another? ew, please . . . no thanks . . . REALLY!

July 7, 2007 10:06 AM

[peri-anal abscess filter]: How to avoid another? As I'm sure you'd prefer not to imagine, this question gets a bit icky.

After 6 weeks of treatment following the surgical removal of my lovely peri-anal abscess (think the worst goatse you can imagine!), my surgeon ends his final consult on the following note: "Be careful. Once you get [one peri-anal abscess], a relapse is more likely."

Words fail to describe how crestfallen I was upon hearing this . . . and this was following a successful post-op treatment regimen (i.e., goodbye abscess, hello healing surgical scar on the periphery of the cakehole!).

My surgeon has no idea how it formed, and neither does my GP (gluteal muscles *may* have opened up after a coccyx-fracturing fall, but the fracture was extremely mild). My question is simple: other than not falling on my ass again, what can I do?

Are there diets that make one less succeptible to developing an abscess? Are there habits that I should avoid or take up? Do these things really form "mysteriously?" What is the dealio?

FYI, I've been a clean and healthy individual all of my life. I've never had anything like this happen, I shower regularly and attend to the cleanliness of my private bits to a fastidious, but not necessarily obsessive degree.

I'm 40+ male, and I know two things: (1) you are not my Dr., and (2) you will not examine me in person. Still, I can't help but wonder if I am I doomed to fear another peri-anal abscess for the rest of my days. Short of taping a very soft and fluffy sofa pillow to my ass, what can I do to avoid another peri-anal abscess?

posted by anonymous to health & fitness (6 comments total)

Keep your weight down.
posted by Ironmouth at 10:34 AM on July 7, 2007

Don't worry about it. I had one when I was pregnant (no picnic) about 22 years ago and nothing since.
posted by wenwen at 11:41 AM on July 7, 2007

Keep yourself regular, to prevent hard straining.
posted by WCityMike at 12:34 PM on July 7, 2007

From someone who's had one a little bit higher up: never ever ever touch the area with your hands unless you are in the shower and have soap on them (and while I prefer not to use antibacterial soap, I do keep a pump of the stuff in the shower for cleaning the area; I use it only if it's giving me warning signals, otherwise I wash with my regular body wash but do not use a washcloth there so I don't spread anything). Don't wear underwear or clothing that irritates it (for women, sanitary pads can be a problem).

Be very careful about sitting on the floor or hard chairs - do not scoot around if you do. At the first sign of soreness start changing your drawers twice a day, don't re-use towels that get used below the waist, and wash or change your sheets every couple of days. If you have or can get a handheld shower head, they make cleaning much easier. I can get away with using Bactine spray, but yours might be a smidge too close to the place where no cake should go.

Basically, treat it like a boil/carbuncle/staph infection. That's probably what it is/was, and staph is systemic, and they do like to come back and/or spread. They like warm dark places, so get air if you can when you can, and they love stress or weakened immune systems, so step up your cleaning and airing when you've got a cold.
posted by Lyn Never at 2:24 PM on July 7, 2007

My ex had this problem, I sympathise!

Doctor advised us to avoid getting sweat in the area— a lot of truck drivers get them because they get sweaty behinds from sitting down all day. So cotton undies are the way to go! Apart from that, just keep it clean, and if you notice anything that seems like it might turn into an abcess, get to your doctor fast. Anti-biotics can mean the difference between a "pimple" and an abcess.
posted by indienial at 2:38 AM on July 8, 2007

The antibacterial scrub in the shower is good as are all the suggestions above. But one thing made me quite sad in your post. These things happen. It is NOT due to something you did that others do not do. It is not because you're any less hygenic than others. It simply happens. I worked with a colorectal surgeon once and it's such a painful horrible condition, made even worse if you're beating yourself up about it.
So now that it's happened once, the likelihood is that there will be a relapse and your surgeon was simply being honest. There are people who never have another occurance. Keep your BMI within the healthy range, do the above if you notice you're getting sore, and additionally carry wet-wipes as you would Kellenex in case you are out somewhere and have to go.
best of luck
posted by Wilder at 10:39 AM on July 8, 2007