Removing a boil: how to open it in the hospital and at home, how to treat a boil

Abscesses with purulent contents, depending on the clinical picture, may differ in size, pain, and amount of discharge. They may appear on the body area, on the arms or legs. Folk remedies for abscesses help get rid of the problem in a short time and restore the skin to a clean and silky appearance. In order not to harm your health even more, you should follow some rules when treating at home.

What are abscesses on the body and why do they appear?

Purulent inflammations on the skin of the arms, legs, back, buttocks, and abdomen are most often boils or carbuncles. Panaritium often appears on the fingers of the limbs.

A furuncle is an acute purulent inflammation of the follicle, sebaceous gland and surrounding skin.

It can develop on any part of the body that has hair, with the exception of the palms and soles, where there are no follicles. The face, back of the head, groin areas, buttocks, dorsum of the forearms are the most “favorite” places for boils to localize. The most common pathogen is staphylococcus. The appearance of furunculosis is preceded by frequent contamination and friction of the skin on clothing, mechanical damage and injury from surrounding objects. Getting dandruff or particles of seborrheic dermatitis into a microcrack in the epidermis can also cause an abscess. People with diabetes and other endocrine and autoimmune diseases are more prone to the appearance of boils.

A carbuncle is several boils connected to each other under the skin by multiple passages. Folk remedies for abscesses, if they are carbuncles, are powerless. Professional pharmaceutical therapy is required; this is the only way to completely get rid of all lesions without causing even greater health problems.

Panaritium most often develops on the third phalanx of the fingers due to inflammation of a hangnail. To avoid its appearance, you should wash your hands thoroughly and when manicuring, use only proven tools that have been pre-treated with alcohol tincture.

Causes of boils

The pathology is quite serious, however, it can be caused by trivial reasons. There are cases when suppuration appears due to:

improper hygiene;
lack of vitamins in the body;
infection acquired through a wound;
increased sweating.

Endocrine diseases can also contribute to the appearance of a boil. For example, diabetes. Even with proper treatment, there is no guarantee that the pathology will not cause complications.

At first glance, it seems that a boil is a harmless suppuration that simply spoils the appearance, depending on its location. In fact, a tumor poses a serious threat to human health or even life.

At the same time, for specialists in the field of surgery, removing a boil is a simple task that can be solved quite quickly and with virtually no risks.

The disease itself, furunculosis, is removed along with suppuration.

List of the most effective home treatments

The main goal in the treatment of boils, carbuncles and panaritium is to allow the purulent contents to come out, and not inside. To do this, you should treat the abscess with folk remedies, but under no circumstances squeeze it out. When trying to squeeze out on your own, the pus most often goes deep inside, resulting in sepsis or even more complex blood poisoning. In a hospital setting, the surgeon can perform a dissection with a scalpel or other special instruments - the main condition for performing such an operation is complete sterility.

The most effective methods of treating abscesses with folk remedies:

heating with hot salt and flour;
applying baked onion to the boil;
crushed garlic lotions;
homemade honey ointment;
compresses from the juice of fleshy aloe leaves;
treatment of boils and panaritium with potatoes;
baths and steaming with infusions of medicinal herbs.

How to install drainage after a boil

Drainage is made from turunda - a small latex strip from a glove that is used to dry the cavity of a boil or drain a wound after removing a boil.

The drains are prepared in advance: the nurse cuts strips of the required length and width from the glove. After cleaning and disinfecting the wound crater using tweezers and a probe, the doctor places a drainage into its cavity. An antimicrobial ointment, usually Levomekol, is applied on top. It prevents the proliferation of pathogenic flora and protects against recurrence of the boil after its removal.

Daily replacement of latex drainage is not necessary. It is usually used 2-3 days after the boil opens.

When the crater is cleared of purulent contents after removal, and the wound is covered with granulation tissue, the strip is removed in a dressing room, observing the rules of asepsis.

When installing drainage into the cavity of the boil, it is necessary to apply a bandage and secure it with breathable material. The strip in the wound is not sutured; it is needed to prevent the cavity from closing. Then you need to adhere to the usual care for the affected area: ointments, solutions and other means prescribed by the doctor to speed up recovery.

Heating with salt and flour

The method gained popularity back in the Soviet years. This simple folk remedy for an abscess on the finger, back or stomach can be used by both adults and children. Helps the abscess to mature faster and the purulent root to come out.

Prepare a small bag in advance from dense natural fabric (you can use calico folded in half).
Heat salt or flour in a frying pan. You should follow safety precautions when doing this, as you can easily get burned. To avoid getting burned, after calcination, leave the salt on the stove for a while to cool.
Pour the heated salt or flour into the bag, making sure that the contents do not spill out.
Apply to the sore spot and wait until it cools completely (usually this takes about twenty to thirty minutes), then repeat the procedure again.

