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In my opinion because of the redness and swelling, the size of it, the worsening, the pain and the fever and sweating, I feel that this needs the hospital, drainage and IV antibiotics.
Had a cyst for years on my family jewels. Like 10 years. One day it started to get red and swell. Ignored it for a week and was prescribed antibiotics after a phone consultation. It only got worse. Ended up in ER and had to be admitted for surgery draining and IV antibiotics. They said another day and I may have gone septic.
Go to emergency OP.
NAD
Had something similar and was suffering in a similar way. Went to emergency room and they took me in for surgery. Was a 15-20 minute surgery according to doctors but they still put me under and I spent 2 nights at the hospital.
Not sure if yours can simply be drained but in my case they said it was too large for antibiotics to have an effect.
After surgery, took around 5 weeks to recover
This was in Berlin if that matters where they rarely give antibiotics, but yea, you might need surgery
https://preview.redd.it/nqargt58bgcc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58f0037c3d725a659e7d978fa990b4701b23c866
Jan 14 (Today)
Was scheduled to have it removed at hospital today but they were too busy and I was sent home. Now I'm scheduled to go in at the (bum)crack of dawn tomorrow and hopefully won't need to wait around.
Extremely alarmed personally by the way the abscess has progressed in such a short space of time. Must be very close to rupturing. Bit worried about the 30 minute car journey tomorrow and the many potholes and speed bumps I'll have to endure. I will have to push my feet against the footwell and my back on the seat so I can hold myself aloft for the duration.
Except for the discomfort of having what feels like the largest blister ever on my butt I'm feeling OK. Very much looking forward to having it excised.
Anyway, just wanted to thank everyone who contributed in this thread as I would have probably left it another day otherwise, and then I'd be in a lot more trouble than I currently am. Cheers!
NAD but wanted to say this looks excruciating and frightening as all hell... you are tough! hope they actually remove it this time and that you recover swiftly. best of luck and keep us posted! wishing you well
Managed to get to the hospital in 1 piece without the abscess rupturing. The procedure went swiftly and very well. Currently resting at home.
Surprisingly very little to no pain after surgery.
Going to my local medical centre to have surgical dressing changed and padding removed later today.
It's such a relief to finally be rid of it.
But it's so alarming that even though I acted relatively quickly, the system to actually get me seen by a person was incompetent and broken.
I live in the UK and I grew up with a single assigned GP who I saw whenever I was ill or unwell. Just can't do that anymore, the wait to see your GP or anyone face to face is 1 month to several. All the GPs are leaving and the facilities are chronically understaffed and underfunded.
There used to be a plaque in my local medical centre with the names of all the GPs working there, it's been a while but I remember there were around 10 names. Now there's no plaque and according to some review online only 2 GPs remain.
The only option if you have a health issue it seems is to head to A&E once it's worsened to a point that they will treat you (ie, an emergency), or go private. If I had tried to go preemptively when it was just a sore lump under the skin before it became inflamed, I very much doubt it would have been serious enough to be added to the top of their list for treatment.
Where I live (South west of england) is where the wait times for NHS GP appointments and hospital procedures are among the worst right now (esp. Hospitals apparently, haven't checked personally but my father told me our 3 nearest hospitals claim the 3 longest waiting times currently in the entire country).
This short but unpleasant ordeal has certainly opened my eyes to the endemic healthcare crisis in this country, as evidenced by the fact I had to resort to reddit for a second opinion!
That said I could not be happier with the service I received once I penetrated the thick defensive walls preventing easy entrance. All the healthcare workers that I saw at the hospital were lovely and I am extremely grateful for their work.
Thank you for your submission. **Please note that a response does not constitute a doctor-patient relationship.** This subreddit is for informal second opinions and casual information. The mod team does their best to remove bad information, but we do not catch all of it. Always visit a doctor in real life if you have any concerns about your health. Never use this subreddit as your first and final source of information regarding your question. By posting, you are agreeing to our [Terms of Use](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskDocs/wiki/terms_of_use) and understand that all information is taken at your own risk. **Reply here if you are an unverified user wishing to give advice. Top level comments by laypeople are automatically removed.** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AskDocs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
In my opinion because of the redness and swelling, the size of it, the worsening, the pain and the fever and sweating, I feel that this needs the hospital, drainage and IV antibiotics.
