val, you definitely give new meaning to that damn bloody abscess!
i am glad you are doing well........
keep up the good work......

Its out to get me, that's for sure!
The nurse said there was a hole. Does this mean I've got a fissure again? Or are abcesses different and heal up pretty quick?

I think the "hole" is just where the abscess developed it's infection/puss. Probably. It's not a fissure, which is a tear/cut.
Val, is your pain just when you go to the loo, and not afterwards,?

i would certainly keep an eye on that hole and make sure that it does not turn into a fistula. the hole can easily become an entry way for yuckies to get into and get trapped and once that happens, it starts a tunnel in the other direction so that the yuckies which then turn into bacteria and other cruddies that want to find the exit - digging a tunnel - which makes the fistula tract.
the antibiotics will help with the abcess but rarely does it ever help a fistula.
so just keep a very good eye on it and follow up with your CRS to make sure it isn't evolving to a fistula.

WAAAAH!! How can I stop it developing into one? I've been so careful to have at least two baths every day with salt in, and done everything right, I dont understand why I got an abcess in the first place.
Kim, the pain is DREADFUL when I go to the loo, but its sore all day and really hurts if I do too much, like today, what with washing, ironing ,cooking, ect, it didn't seem to like that!
The nurse said fistulas were really painful and I would know if I had one, but then the fissure was really painful, and so is this, so I can't quite define"really painful"!

How do you end up with an abscess?

an abscess can begin simply with a tear.
so either you start with a fissure or tear.
sometimes an abscess is a result of a fissure which may or may not lead to a fistula.
pretty much a fistula is the result of an abscess - but not always.

Did you have a fistula, Happyass? If so, was it the result of an abcess?

Val,
I'm so glad you got checked, and that the infection has worked it's way out.
Hopefully it will start to heal nicely now.
Sorry it took me so long to reply to posts, have been awol for a few days, life just got very hectic!
Hope you're feeling a bit better soon. :)

Thank you! Do you think it COULD heal on it's own? I'm soooo terrified of it being/becoming a fistula! Also its still very painful, do you think thats normal, and how long for?
How are you? Are you any better?