Page "Abscess" Paragraph 15

As Staphylococcus aureus bacteria is a common cause, an anti-staphylococcus antibiotic such as flucloxacillin or dicloxacillin is used.

With the emergence of community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus MRSA, these traditional antibiotics may be ineffective ; alternative antibiotics effective against community-acquired MRSA often include clindamycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, and doxycycline.

These antibiotics may also be prescribed to patients with a documented allergy to penicillin.

( If the condition is thought to be cellulitis rather than abscess, consideration should be given to possibility of strep species as cause that are still sensitive to traditional anti-staphylococcus agents such as dicloxacillin or cephalexin in patients able to tolerate penicillin ).

It is important to note that antibiotic therapy alone without surgical drainage of the abscess is seldom effective due to antibiotics often being unable to get into the abscess and their ineffectiveness at low pH levels.

Whilst most medical texts advocate surgical incision some medical doctors will treat small abscesses conservatively with antibiotics.