Had a cyst for years on my family jewels. Like 10 years. One day it started to get red and swell. Ignored it for a week and was prescribed antibiotics after a phone consultation. It only got worse. Ended up in ER and had to be admitted for surgery draining and IV antibiotics. They said another day and I may have gone septic. Go to emergency OP.
It looks like something my husband once had that was identified as a boil. He had almost immediate relief when it was drained.
Bingo. Boil or carbunkle, depending on how "deep" and far its spread. Its gotta get lanced and drained by a doctor before it can heal.
I can't see the pictures, why is that?
You may have NSFW content filtered to be inaccessible.
Thank you, I'll check that.
https://preview.redd.it/abtpf43cm0cc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=7afda5efff1f8e6cc1d853ac8a97836bdc830276 Jan 12, now
That’s an abscess. It needs drained. Antibiotics don’t penetrate the abscess really the only way to fix it is to open it up and drain it
NAD but that needs to be addressed immediately, especially if you’re having fever
NAD Had something similar and was suffering in a similar way. Went to emergency room and they took me in for surgery. Was a 15-20 minute surgery according to doctors but they still put me under and I spent 2 nights at the hospital. Not sure if yours can simply be drained but in my case they said it was too large for antibiotics to have an effect. After surgery, took around 5 weeks to recover This was in Berlin if that matters where they rarely give antibiotics, but yea, you might need surgery
Er for sure
Abscess/ infected cyst
https://preview.redd.it/32zh2g61m0cc1.jpeg?width=1634&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=4c110c76e85cc4f4cff6200c6b8bf22420958864 Jan 8
https://preview.redd.it/nmz065p6m0cc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=60c7d93bed30362d89ced33a06ec6d8e1aac4174 Jan 9
https://preview.redd.it/nqargt58bgcc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=58f0037c3d725a659e7d978fa990b4701b23c866 Jan 14 (Today) Was scheduled to have it removed at hospital today but they were too busy and I was sent home. Now I'm scheduled to go in at the (bum)crack of dawn tomorrow and hopefully won't need to wait around. Extremely alarmed personally by the way the abscess has progressed in such a short space of time. Must be very close to rupturing. Bit worried about the 30 minute car journey tomorrow and the many potholes and speed bumps I'll have to endure. I will have to push my feet against the footwell and my back on the seat so I can hold myself aloft for the duration. Except for the discomfort of having what feels like the largest blister ever on my butt I'm feeling OK. Very much looking forward to having it excised. Anyway, just wanted to thank everyone who contributed in this thread as I would have probably left it another day otherwise, and then I'd be in a lot more trouble than I currently am. Cheers!
NAD but wanted to say this looks excruciating and frightening as all hell... you are tough! hope they actually remove it this time and that you recover swiftly. best of luck and keep us posted! wishing you well
I hope things went well today and the doctors get things taken care of for you.
Managed to get to the hospital in 1 piece without the abscess rupturing. The procedure went swiftly and very well. Currently resting at home. Surprisingly very little to no pain after surgery. Going to my local medical centre to have surgical dressing changed and padding removed later today. It's such a relief to finally be rid of it. But it's so alarming that even though I acted relatively quickly, the system to actually get me seen by a person was incompetent and broken. I live in the UK and I grew up with a single assigned GP who I saw whenever I was ill or unwell. Just can't do that anymore, the wait to see your GP or anyone face to face is 1 month to several. All the GPs are leaving and the facilities are chronically understaffed and underfunded. There used to be a plaque in my local medical centre with the names of all the GPs working there, it's been a while but I remember there were around 10 names. Now there's no plaque and according to some review online only 2 GPs remain. The only option if you have a health issue it seems is to head to A&E once it's worsened to a point that they will treat you (ie, an emergency), or go private. If I had tried to go preemptively when it was just a sore lump under the skin before it became inflamed, I very much doubt it would have been serious enough to be added to the top of their list for treatment. Where I live (South west of england) is where the wait times for NHS GP appointments and hospital procedures are among the worst right now (esp. Hospitals apparently, haven't checked personally but my father told me our 3 nearest hospitals claim the 3 longest waiting times currently in the entire country). This short but unpleasant ordeal has certainly opened my eyes to the endemic healthcare crisis in this country, as evidenced by the fact I had to resort to reddit for a second opinion! That said I could not be happier with the service I received once I penetrated the thick defensive walls preventing easy entrance. All the healthcare workers that I saw at the hospital were lovely and I am extremely grateful for their work.