Oral abscess?

Question
Hi Sandra, my name is Sarah & Im from the UK. I have an elderly male Siamese Albino rat, he is in excellent health & is eating fairly well considering he has what appears to be a large abscess underneath his top lip, its now affecting his eye which is quite red. The whole area from under his eye to his top lip is swollen & red. I have administered a penecillin based antibiotic & ibuprofen for the swelling but so far no result. Please could you shed some light on his condition & if I am able to treat him at home. Many thanks Sandra. I look forward to your reply. Regards Sarah Crawford.

Answer
How long have you been giving him the medication and what is the exact name of it?
Sometimes penicillin alone is not enough depending on the pathogen. Also, these nasty abscesses often require a vets attention because sometimes the only way to get rid of the source of infection when dealing with the rats mouth-teeth and gums is to remove the tooth totally and drain the abscess that way.

I would try to find a vet educated in exotics and get his or her opinion, but it can spread rapidly, destroying the rats eye, vision and possibly causing an bacterial infection to the brain.

Hope this helps