White potato heals skin boils?

Question

I have a very painful boil, I've already been to the hospital for it and my doctor gave me antibiotics and also creams, but its been a day later and I really would like some faster relief.

My aunt told me if I put a white potato on my boil for a few hours, it would turn black and suck out the poison. Is this true? Has anyone else ever tried this or heard of this? What's in a potato's chemicals to do that?

Answer 1

The potato turns black because of oxidation, not poison sucking. Sounds like folk medicine, but I don't know how well it works.

My grandpa, who was a med student and pharmacist, told me to put a sliver of soap on the boil and cover that with a bandage. The soap "draws out" the boil, making the skin around it pucker so the boil comes to a head and it relieves the pressure. You can pop it then or wait for it to pop on its own. There's also draw-out salve, which is a foul-smelling ointment made of green soap, kerosene, and some kind of greasy base (petroleum jelly, I'd say.)

I like the soap. Just shave off a sliver with a knife, cover it up, and leave it alone. Plus, soap has a nice clean feeling to it since you use it to clean stuff. Get a harsh soap, like a deodorant soap or "body bar"--something cheap and rough. No "beauty bars."

Works for me!

Answer 2

Potato On Boil

Answer 3

All these are post remedies. Focus should be on pro-active approach - 1. Drink lot of water 2. Have seasonal fruits and vegetable, which are fresh and Satvik 3. Have fibrous diet 4. Do jog/Exercises/Yoga i.e. combination of flexibility, stretching, muscle strength, cardio 5. Eat less and at fixed timings 6. Do Pranayam 7. Do Meditation 8. Control over sense and distraction 9. Have sound sleep - go to bed early and get up early too Question : Is this info (along with your question) is based upon your experience? What does + sign means? Do we need to mix it or use it separately? Thanks for sharing the information.

Answer 4

Not sure, but I have tried cracking an egg and using the inside egg shell skin and putting it on the boil. Just take it off when it dries.

Answer 5

My grandmother use to tell us that, she said it had some kind of drawing ability, where it would draw out the poision or pus. But I don't recall doing it. But it couldn't hurt I guess, it's a natural substance.