Folk remedies for abscesses using salt are quite dangerous (due to the possibility of getting burned). However, they are still one of the best. Only one folk remedy for abscesses can be compared to them in the speed of “pulling” purulent contents outward - baked onions. Since the main goal of treating both boils and whitlows is to remove the purulent core, methods of softening and moisturizing the skin are not suitable for combating abscesses. The ideal methods are to “pull” the rod outward.

Key Features

The medical reference book contains information that boils are inflammatory and very painful cavities in the epithelium, which are gradually filled with pus. If several such rashes form on the skin at once, then the patient is diagnosed with a specific disease.

Furunculosis is different in that subcutaneous abscesses have different sizes (for example: in some patients the growth does not exceed the size of a pea, but in others it can grow to the size of a walnut). All types of such neoplasms require high-quality treatment, which can be carried out even at home. The localization of furunculosis can be very diverse, since growths are diagnosed in any part of the human body.

The most dangerous situation is when boils have formed in the deep layers of the epidermis. Such growths are called carbuncles.

Neoplasms can develop at high speed, gradually spreading over the entire surface of the body, penetrating the bloodstream. Against this background, the patient’s well-being only worsens. To accurately determine the degree of furunculosis, you need to visit a qualified dermatologist. After a thorough examination, he will be able to prescribe the most appropriate therapy. If the patient's condition is not critical, then treatment can occur at home.

Baked onions are the No. 1 remedy in the fight against abscesses

This method also became popular back in the Soviet years and is still the No. 1 remedy in the fight against purulent abscesses. For the procedure you will need a regular onion. Most often, this is enough - after a few procedures, other folk remedies for purulent abscesses are not needed, since the contents come out. In this case, you cannot squeeze or otherwise mechanically influence the source of inflammation.

Cut a slice from the onion and heat it over an open fire or in the oven. As a result, its edges should be slightly singed and the core should be slightly baked. In this case, the bulb should not be burnt.
Apply a hot, not yet cooled piece to the boil. Fix in one place with a cotton pad, then with an adhesive plaster.
You should keep this compress for about twenty to thirty minutes, then change the bandage to a new one. In most cases, five or six such compresses are required for the purulent core to come out.

Onions have powerful disinfecting properties, and patients are often surprised - why should they be baked? In fact, to treat abscesses, it is baked onions that are required; raw ones are much less effective.

This folk remedy for abscesses on the leg, arm, back, stomach, torso and even face can be used many times in a row. It is completely safe, has no side effects and almost never provokes an allergic reaction.

Possible complications

In the first stages of pustule development, an ordinary person cannot distinguish a boil from an ordinary pimple. Since initially small red rashes appear on the skin, which are surrounded by inflamed skin. After a few days, an accumulation of pus can be seen inside the formations. A boil feels harder to the touch than a regular pimple, but the differences are not drastic. But during an exacerbation, a person experiences severe pain and tingling at the site of the lesion.

Every day the neoplasm increases in size, which is why it looks more like a lump, which contains a lot of pus. The intensity of painful manifestations gradually increases. A boil gives a person a lot of discomfort not only during physical touch, but also on its own. In some cases, the diameter of the growth can exceed four centimeters.

If the patient does not go to the hospital in a timely manner, he may encounter a complication of the disease, which is accompanied by the following symptoms:

Severe nausea.
Weakness and drowsiness.
The place of suppuration is very painful.
Body temperature rises to a critical level.

Removal of chirium occurs at the final stage. An experienced surgeon uses a scalpel to open the formation, thereby releasing all the pus. Only after this the specialist removes the rod, which can be painted in a characteristic green color. After the procedure, a small indentation remains on the skin.

Patients can be pleased with the fact that after removing the boil, all pain goes away. During the rehabilitation period, it is necessary to carefully treat the wound to prevent it from becoming infected.

Ointment based on propolis and honey

This folk remedy for an abscess on the finger can be easily prepared at home. In terms of action, it is no worse than pharmaceutical creams and ointments for panaritium. Has a disinfecting and anti-inflammatory effect. You can alternate the use of this ointment with the use of baked onions or hot salt compresses. This combined action will relieve pain as much as possible and contribute to the speedy healing of the abscess.

Buy an alcoholic tincture of propolis at the pharmacy or make it yourself from ready-made propolis and vodka.
Mix propolis tincture, fresh honey and Vaseline in equal proportions.
Apply a thin layer to the abscess itself and the area of skin around it. Just a minute after application, the patient will feel relief: the pain, burning and itching will go away, and it will be possible to do household chores, forgetting about the abscess for a while.

