What's a boil???

Question

What causes a boil? How can you avoid them? How can you treat them? How long do they last???

Answer 1

A boil (furuncle) is a red, swollen, painful bump under the skin caused by an infected hair follicle. Bacteria from the infection forms a pocket of pus (abscess), which can become large and cause severe pain.

Boils occur most often on the face, neck, breasts, buttocks, in the groin area, and in the armpits. Depending on their size and location, many boils can be treated at home with warm compresses and by keeping the skin over the boil clean when it opens and drains. A health professional may need to treat large boils and boils on the face or near the spine or anal area to avoid more serious infections.

http://www.webmd.com/hw/infection/hw171649.asp

Answer 2

Boil/Cyst

I recall when I was a child around 8 years old, I had what was called in those days a boil, guess it would be called a cyst now. Anyway, this boil was quite large and on my left hip. It got so large and so impacted I had to lay in bed face down, seemed all the know cures just wouldn't bring this boil to a head, so my Aunt was called in, she quietly said, go to the upper pasture and cut me some large prickly pear cactus and if at all possible, get the one that is blooming. This was done, she took the bloom of that cactus and smashed it into a pulp, she took the thines off the prickly pear, slit the leaf like cactus open, exposing the inside. she then took the pulp of the bloom and smeared this on either side of that cactus section and placed this on the boil, she took cheesecloth and wrapped it around my body to keep the cactus in place. She changed this one more time and on the third day the boil had come to a head and soon drained. Wasn't long before I could walk again. I still have a large indention on my hip where that boil was, but no scar and no other effects from that. I don't know that that the prickly pear cactus was what cured me; I don't even know if there is any medicinal value in these cacti; maybe it was not the time for me to die, and God stepped in. However, I think it helped, for I can still remember how cool and soothing it felt almost immediately after it was placed there. Willa Dean “Dee” Sides

Cloverine in the tin can. Winnie Brower

As children we listened to our father tell about his WWI experiences -- one story concerned a soldier in his outfit who developed a very large and painful boil on the back of his neck. After reaching the point where it was considered "ripe", the treatment consisted of filling an empty wine bottle with boiling water to heat it up, emptying it and immediately pressing the open neck against the boil. We loved the gross description of how the contents of the boil erupted with an audible smack against the bottom of the bottle! Dorothy

Answer 3

A boil, also referred to as a skin abscess, is a localized infection deep in the skin. It generally starts as a reddened, tender area. Over time, the area becomes firm and hard. Eventually, the center of the abscess softens and becomes filled with infection-fighting white blood cells that the body sends from the blood stream to eradicate the infection. Finally, the pus "forms a head," which can be surgically opened or spontaneously drain out through the surface of the skin.

Usually you can deal with a boil yourself by applying a hot washcloth for about 10 minutes several times a day, If possible, use salt water, which can quicken rupture and drainage.

See your doctor if the boil is very painful, doesn't heal within two weeks, or are accompanied by fever or recur frequently.

Answer 4

Boils are formed under the skin when the hair follicles are infected by the staphylococcus aureus (staph) bacteria.Tea tree oil is a home remedy for treating boils as it has antibacterial properties. More info can be found at http://ailments.in/boil.html

Answer 5

Its a huge infected zit basically. See a doctor.