Editing Abscess (section)

===Packing===
In North America, after drainage, an abscess cavity is usually packed, often with special iodoform-treated cloth. This is done to absorb and neutralize any remaining exudate as well as to promote draining and prevent premature closure. Prolonged draining is thought to promote healing. The hypothesis is that though the heart's pumping action can deliver immune and regenerative cells to the edge of an injury, an abscess is by definition a void in which no blood vessels are present. Packing is thought to provide a wicking action that continuously draws beneficial factors and cells from the body into the void that must be healed. Discharge is then absorbed by cutaneous bandages and further wicking promoted by changing these bandages regularly. However, evidence from emergency medicine literature reports that packing wounds after draining, especially smaller wounds, causes pain to the person and does not decrease the rate of recurrence, nor bring faster healing, or fewer physician visits.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Bergstrom KG | title = News, views, and reviews. Less may be more for MRSA: the latest on antibiotics, the utility of packing an abscess, and decolonization strategies | journal = Journal of Drugs in Dermatology | volume = 13 | issue = 1 | pages = 89–92 | date = January 2014 | pmid = 24385125 }}</ref>