What to do if the boil opens on its own

This is also a fairly common situation. If the boil ripens faster than necessary, it is quite possible that it will open even without your knowledge or any sensation. In this case, it is necessary to carry out a number of specific actions, including:

Removing germs. Immediately treat the wound with hydrogen peroxide.
Antibacterial bandage. To make this dressing, soak gauze in sodium chloride.
Timely replacement of bandages. If the wound opens on its own, all the pus and, especially, the rod will not come out of the boil immediately. It will likely take a few days for the secretions to come out, so be sure to change your antibacterial dressings every morning. This treatment of the boil after opening will allow you to prevent infection from entering the wound.
Disinfection of the skin around the wound. When changing the dressing, be sure to clean the nearby soft tissue with alcohol or any other sterilant that suits your skin. This also prevents possible infectious diseases.
Removing the rod. After the boil opens, the main greenish core will most likely also begin to appear. Under no circumstances should you pull it out of the wound prematurely. The rod needs to be removed only when it separates from the base. To do this, use completely sterile tweezers. At this time, the wound is still open and your body's immune system is weakened. Therefore, the infection can also enter the blood. Be careful during this procedure. It is also recommended to wipe your hands with alcohol.

So, after opening the boil after proper treatment, it goes away successfully and in its place only a slightly noticeable scar remains. And you can find out what you can use to smear a boil after opening it here. If any difficulties arise during rehabilitation from furunculosis, contact the hospital immediately.

Treating boils with aloe

Almost every housewife grows aloe. This is a perennial plant with fleshy leaves, inside of which there is a thick, odorless and colorless juice. Has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. Aloe juice is a popular folk remedy for abscesses on the arm, leg, and back.

It should be used with caution - the natural ingredient often provokes the development of an allergic reaction, which may result in increased burning and itching in the area of the abscess. It is optimal to test your skin for allergies and tolerance before starting to use aloe juice - apply a few drops to the inner bend of the elbow, and if skin irritation does not appear within a few hours, you can safely use aloe to treat abscesses.

You should tear off the leaf closer to the ground - about one centimeter from the main stem. Squeeze the thick juice onto a spoon and generously moisten the boil or panaritium with it. Secure with a cotton pad soaked in Chlorhexidine or any other disinfecting liquid. Leave the lotion for about twenty minutes, then change to a new one in the same way.

The basic process of surgical removal of a boil

In the case of furunculosis, it is very important not to confuse it with a regular pimple in the first stages. It is strictly forbidden to crush it yourself. Perhaps a certain part of the pus will come out of the suppuration, but the problem is that the rod will still remain inside. Moreover, such actions are fraught with consequences, since infection can easily enter the wound and cause worsening of the pathology, or the development of new life-threatening diseases.

This is especially important in cases where a boil appears on the face. In this case, the wound is close to the brain and, as a result, the infection penetrates into it much faster.

There are times when people try to cut out a boil on their own at home before it matures. Even if the “operation” goes well and the infection does not enter the body, it will not be possible to completely remove the disease. A certain amount of pus and, most likely, the rod still remains in the body. This means that at the first exposure to external factors a relapse will occur, and in this case there is no guarantee that the symptoms will not worsen. Even if it seems to you that the suppuration is small and you can remove it yourself, the situation is actually much worse. If you manage to identify a tumor in the early stages of development, immediately contact a specialist.

The operation is absolutely painless for the patient. Anesthesia is administered before the procedure begins, so the affected area is numbed within a few minutes. This anesthesia is quite sufficient for the entire period of removal. For a quality specialist, the operation takes no more than half an hour.

Treatment with potato juice: compresses and ointment

Potato juice can be used in its pure form, or you can prepare an ointment with it. It has excellent astringent properties, mild analgesic and antibacterial effects. Of course, potato juice cannot replace antibiotic ointment, but it can help get rid of pain and speed up the maturation of boils and panaritium. Potato juice is one of the most effective folk remedies for treating abscesses on the finger.

The ointment should be prepared as follows: mix Vaseline, raw potato juice, aloe juice, and honey in equal proportions. If you don’t have aloe in the house, it doesn’t matter; you don’t have to include this ingredient in the ointment. Mix the ointment thoroughly until smooth and apply to the finger (or other area affected by furunculosis) several times a day - as a compress or simply on the skin.
Compresses from potato juice should be made as follows: grate the peeled tuber on a fine grater and squeeze out the juice. Soak a cotton pad with it and apply it to the abscess. Secure with a bandage and adhesive tape. leave for an hour or two. Then the compress must be changed to a fresh one - otherwise putrefactive bacteria will form under the bandage, which can aggravate the course of the disease.

