Wound care at home after incision and drainage of an anal abscess

Day – night

Small abscess

A wick is not always necessary. Regularly rinsingwith warm water (rinsing with the shower head) or disinfecting with Isobetadine may be sufficient.

Large abscess

Isobetadine wick: A wick is inserted into the abscess cavity to stimulate granulation of the wound from the bottom up and prevent recurrence of abscesses due to early closure of the skin.

To avoid!

If the skin closes superficially, without granulation off the cavity from the bottom up, a new cavity will form and the patient is at risk of a new infection and a new abscess. This risk is more important with large and deep abscesses.

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Trying to achieve!

After incision and drainage of the abscess, a residual cavity remains.

This cavity should heal progressively, with the wound granulating from the bottom up to allow the pus and infected fluid to continuously ooze out of the wound.

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The wound should be rinsed daily with the shower-head or Isobetadine.

At the surgeon’s request, it may be necessary to have the wick daily replaced by a home nurse.

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If no wick is used after surgery, the wound should be kept open by applying gentle traction to the wound edges to allow wound fluid to drain out.

If no wick is inserted, gentle traction should be applied daily to the wound edges to open the wound and allow dirt/purulent wound fluid to drain out, until healing of the wound.

We recommend placing an absorbent pad, sanitary napkin, panty liner in the underwear in contact with the wound to absorb any fluid leaking from the wound and protect the clothing.

In case of wound infection:

Signs of infection: redness, swelling, pain, foul-smelling liquid /pus.
If the wound becomes infected, it may be necessary to open the wound edges to allow the pus to drain out of the wound.
In most cases, the wound will be treated by inserting an Isobetadine wick in the abscess.
The wick aims to direct granulation from the bottom up avoiding a new abscess to form.
A nurse should be contacted to perform this procedure.

Do not apply a plasticized dressing because of the risk of maceration of the wound. Maceration is the softening of the wound due to exposure to moisture, leading to an increased risk of infection.

When showering – bathing:

You can take a shower without protection.
After showering, we recommend applying an absorbent pad in the underwear to absorb wound fluid.
If a wick needs to be replaced, take your shower just before the home nurse arrives.

Absorbent compresses /pads

Available in dressing shops, pharmacies, available without prescription (Zetuvit®, Hekasorb®,…).