A boil is an inflammation of the hair follicle with suppuration. If you leave it unattended, education will increase and there will be a need for hospitalization. At home, single boils can be quickly treated, with a large amount it is better to use the help of a doctor.
According to popular belief, the boil is a large formation, accompanied by an extensive inflammatory process, and the boil is a huge pimple. In reality, these words are synonyms. The first name is used in medicine, the second - in the people.
3 stages of boil development
- Infiltration. In the area of one hair, redness, compaction and swelling of the skin are observed. It is accompanied by unpleasant pain, which intensifies as the boil ripens.
- Tissue death and rod rejection. The formation rises above the skin with the subsequent appearance in the center of a large abscess. After opening, a sealed rod of a greenish tint with blood and pus comes out. The abscess leaves a sore, and the discomfort disappears.
- Healing. Practice shows that small boils disappear without a trace. Larger ones leave small retracted scars.
In most cases, the duration of the stages does not exceed 10 days. In weakened people and patients trying to squeeze a boil, the pathology often ends not with complete healing, but with a lightning-fast spread of the infection. As a result, adjacent areas of the skin are affected, carbuncles, abscesses, purulent thrombophlebitis and lymphadenitis appear.
Boils are formed on areas of the skin with hair follicles - shoulders, buttocks, lower back, back of the neck, in the armpits and on the head.
A boil that appears on the limbs or back does not pose a serious danger. If the skin formation has settled on the face, in the ear, under the arm, or in the nose, it is necessary to immediately see a doctor, and only then proceed with treatment. In these areas, boils are located in the immediate vicinity of the lymphatic and blood vessels. With improper therapy, the infection quickly affects the tissues and organs, including the inner ear and even the brain.
Medical Remedies for Boils
Boils usually appear in people living in regions with a long winter period. This is due to a lack of ultraviolet rays.
Pharmacies sell boil-oriented medicines. In this part of the article we will talk about their use at home.
- Before opening the boils, they are treated with boric or salicylic alcohol. To speed up the opening, you can attach a heated, dry cloth.
- When a boil appears on the face or neck, it is recommended to use ichthyol stickers. You will have to temporarily refuse to wash the affected area of the body, otherwise the infection will transfer to healthy skin.
- With severe inflammation, the temperature may rise and weakness may appear. Then antibiotics Linkomitsin, Oxacillin, Augmentin and others come to the rescue.
- If boils are formed constantly, in addition to antibiotics, it is recommended to use vitamin complexes, dietary supplements, drugs, immunity strengthening.
- When the boil is opened, the rod should come out with pus and an admixture of blood. After the wound, thoroughly rinse and apply an antiseptic ointment, for example, Vishnevsky ointment.This kind of medication cannot be used to treat an undisclosed abscess, otherwise phlegmon may appear.
- Ointment dressings containing antibiotics help accelerate wound healing and prevent the spread of infection. Among them, erythromycin ointment and Levomekol. Apply until the wound is completely healed.
In the treatment of a boil with medical means, there is nothing complicated. It is necessary to stock up with patience and endurance, since it is impossible to solve the problem in a few days.
7 effective folk remedies
Folk remedies also help get rid of annoying and painful boils. I note that traditional medicine methods are used only with one small boil. In other cases, it is better to resort to the help of traditional medicine.
- Honey cake. In natural liquid honey add a little flour to make a mixture resembling a cool dough. From it form a cake and attach to the boil. Place a piece of bandage soaked in moonshine or vodka on top, cover with a film and fix with a band-aid. For a breakthrough, 1-5 procedures are needed.
- Baked onions. Bake a large onion in the oven, cool, cut in half, attach a warm half to the formation and fix with a bandage. Alternatively, make gruel from baked onion, into which add a couple of drops of camphor oil and attach to a boil. Onion helps exit the stem. If this does not happen, a small tweezers will help out.
- Black bread. Chew a slice of rye bread thoroughly, add a pinch of salt, put on a boil, cover with a paper towel and a piece of parchment paper. Thanks to this proven remedy, pus will come out quickly and the tumor will subside.
- Birch leaves. Pour a small amount of birch leaves with boiling water and grate thoroughly with household soap. Glue several leaves together, attach to the inflamed area and fix with a bandage. After two to three hours, pus will begin to exit.
- Aloe. The healing power of the plant is enough to quickly get rid of the abscess. Sprinkle boil with soda and attach a cut sheet of aloe. Pus should go out during the first day. If this does not happen, repeat the procedure.
- Potatoes. Potato is not only used for making soupsShe perfectly draws pus from the wounds. Pass a small potato through a fine grater and attach to a boil. To improve the effect, cover the potato gruel with a film and insulate a little.
- Wound healing ointment. To speed up the healing process, combine five parts of melted animal fat with one part of propolis, hold the mixture in a water bath for at least 90 minutes and use it to lubricate the wound twice a day.