What to do if the boil does not ripen

If the boil does not increase in size, and the symptoms do not go away or intensify over time, it is necessary to artificially accelerate the process of maturation of suppuration. This is done with the help of special medications. There are several effective ways to speed up the maturation of a boil on your own:

Several times a day, smear the suppuration with special products that dry out the skin. You can use regular iodine. Be sure to consult with your doctor before undertaking such actions. Perhaps in your particular case it would be more advisable to use other, more effective drugs.
Treat the boil with antibiotics. They are administered using injections. The doctor independently performs the procedure by injecting liquid into the skin around the inflammation. This significantly speeds up the ripening process, but the method is used only in extreme cases.
Apply tampons with Vishnevsky ointment to the boil. This is also a kind of compress. The ointment is applied to a cotton pad, which is attached to the affected area of skin with a bandage or patch. In some cases, Ichthyol ointment is used.

The rate of maturation of suppuration can also be influenced by the aforementioned ultraviolet irradiation or other physiotherapeutic procedures. This is also one of the extreme measures, especially if you have already taken a course in the initial stages of the development of furunculosis. Ultraviolet irradiation is usually used for people with problem skin. If in this case it is necessary to accelerate the process of boil maturation, an individual course of therapy is prescribed.

How to speed up the ripening process with folk remedies

Some home remedies are also quite effective in accelerating the development of pathology. But, again, such a decision must be taken as seriously as possible. Even natural remedies can harm you. Especially when it comes to dry skin or a predisposition to allergies.

Among the effective folk remedies it is worth noting:

Aloe leaves. Simply apply to the boil at night.
Cabbage. It works on the same principle. Take a cabbage leaf and apply it to the abscess before going to bed.
Kalanchoe. The plant is identical to aloe, but, according to some data, it accelerates the ripening process much more effectively.
Compress made from grated beets. Grate regular beets into gauze and attach the resulting compress to the body in the right place.

There is no specific answer to the question of how many days it takes for a boil to mature. If the process has dragged on for more than 14 days, it is already recommended to take actions to speed up ripening. But in most cases, problems with the maturation of suppuration do not arise. This is rather an exception to the rule. Of course, only on the condition that the suppuration was detected on time and all necessary actions were taken to properly care for the boil.

Treatment of abscesses with nettle infusion

Nettle is a plant that has many medicinal properties. Folk remedies for an abscess on the finger involve both the use of the juice of a fresh nettle stem, and a bath or compress from a decoction of this plant. To get rid of an abscess, you should generously lubricate the damaged area with nettle juice, and you should squeeze it out while wearing special gloves to avoid getting burned.

This remedy can be combined with other folk remedies for abscesses on the toe. This complex effect will help get rid of purulent formation on the fingers and toes in just two to three days. For example, in the morning and evening - salt heating, at lunch - two compresses of baked onions, and in between these manipulations simply lubricate the abscess with nettle juice.

Reasons for development

The formation of boils most often occurs as a result of damage to the skin by dangerous Staphylococcus aureus, streptococci types A and B, as well as other pathogenic microorganisms. The disease can manifest itself in the presence of certain pathologies in the human body:

Serious disruptions in the functioning of the endocrine system.
Pathological changes in the digestive organs.
Kidney diseases.
Reduced natural protective functions of the epidermis.
Presence of chronic infectious diseases.
Decreased immunity.

The body's protective functions are significantly reduced if the patient has previously been diagnosed with chronic forms of disease (sinusitis, pharyngitis, tonsillitis, and intestinal dysbiosis). The causative agents of furunculosis can penetrate through microtraumas of the skin, at the site of which painful growths subsequently appear. That is why, in order to get rid of the disease, you need to try to increase the protective functions of the immune system. The patient must take special vitamin complexes.

To safely remove a boil, you need to visit an experienced dermatologist who can recommend the most appropriate methods of combating the pathology.

Squeezing, removing or cutting pustules at home is strictly prohibited, since such a specific approach to treatment can significantly aggravate a person’s condition. Only a doctor can really assess the degree of complexity of furunculosis in order to prescribe the most appropriate method of therapy.

Treatment of boils with honey and flour

Mix 1 tbsp. l. butter, vodka, honey and flour. The result is a suspension of medium thickness, reminiscent of ordinary pharmacy ointments. If you wish, you can add more vodka to create an infusion. Place the resulting ointment on gauze and attach to the sore spot for 5-6 hours. Usually everything goes away the first time, but if the abscess is large, then repeat the procedure.

An equally effective remedy for abscesses is a honey-soap cake. 100 g of honey and 100 g of grated laundry soap (choose one with a minimum of preservatives and flavors). Melt in a water bath until a viscous, homogeneous mass with a soapy-honey aroma is obtained and combine with 100 g of flour to form a medium-thick cake. Apply this cake to abscesses and boils. Do not press too hard: light contact of the sore spot with the medicinal lozenge is quite enough.

