abcess with green pus

Question
QUESTION: I'm relatively new to rats, having had them for less than a year.  So far we've
been through quite a few health crises.  I've owned rabbits for many years
and I thought THEY had a lot of health problems but man oh man, rats take
the cake!  

One of my rats -- a boy who also has head tilt -- developed a pea-sized
lump on his tummy. I knew it had to be either a tumor or an abscess.  I was
betting on tumor, and figured he'd need surgery to remove it.  I was planning
to take him to the vet this week, but when I checked on it today, I was
surprised to find it had a scab.  Aha, likely an abscess after all.  I carefully
squeezed it ... and was absolutely horrified when the stinkiest green pus ever
shot out.  Eeeewww!  None of my rescuer friends had warned me about rats
and green pus!  I still feel nauseous, and I've had to drain and flush a lot of
nasty critter wounds over the years.  Even worse, green is my favorite color
and the pus was my favorite shade.  Ugh!  Probably not any more!

Anyway, abcess, green pus, ick,.  Here are my questions:

1. Is it possible to treat the abcess at home merely by draining and cleaning it
on the surface?  This rat is incredibly squirmy and I don't think there's any
way he will let me irrigate with a syringe.

2. Can rat abscesses heal without oral antibiotics?  (This fellow has recently
been on Doxycycline for mycoplasma, but I'm guessing that antibiotic doesn't
work on this strain of bacteria because he had just finished a course when the
lump appeared.)

3. Can his companions get infected from him?  Do I need to separate them?

4. Can it infect me?  (I am immune-compromised.)

He's perky and his appetite is good.  I do still plan to take him to vet, but I'm
freaked out at the moment.

Thanks,
Violet

ANSWER: Hi Violet!

Welcome to the Abscess club!! Yes they can be so nasty, almost like green toothpaste.  Sometimes the pus is white, but most of the time they ooze green pus and the stench will knock your socks off!! The smell can be so foul the entire room can smell. EW! Memories.....

LOL!!

If you dont mind, I copied your questions and answered one at a time for you. Hope that doesnt confuse you!




1. Is it possible to treat the abcess at home merely by draining and cleaning it
on the surface?  This rat is incredibly squirmy and I don't think there's any
way he will let me irrigate with a syringe.


***********
A cotton ball loaded with clean water, squeeze it over his abscess or the remaining crater, pack it with antibiotic ointment, filling the hole.  You can also buy hibicleanse from the drug store and dilute it with water and saturate a cotton ball too, but as long as you get neosporin or something like it in there a few times a day and if it fills up with pus, continue to express it, it should heal fine.  I actually LOVE this nasty stuff. Its right up my alley!  LOL!  They can get so gross that they can stink up the entire room!!!!!



2. Can rat abscesses heal without oral antibiotics?  (This fellow has recently
been on Doxycycline for mycoplasma, but I'm guessing that antibiotic doesn't
work on this strain of bacteria because he had just finished a course when the
lump appeared.)
************
Yes a rat can heal without oral antibiotics as long as it isnt on his face or by his head. It can travel to the brain pretty fast so oral meds are warranted. However, if it really gets bad and just doesnt heal, a vet should be seen, but usually they do just fine!  The drug of choice for an abscess are:

Trimethoprim-Sulfa, Amoxicillin ,Enrofloxacin/Baytril without the doxy
and clavamox.



3. Can his companions get infected from him?  Do I need to separate them?  Nope.  They will all be just fine.

4. Can it infect me?  (I am immune-compromised.)

************
The pus usually is staph. I would of course wash up really well, but there should be no risk to you at all as long as you dont get that junk in any open wounds. This would probably apply to anyone, immune compromised or not.

He's perky and his appetite is good.  I do still plan to take him to vet, but I'm
freaked out at the moment.
*****************
He should heal before you know it and the hole will start to close and you will never even know it was there.....in most normal circumstances.

Hope this helps set your mind at ease!!

Sandy

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Sandy,

It did put my mind at ease, yes.  Thanks for getting back to me so fast. :)

Unexpected turn of events ... when I went to start poking and prodding and
preparing to follow your advice today, I was surprised to find that the abscess
hasn't filled up again.  It's got a nice scab on it and it seems like that's all it is
at the moment: a scab.  There's no lump, no softness, no anything.  If I'd first
seen it at this stage, I would have just thought he had a boo-boo and never
would have guessed it was anything more.  No evidence that there was ever a
lump there at all.

It seems like this is a good thing, but I'm not sure what I should do.  Should I
let it be to heal on its own unless it fills up again, or should force it open and
clean/pack it anyway?  

I feel so bad seeing him going through this, but I know it's upsetting me far
more than him.  He doesn't even seem to notice.  I'M the one who's a nervous
wreck.  heh  

Violet
xoxox

Answer
Hi Violet

Let the scab there as long as there is no swelling under it. If you feel swelling, pick the scab and express the abscess again.  If not, just smear some antibiotic ointment over the scabbed area. It will still absorb into the skin and take care of any lingering organisms.  

I knew it would heal and soon, fur will grow back and you wont even know it was there.   My boy had a huge one the size of a quarter, right on his belly.  It was a lump, I popped it, it was disgustingly gross but I like that weird stuff in a perverse sort of way (LOL LOL!!)I cleaned it real good and like your rat, he scabbed over the next day too so I just cleaned the exterior of the area and within a week there was fur growing over it again.
So now your a pro.  You can do it again should the opportunity rise again.

:D   Bet you cant wait!