Hi, I am a 21 year old male and for the past year or so I have had visible blood on the toilet paper almost every time I have a BM and rarely there is some in the toilet.
About 7 months ago I had begun to leak pus out of my anus which has had a horrible smell. I had no idea it was the sign of an infection and was able to manage it by taking baths and returning to the bathroom to wipe often.
I have pretty bad anxiety so I really avoided telling anyone about my problem and never visited a doctor. I thought, at the time, it was just a fissure and it would eventually heal on its own.
I did a bit more research recently and came to the conclusion that what I had was a fistula with an abscess and that the only way to really heal one is through surgery. So I finally went to the doctor 2 days ago and and he confirmed that it was indeed a fistula. I will need to have surgery and he prescribed me antibiotics. He said that the abscess looked drained so he did not attempt to drain it there and then.
So, in a week or two I should be having surgery but in the meantime I am very paranoid. I began reading online about the life threatening "sepsis" that could result from an infection. I am very scared about this as I am currently leaking a lot of foul-smelling pus from my anus.
What should I do? Should I go to the ER or will the antibiotics suffice? Will taking a lot of baths help reduce the risk of sepsis (even if I have been leaking for 7 months)? Should I be worried about a septic infection?
Thanks.