abscesses and septicaemia

An infected abscess is a formation of pus that collects under the skin in a localised area, caused by bacteria entering the tissue, often during the injecting process. The pus is made up of bacteria, white blood cells and dead or damaged tissue. You will first notice heat and swelling, and the area will be painful to touch either on or near the injecting site. You should not squeeze the pus out of an abscess, this is only likely to spread the infection. Infected abscesses need immediate medical treatment, which is likely to involve a course of antibiotics.

You can help to prevent abscesses by:

not reusing fits, filters or other injecting equipment;
always washing your hands and injecting site in warm soapy water prior to injecting;
not missing the vein, as an abscess is more likely to form in the tissue;
rotating injection sites so you're not using the same site repeatedly; and
always using clean injecting equipment (needles, swabs, cotton wool/filters, sterile water, clean spoons, your own tourniquet etc).

An abscess is a local infection. If left untreated it can develop into septicaemia (or blood poisoning), which will affect your entire bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the bacteria can multiply rapidly, spread around the body and attack any organ. If septicaemia is not treated urgently, it can be fatal. Septicaemia, like an abscess, is treated with antibiotics, which are often given intravenously for a period of weeks. Symptoms of septicaemia can include high fevers, rashes, chills, severe shivering, loss of consciousness, restlessness, delirium and exhaustion.