Folk remedies for abscesses on the body containing honey have a disinfecting and anti-inflammatory effect. The moisturizing effect of butter helps alleviate pain, burning and itching.

Seal after a boil - what is it?

The thickening of the skin at the site of the excised boil causes panic in many people. It is immediately worth noting that even if the suppuration is removed correctly and well treated after the operation, the skin will still thicken for some time. The fact is that the soft tissue in this place was severely damaged, and it takes time to restore it. After a certain period of time, the compaction will pass and only a visual mark will remain on the skin.

However, there are times when compaction does indicate problems. If the wound is too tight, the first possible reason is that the rod was not completely removed. To fix the problem, be sure to go to the hospital. Most likely, another operation will be performed for this. Otherwise, the furunculosis remains in your body, and, most likely, after a while the tumor will reappear on the body. Perhaps in a different place.

The second possible reason is that the previous boil was not removed correctly and continues to function. In this case, it does not pose any particular danger to the body, however, the surgical intervention must be repeated. It is worth noting that repeated surgery is somewhat more difficult, since the skin has already tightened and thickened.

You can determine the cause of skin thickening by paying attention to the general condition of the body. If you feel the primary symptoms of furunculosis in the form of weakness, nausea, drowsiness, and so on, then most likely the problem has not been eliminated. A more accurate and reliable method is a medical analysis for furunculosis. The doctor will examine your skin and, if necessary, independently write out directions for all the necessary tests.

Thickening of the skin is a good reason to think about it if you treated furunculosis yourself or the suppuration opened ahead of time. After surgery, problems almost never arise. But in the case of self-medication, you must immediately go to the doctor before the problem develops into more serious consequences.

One of the worst outcomes is purulent meningitis. A very dangerous disease. It occurs due to the fact that pus from the boil enters the veins and circulates along with the blood to the brain.

Another option for the development of events after complications is chronic furunculosis. In this case, standard removal of the boil core will not be enough. New suppurations will regularly appear on the body, and they will have to be removed through surgery.

Treatment of boils with garlic compresses

The juice of raw garlic cloves has proven itself as an anti-inflammatory remedy many centuries ago. Relieves swelling, itching, burning, helps bring the purulent core of the boil out. Of the minuses, the bitter taste does not allow the use of garlic for gum abscesses.

Folk remedies involve adding pure garlic juice to various compresses. For example, a cake made from honey and butter can be enriched with garlic juice.

Or you can mix half a teaspoon of garlic juice and the same amount of aloe, and make such a compress. Its effect will be simply anti-inflammatory, and analgesic and anti-edematous. Garlic helps especially well in the early stages of an abscess - you can simply cut a clove in half and tape the wet side to a reddened area of the finger or body, where the patient suspects a boil may form. As a rule, this is quite enough - the purulent core resolves before it has time to form. As a result, you don’t even have to treat the disease, because you managed to prevent its development.

Is it possible to wash with a boil?

Water procedures during furunculosis are also allowed. But under no circumstances should you even wet an already opened boil. This is fraught with consequences, so it is not allowed to even simply touch open suppuration with wet hands. Along with water, an infection can enter the wound. Even if there is very little water.

When the boil is in the early stages of development, you can safely take a bath or stand in the shower. Be careful if you feel that the suppuration is about to open.

Furunculosis is a fairly common disease, so the topic is often raised on popular medical programs.
Experts talk in detail about the disease and give practical advice on what to do during a boil. A separate part of the program is devoted to the main mistakes that people make when they are sick. You can watch one of the highest quality and most popular programs here: The consequences of a boil directly depend on your treatment methods and accuracy during illness. If the suppuration was removed surgically, and you carefully followed all the listed rules, most likely the disease will go away without any consequences at all. Also, a lot depends on your personal hygiene in the future. Follow all the necessary rules as carefully as possible for at least several weeks after removing the boil. In addition, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with the list of antibiotic ointments for the treatment of boils.

Healing baths for the treatment of abscesses in children

If an abscess forms on a child’s body, it is more difficult to treat. Most children are very afraid of all kinds of compresses and other medical procedures, and convincing them that such a procedure is painless can be extremely difficult. There is a solution - baths made from infusions of medicinal herbs will help get rid of boils in the early stages. If felon is ripe on a child’s finger, you can use a warm bath with herbal infusions several times a day. Within a few days, the manifestations of the disease will disappear.

Pour a tablespoon of nettle, the same amount of crushed dry yarrow and chamomile into 500 ml of water and boil over low heat for ten minutes. Let cool. Make baths for the sore spot - if it’s your feet, you can do a sitz bath. If these are your hands, you can simply dip them up to the elbows (or just your hands, there is an abscess on your finger) in a warm infusion. If there is an abscess on the gum, you can rinse your mouth several times a day with the resulting infusion.
Pour a tablespoon of oak bark, two tablespoons of nettle and a sprig of mint into a liter of water and boil for about fifteen minutes. Oak bark has excellent astringent properties: this very quickly removes swelling, reduces inflammation and pain from the abscess site. Alas, such baths will not in any way speed up the ripening of the boil root. But the patient will receive relief from the discomfort and feeling of skin tightness.

