Skin boils are abscesses that are caused by an infection. The result of this infection and immune response is a red and inflamed area, sensitive to the touch.
What are boils made of?
A downright disgusting filling not to be found in any Twinkie! Technically, pus: white blood cells, protein and bacteria that's causing the infection - usually from the Staph family. More pus = bigger boil. Usually boils aren't life-threatening, though sometimes the pain and location can be of such inconvenience that medical attention becomes necessary. The treatment for skin boils escalates from the simple to complex, depending on the amount and degree of the infection.
Should treatment for skin boils be a D-I-Y process?
Usually treating boils isn't that big a deal. Heat application to the boil really aids in getting blood to the area, which speeds up healing. This will "call in the calvary" of white blood cells to fight the infection. Though this may not work every time, it's the simplest step to the cure.
What other methods are effective in skin boil treatment?
The treatment of boils sometimes requires medical attention, such as antibiotics. Antibiotics will treat the bacteria that caused the problem, but the abscess will need to be addressed. After the course of antibiotics is done, the doctor may still need to treat the boil itself.
Many find themselves lancing boils after protracted growth. To prevent a boil from growing too large, it may be necessary to lance it and drain the pus from the abscess. TO play it safe, be sure to get a doctor to perform this s boil treatment. When boils present themselves, often there is an abscess developing under the surface where lancing can't normally reach safely.
Stop the treatment for skin boils altogether!
Once the infection and the boil have been addressed, taking steps to prevent recurrence is your next course of action. Wash the area with a soap containing: chlorhexidine, triclosand and triclocarban; these fight staph infections. Lastly, apply magnesium sulphate to anesthetize the area and dry out the abscess.
If you thought the boil was bad, leave it untreated until it forms a carbuncle - a collection of boils forming a massive sore. Like most things in life, if this problem is ignored, it won't go away in many cases. Immune disorders - from AIDS to diabetes and any disruption to normal immune function - can really exacerbate the skin boil eruption. Cancer patients and anyone else in the category of suppressed or interrupted immune function can find that boils are more of a serious problem.