A lot of medicines are sold in pharmacies that, together with folk remedies, will help to easily get rid of boils. To quickly solve the problem and prevent complications, the development of the boil should be constantly monitored. The skin around it should be regularly disinfected, and medical compresses should be applied to the formation.
What should not be done when treating a boil?
I will give this question a simple and intelligible answer. If you do not want to be in a hospital bed when the boil appears, I advise you to carefully read the material.
- After the appearance of a dense infiltrate, do not treat the boil with iodine and brilliant green. Otherwise, the doctor will not determine the true dimensions of the seal, which will lead to neglect of the process and the development of dangerous complications.
- Do not squeeze pus on your own, especially if the boil is on the face. From this area, blood outflow occurs through the cerebral vein system. Therefore, such actions can result in the development of complications, including meningitis and brain abscess.
- If the boil is ripe, do not open it with a needle, knife or other improvised items, even treated with vodka or alcohol.Such liquids do not completely sterilize the instrument, which can cause infection.
- Do not treat carbuncle yourself. A carbuncle is a combination of a large number of boils in a small area of the skin. It is impossible to overcome such a pathology on your own. Only a doctor will solve this problem.
- After opening the boil, use a sterile napkin attached with a band-aid or bandage.
- Do not use antibiotics for boils, if you do not understand them. An improperly selected drug can cause intractable dysbiosis.
- After opening the boil, daily bandage. During this period, it is forbidden to take water procedures or to wet a wound.
- If the boil refuses to open, immediately consult a specialist or earn an abscess. In this case, surgery cannot be avoided.
- It is forbidden to use ointments with expired dates.
- The boil will never appear on the soles or palms. These areas of the skin are devoid of vegetation. Phlegmon, abscess or felon may appear on them.
If you work in a kindergarten, school, restaurant, Cafe or dining room, take sick leave for the duration of the illness. People working in these areas, with the appearance of ulcers, are strictly forbidden to work. Otherwise, you can get an administrative penalty.
The boil is an extremely painful skin lesion. There are frequent cases when a person cannot turn his head, move his arms and even walk. Often symptoms of intoxication appear - headache, poor appetite, fever and a significant deterioration in well-being.
Causes of boils
Boils are an unpleasant problem that people of different ages face. With proper treatment, skin lesions are not particularly dangerous.
The main cause of the appearance of the boil are the viruses of streptococcus and staphylococcus. Usually, one abscess appears on the body.
The formation of the boil is preceded by the entry of bacteria into the hair follicle. Most abscesses appear in the spring due to an organism weakened after winter. What else can provoke the appearance of boils?
- Weakened immunity and vitamin deficiency. A weakened body is not able to withstand bacteria that cause boils.
- Oily skin and impaired metabolism. People with oily skin are prone to ulcers.
- Constant stress and depression. Boils regularly worry many working people who have little rest and experience nervous tension and stress.
- Wounds and abrasions. The formation of an abscess is preceded by the penetration of bacteria through skin lesions. Even minor abrasions and scratches should be carefully treated.
- Overheat. There are cases when the boil acts as a reaction of the body to overheating.
- Infectious diseases.
If a boil appears, accelerate its opening. The tools we talked about above will help. Do not squeeze it under any circumstances.
What is furunculosis
The main cause of the disease is the penetration of the pathogen into the skin through microtrauma with a decrease in local or general immunity. Staphylococcus rapidly multiplies and starts a purulent-necrotic process, which, in addition to the hair follicle, also covers adjacent tissues.
If boil appears - immunity is weakened. Furunculosis is preceded by a malfunction in the entire immune system. A general illness of the body, mental or physical strain, endocrine disorders, etc. lead to a similar failure.
With furunculosis, boils appear on the body, characterized by a different stage of maturation. Initially, a painful pimple forms, after the surrounding tissue begins to condense.In the next stage, purulent fusion of the hair bulb and the formation of a purulent necrotic focus with a dense core in the center are observed. After rejection of necrotic tissue, the wound is cleaned and scarred.
Boils in children and adolescents
Children are faced with boils much more often due to imperfections in the immune system. Plus, microtraumas appear on the skin of children much more often and they constantly come into contact with contaminated things.
Teenagers are very susceptible to the disease. This is due to the hormonal instability of the teenage body, poor nutrition, regular stress and a number of factors that reduce immunity.
I am finishing an article on self-treatment of boils at home with folk and medical means. I hope that in the material you will find information that will help to avoid a problem or facilitate the fate of its occurrence.
In general, it is better not to joke with these boils and consult a doctor. I was prescribed Ilon ointment. It helps just fine. Pus came out after three days. And unlike ichthyolka, which I cannot stand for the spirit, Ilon smells of essential oils.
Very helpful recommendations. The doctor also told me that you should not burn furuncles with green or iodine, but it is better to smear Ilon ointment. It perfectly helps with purulent inflammations on the skin and promotes healing. On my neck was a little truth, but not enough pleasant. Within a week passed.