Abscess drainage - how do you know when your little boil no longer needs the packing cotton strip?

Depends...: For small abscesses, it could just be 2-3 days. For larger ones, days to weeks sometimes. Doctors look at how deep the abscess was, if there was surrounding infection (cellulitis), if there's drainage, where it's located... So a lot of different factors. Best thing you can do is check with your doc, they should be able to give you an estimate. Good luck!