How is an abscess diagnosed?
ANSWER
The doctor will take a medical history and may ask you:
- How long the abscess has been present
- If you recall any injury to that area
- What medicines you may be taking
- If you have any allergies
- If you have had a fever at home
The doctor will examine the abscess and surrounding area. If it is near your anus, the doctor will perform a rectal exam.
If an arm or leg is involved, the doctor will feel for a lymph gland either in your groin or under your arm.
Reviewed by Sabrina Felson on October 14, 2019
Authors and Editors
Author: William T Durkin Jr, MD, FAAEM, Consulting Staff, Emergency Care Dynamics.
Editors: Steven C Gabaeff, MD, FAAEM, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, Sutter Amador Hospital, Jackson, CA; Expert Consultant, Medical Board of California, Sacramento, CA; Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine; Anthony Anker, MD, FAAEM, Attending Physician, Emergency Department, Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, VA.
Authors and Editors
Author: William T Durkin Jr, MD, FAAEM, Consulting Staff, Emergency Care Dynamics.
Editors: Steven C Gabaeff, MD, FAAEM, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine, Sutter Amador Hospital, Jackson, CA; Expert Consultant, Medical Board of California, Sacramento, CA; Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD, Senior Pharmacy Editor, eMedicine; Anthony Anker, MD, FAAEM, Attending Physician, Emergency Department, Mary Washington Hospital, Fredericksburg, VA.
From: Abscess
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