Q: What is cold abscess in tuberculosis? Can a cold abscess be located anywhere in the body or only in the lung? I am asking these questions to help direct a relative with possible TB symptoms to adequate help. He has no insurance and maybe the health department will help him to start by getting a TB test. He is about 5.11 and currently weighs about 145 pounds. He weighed 170 before an undiagnosed illness last winter in which he had hip and knee pain and some type of painful lump in his groin. He ran out of money after the X-Rays and he never returned to the doctor. I am his aunt and a nurse and I just became aware of his location and his symptoms recently. Most symptoms are gone, but he has not regained the lost weight.

A:A cold abscess is a term used for pus collection in tuberculosis. It is called cold because unlike the pus collections in the usual infections caused by other bacteria, it is generally not warm and as inflamed. It can occur at many areas in the body. In this case,I do not think it was a cold abscess because from your description it appears it got OK without much treatment. There are other possibilities, which need consideration.