An interesting way that does not require bath time. Boil a few teaspoons (3-4) of dry pharmaceutical celandine in a glass of water. To freeze. Apply an ice cube to the painful area for a short time - literally for a few seconds, do not cool the skin excessively. This ice therapy from celandine infusion will help get rid of the feeling of tightness of the skin at the site of the abscess, soften itching and burning. As a result, the boil matures faster. If you combine ice treatment or baths with baked onion compresses and warming with salt, you can get rid of a boil or panaritium in a couple of days.

Treatment of boils before surgery, during ripening

Please note that non-surgical treatment of a boil is only advisable in the early stages of the disease. The fact is that the use of ointments, creams and other drugs before ripening itself can lead to further spread of the disease. Staphylococci spread to nearby soft tissues, which can contribute to the appearance of new boils.

Why complex non-surgical treatment of furunculosis can be dangerous

Medical professionals have an ambivalent attitude towards this type of treatment. Previously, a certain part of doctors argued that a non-surgical boil makes sense, since the patient gets the opportunity to get rid of suppuration without surgery. Special drugs are used, applied externally, which accelerate the maturation of the tumor and gradually open it. Consequently, all the pus comes out on its own along with the main core.

A little later, it was proven that in fact this treatment is not only ineffective, but can also be dangerous to human health, especially if it is a boil in an intimate place or other hypersensitive areas of the skin. The fact is that during surgical intervention, all substances located inside the suppuration are guaranteed to be brought out.

In the case of drug treatment, a pyogenic capsule remains inside the hole, which continues to affect the soft tissue. Consequently, this type of treatment not only leaves furunculosis in the body, but can also contribute to the development of other, more dangerous infectious diseases.

The boil itself, of course, disappears after opening, and with proper care, it may not even leave a trace, but the infection remains in the body. As a result, the slightest influence of negative external factors can again cause an exacerbation.

That is why it is recommended to use non-surgical treatment methods until the boil is just developing, but has not yet matured. This will help contain furunculosis and prevent it from spreading to nearby soft tissues.

What non-surgical methods are used:

Salicylic acid. This is a drug that is also often used to treat common acne. The substance dries out the skin. In this case, it is recommended not just to regularly apply acid to the skin. It is necessary to make a compress in the form of gauze soaked in liquid and try to keep it on the suppuration as often as possible.
Antibacterial drugs. They are administered using injections around the boil. The procedure is regular. Depending on the development of the disease, it is recommended to do it once a day. If the boil develops incorrectly, the number of injections can even be increased.
Ichthyol ointment. Apply to the suppuration and cover with cotton wool. After 5-10 minutes, the ointment should be washed off with warm water. Also a regular process. It is recommended to apply Ichthyol once a day until opening through surgery.
Physiotherapeutic procedures. The main method is ultraviolet irradiation of suppuration. It is carried out in order to alleviate the symptoms of the disease and reduce the size of the boil itself. Often the use of such actions is harmful to health, so it is recommended to carry out irradiation only for several days, immediately before opening the suppuration.

Boil on the face

A boil can be localized on any part of the skin, but the appearance of boils on the face is especially dangerous. In this case, inflammation causes not only aesthetic discomfort, but also causes dangerous complications that will end in death.

Therefore, if a boil appears on your face, you should not postpone your visit to the doctor and self-medicate. Treatment of boils in adults and children should take place in a hospital under the supervision of a doctor; only in this case can the risk of dangerous complications caused by the disease be reduced.

Factors provoking pathology

A furuncle is an inflammation of the hair follicle, which is most often caused by Staphylococcus aureus, sometimes the cause of the disease can be streptococcus or fungus. When the pathogen enters the sebaceous gland and the subcutaneous fat layer, an inflammatory process begins, tissue necrosis, and the appearance of pus.

Most often, boils are observed in places where the skin quickly becomes dirty or is subject to constant irritation (during shaving or contact with thick and hard clothing).

Therefore, inflammation usually occurs on the face, scalp, shoulders, buttocks, thighs, and genitals. When boils appear in different places and for a long time, they speak of chronic furunculosis.

But one contact of the pathogen with the skin is not enough for an infection to begin, since a strong immune system will protect the body from the onset of the disease.

