.

Usually this is done through a small incision (incision) with a scalpel. Afterwards the pus in the abscess cavity can be drained and the wound rinsed. In the case of a breast abscess caused by bacterial pathogens, it is particularly important to thoroughly clean the abscess cavity even after the pus has been removed.

The skin surface can then be left open or closed with a small suture. In some cases a drainage must be inserted into the cavity of the breast abscess. In this way a continuous drainage of the breast abscess contents can be guaranteed.

After surgery for a breast abscess, healing should be observed over several weeks. For this reason, it is important that the patient concerned makes check-up appointments at regular intervals even after successful surgery of the breast abscess. In addition, even after complete emptying of the abscess cavity, there is a possibility that a new breast abscess will form at the same place.