Speaking from personal experience, I was scolded by my Doc for trying to self medicate my abcess with amoxycillin. Apparently an abcess is a bunch of white blood cells that corner off the infected area to keep it from spreading throughout the body. The oral antibiotics will not do shit for the infection-in fact it will make it more resistant to antibiotic treatment. A stronger injectable form of antibiotic is needed to Kick start(familiar term?) the oral antibiotics so they can penetrate/attack the infection. The site should also be lanced and drained. You will continue to drain it 2-3x daily in the shower for about a week-depending on how bad it is. And by all means, take your RX until it's gone. Just cuz physical symptoms disappear doesn't mean the infection is gone-and if you stop antibiotics too soon and the infection comes back it will be even meaner, nastier, and tougher to treat. I could go on about guys that ignored their problem too long and had to have a grapefruit sized chunk of their ass removed, but I won't.