The reasons that provoke furunculosis may be the following:

Lack of personal hygiene. Due to poor skin cleansing, pores become clogged, sebum and sweat create favorable conditions for the growth and reproduction of bacteria and the development of inflammation.
Weakened immunity, infections. These are the most common causes of furunculosis. If the body is healthy, it can independently defeat pathogenic agents, but with a decrease in immunity (due to taking immunosuppressants, cytostatics, HIV, severe chronic infections), it is no longer able to cope with inflammation. Often, due to the fact that the infection is not completely treated with antibiotics, some bacteria remain in the body, strains resistant to antimicrobial agents appear, which cause boils.
Metabolism and hormonal imbalance. One of the complications of decompensated diabetes mellitus is furunculosis. Due to the disease, blood circulation in small vessels is disrupted and the skin does not receive enough nutrients and oxygen. All this becomes the cause of dystrophic processes in it. The skin ceases to perform a protective function and it is easier for bacteria to penetrate the hair follicle and a boil develops. Inflammation may occur due to excessive adrenal function. In this case, the disease in their cortex begins to produce a large amount of glucocorticoids, which suppress the immune system and reduce the protective function of the skin. They trigger the process of sebum production, which clogs the sebaceous glands and creates favorable conditions for the development of pathogenic bacteria. Another cause of furunculosis is a high level of male sex hormones. Due to the greater amount of testosterone in the body, sebum production increases.
Ingrown hairs and loss of skin integrity. Infection easily penetrates into wounds and scratches, causing inflammation.
Digestive tract diseases, alcohol addiction, unbalanced diet. All this causes a deficiency of vitamins and minerals in the body, provokes a decrease in immunity, and the development of furunculosis.
Hypothermia, overheating of the body.
Excessive sweating weakens the protective function of the skin, making it easier for pathogens of furunculosis to penetrate into the deeper layers of tissue and provoke an inflammatory process.
Work in hazardous production. Due to constant contact with chemicals and construction dust, the function of the skin is disrupted, and the infection easily penetrates into the body.
Liver diseases in which the liver does not perform its function and does not remove toxins from the body.
Long-term antibiotic therapy disrupts the microflora and provokes a weakening of the immune system.

Clinical picture

When inflammation appears on the face, it is important to determine whether it is a regular pimple or a boil. Treatment for boils and acne varies. It is not easy to distinguish furunculosis at an early stage from other skin infections; they often have similar symptoms. But there are several signs that help make an accurate diagnosis.

When a boil occurs, there are several stages:

Infiltration stage. It lasts 2-3 days and is accompanied by severe pain and itching. At the site of inflammation, redness is noticeable, over time a thickening appears, and the soft tissues of the face swell. Particularly severe pain is observed if you press on the boil.
Stage of suppuration. 3-4 days after the onset of inflammation, you can see the core of the boil; its tip protrudes above the surface of the skin in the form of an abscess. At this stage of furunculosis, local pain subsides, but the patient’s general well-being may suffer. There may be an increase in body temperature, which is accompanied by chills and weakness. There may be dizziness, enlarged lymph nodes. When a boil occurs on the face, facial and chewing functions are disrupted. Somewhere between 6-8 days after the onset of the inflammatory process, the abscess opens and its contents come out and the resulting wound will eventually fill with connective tissue.
Healing stage. After the boil breaks through and its stem comes out, the pain goes away, the resulting cavity heals, the swelling subsides, and the patient’s general condition returns to normal. After completion of the last stage, a reddish-blue scar may be noticeable at the site of the inflammatory process, which after some time will become lighter and less noticeable.

Complications

Furunculosis in itself is a dangerous disease that is undesirable to treat on your own, but especially serious complications can arise if the inflammation begins on the face. This is due to the structure of the blood vessels of the head.

In this place there are many large and small blood vessels, through which the pathogen is carried through the bloodstream throughout the body. And the occurrence of one boil can be provoked by localized (when several boils appear in one place next to each other) and extensive furunculosis (foci of inflammation can be observed in any part of the body).

In addition, the boil on the face is located close to the brain, which can quickly become involved in the inflammatory process, causing meningitis and encephalopathy. These pathologies can cause disability and death of the patient.

Furunculosis on the face can also cause the following complications:

thrombophlebitis;
blindness;
pyelonephritis, glomerulonephritis;
thrombosis;
inflammation of the lymph nodes and blood vessels;
general swelling of the face;
joint inflammation;
sepsis.

All these pathologies significantly reduce the patient’s quality of life. That is why, if a boil occurs on the face, you should seek medical help as quickly as possible.

Therapy

If the first signs of furunculosis appear, you should not postpone a visit to the doctor, since the sooner treatment is started, the faster the boil will mature. If facial tissues are involved in the pathological process, hospitalization of the patient and prescription of antibiotics is required.

A dermatologist, surgeon or therapist can treat a boil. If the pathology is severe, you may need to consult a dentist, since improper therapy can cause damage to the facial nerves.

