Ever have an abscess ? It's something that will have you biting your nails wondering how, why, and what to do. It is not that hard to identify since they can swell up to the size of a softball. An abscess starts out as an infection and many people confuse pip as the beginning signs of an infection because they do not know what the true signs are.
There are two types of abscesses, septic and sterile and anyone dealing with needles may be susceptible to either one of the two. A septic abscess is a result of an infection and although they can occur anywhere in the body, THEY ARE USUALLY ATTRIBUTED TO POOR INJECTION TECHNIQUES. A clean environment should always be used when preparing your injections.
As an infection begins to develop, white blood cells begin to gather and produce enzymes that attack the infection by digesting the infectious germ. The enzymes behave like acid killing the germs and breaking them down but body tissue is also sacrificed during this process.( That's why it is important to treat an abscess asap with antibiotics to help break down the infection and speed up the recovery process ) The result of this is a thick, yellow liquid pus containing digested germs, digested tissue, white blood cells, and enzymes. If you ever had to be an abscess drained, sorry for the flashback.
As mentioned above, an abscess is the last stage of an infection but there are several signs that surface long before it mutates to that stage. Below is a list of symptoms that one might experience in the beginning stages of an infection:
Increased body temperature.
Redness around injection site.
Swelling around injection site.
Sensitivity around injection site- basically it hurts !
Remember, these are the beginning stages of an infection and as it progresses the infected tissue starts to turn to liquid thus forming an abscess. So its best to treat this in the "Infected stage" rather then the abscess stage.
Now a sterile abscess is not quite as bad but can cause discomfort and scaring. Sterile abscess are caused by nonliving irritants such as drugs. If an injected drug is not absorbed, it stays where it was injected and may cause enough irritation to generate a sterile abscess. It is call a sterile abscess because there is no infection involved. THIS IS MOST COMMONLY CAUSED BY NOT ROTATING INJECTION SITES. Sterile abscesses usually turn into hard, solid lumps as they scar, unlike a septic abscess that remain as pockets of pus.
So exercise good injection techniques and try to make your work area as sterile as possible and remember to always rotate injection sites.
