Abscess, Incision and Drainage (Child)

Home care

Your healthcare provider may prescribe an oral or topical antibiotic for your child. Pain medicine may also be prescribed. Follow all instructions. Report any side effects or possible reactions to your child's healthcare provider.

General care

For babies

• Apply a warm, moist towel (compress) to the abscess for 20 minutes up to 3 times a day, or as advised by your baby's healthcare provider. This may help the abscess come to a head, soften, and drain on its own. Wash the towel after use to prevent spreading the infection.

• Don't soak the abscess in bath water. This can spread infection. Instead, gently wash the area with soap and clean running water.

• Don’t cut, pop, or squeeze the abscess. This can be very painful and spread infection.

• If the abscess drains pus on its own, cover the area with a nonstick gauze bandage. Use as little tape as possible to prevent irritating the baby’s skin. Call your baby’s healthcare provider for further instructions. Abscesses may drain pus for several days and need to stay covered during this time. Carefully discard all soiled bandages. They can infect others.

• Change your baby’s clothes daily. Change sheets and blankets if they are soiled by pus. Wash all clothing and linens in hot water, including cloth diapers. If your baby’s abscess is on the buttocks, carefully discard diaper wipes and disposable diapers. Don’t share any linens with other family members.

For children

• Keep the area covered with a nonstick gauze bandage, as instructed.

• Be careful to prevent the infection from spreading. Wash your hands before and after caring for your child. Wash in hot water any clothes, bedding, and towels that come into contact with the pus. Don’t let other family members share unwashed clothes, bedding, or towels.

• Have your child wear clean clothes daily.

• Change the bandage if you see pus in it. Wash the area gently with soap and warm water, or as instructed by the healthcare provider. Carefully discard all soiled bandages.

• Don’t have your child sit in bath water. This can spread the infection. Have your child take a shower instead of a bath. Or gently wash the area with soap and clean running water.

Follow-up care

Follow up with your child’s healthcare provider, or as advised.

Special note to parents

Take care to prevent the infection from spreading. Wash your hands with soap and clean running water before and after caring for the abscess. Make sure your child or other family members don't touch the abscess. Contact your healthcare provider if other family members have symptoms.

When to get medical advice

Call your child's healthcare provider right away if any of these occur:

• Fever (see Fever and Children below)

• The abscess gets bigger

• The abscess comes back

• Redness and swelling get worse

• Pain doesn’t go away, or gets worse. In babies, pain may show up as fussing that can’t be soothed.

• Bad-smelling fluid leaking from the area

• Red streaks in the skin around the area

• Your child has a reaction to the medicine

Fever and children

Use a digital thermometer to check your child’s temperature. Don’t use a mercury thermometer. There are different kinds and uses of digital thermometers. They include:

• Rectal. For children younger than 3 years, a rectal temperature is the most accurate.

• Forehead (temporal). This works for children age 3 months and older. If a child under 3 months old has signs of illness, this can be used for a first pass. The provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Ear (tympanic). Ear temperatures are accurate after 6 months of age, but not before.

• Armpit (axillary). This is the least reliable but may be used for a first pass to check a child of any age with signs of illness. The provider may want to confirm with a rectal temperature.

• Mouth (oral). Don’t use a thermometer in your child’s mouth until they are at least 4 years old.

Use the rectal thermometer with care. Follow the product maker’s directions for correct use. Insert it gently. Label it and make sure it’s not used in the mouth. It may pass on germs from the stool. If you don’t feel OK using a rectal thermometer, ask the healthcare provider what type to use instead. When you talk with any healthcare provider about your child’s fever, tell them which type you used.

Below are guidelines to know if your young child has a fever. Your child’s healthcare provider may give you different numbers for your child. Follow your provider’s specific instructions.

Fever readings for a baby under 3 months old:

• First, ask your child’s healthcare provider how you should take the temperature.

• Rectal or forehead: 100.4°F (38°C) or higher

• Armpit: 99°F (37.2°C) or higher

Fever readings for a child age 3 months to 36 months (3 years):

• Rectal, forehead, or ear: 102°F (38.9°C) or higher

• Armpit: 101°F (38.3°C) or higher

Call the healthcare provider in these cases:

• Repeated temperature of 104°F (40°C) or higher in a child of any age

• Fever of 100.4° (38°C) or higher in baby younger than 3 months

• Fever that lasts more than 24 hours in a child under age 2

• Fever that lasts for 3 days in a child age 2 or older