During the ripening of the boil, the patient should remain in bed. You need to follow a diet, exclude everything fatty, fried, spicy, and alcoholic drinks from your diet. Food should be soft. When the boil is localized on the face, it is necessary to exclude its contact with clothing and change bed linen more often.

It is also recommended to talk less during illness in order to injure the tumor less.

Drug therapy

When a boil occurs, to prevent the pathogen from spreading further, the affected area must be treated with an antiseptic.

A solution of chlorhexidine and furatsilin, 3% hydrogen peroxide, and salicylic alcohol are suitable for this purpose. They moisten the cotton wool and wipe the boil from its edges to the center. If you do this in the opposite direction, healthy skin will be involved in the pathological process.

To speed up the maturation of the boil, as well as to disinfect the area around it, physiotherapy can be prescribed. Ultraviolet irradiation and ultrahigh-frequency therapy relieve pain and stop the further spread of inflammation.

To increase immunity and protective function of the skin, ozone treatment is prescribed. Physiotherapy is prescribed regardless of the stage of furunculosis.

If pus occurs, broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents are prescribed. They reduce the risk of complications and accelerate the maturation of the boil. Antibiotic therapy is carried out so that the pathology does not become chronic.

The doctor selects the medication individually depending on the sensitivity of the pathogen to the drug and the severity of the infection. Antibiotics of the penicillin and cephalosporin series, such as Amoxiclav, Cephalexin, are prescribed. The drugs can be in tablets and ampoules. Injectable forms are prescribed when the boil appears due to another pathology or the disease is very severe.

Antibacterial ointments (Baneocin, Levomekol, Gentamicin, Tetracycline and Erythromycin ointment) can be applied locally.

They need to be applied 2 times a day. To do this, the ointment must be applied to a cotton pad and applied to the boil.

Boils often occur against a background of weakened immunity, so immunomodulators and multivitamins are prescribed. If boils appear, the doctor may prescribe medications based on echinacea (Immunal).

A common method of treating the disease is autohemotherapy. Its essence lies in the fact that venous blood is taken from the patient and injected intramuscularly or subcutaneously. By injecting your own blood, the immune system is stimulated and the likelihood of boil recurrence is reduced.

Surgical therapy

In most cases, a boil on the face is treated surgically. The operation is performed using local anesthetics, so the patient does not feel pain during the operation. A surgeon, not a dermatologist, should open the boil.

After the pus is removed, the resulting streaks are washed with an antiseptic, and a sterile bandage soaked in a hypertonic solution or antibiotic ointment is applied.

So that after the boil there is no keloid or scar left, it is simply pierced in several places.

After the boil is cleared of purulent mass, wound healing ointments are used to accelerate tissue regeneration, for example, Levomekol, Levosin.

To ensure that the scar after the boil has become less, absorbable ointments are used. So after the wound has healed, you can use Contractubex.

One of the modern ways to treat a boil is to remove it with a laser. This is a painless and bloodless procedure. After this method of treating a boil, there are no scars left, so it is preferable when the boil is located on the face.

What not to do

To reduce the risk of complications, you need to follow a number of rules:

you should not injure the boil and try to squeeze it out, in this case further spread of pus into the deep layers of tissue is possible, and the likelihood of thrombosis of the cerebral veins increases;
Do not apply wet compresses to the sore spot or get it wet, as in this case the pathogen can get on healthy skin;
You should not scratch the boil or touch it with your hands, otherwise you can get another infection and the abscess will become larger, which will leave a scar on your face;
boils should not be heated, since in this case the blood flow improves, the inflammation intensifies and the boil will not burst out, but the pus will enter the blood and from there to the internal organs, including the brain.

Prevention

To reduce the likelihood of a boil on the face, you need to follow a number of rules:

eat enough fruits, vegetables, berries and herbs, which contain many vitamins; after consultation with a specialist, you can take multivitamins;
you need to get rid of the habit of squeezing pimples, since in this case it is easy to introduce pathogenic bacteria into the resulting wound, which will provoke the appearance of a boil;
It is prohibited to use someone else’s razor or bath accessories;
It is important to avoid stress and strengthen the immune system through hardening.

It must be remembered that if a boil appears on the face, it should be treated by a doctor, this will reduce the risk of severe complications, and possibly save the patient’s life.

How to understand that inflammation has matured?

The ripening of a boil can last up to 10 days , during which time a person experiences discomfort and pain in the area of its formation. The infiltration stage lasts up to 4 days, in some cases it can take a week. At the maturation stage, all symptoms are progressive.

Symptoms and appearance of a boil with photos

The pain is moderate and aching.
Increase in the size of the inflamed area and its density. On the surface of the formation you can see two dots of black and white.
The main sign that the disease has entered the main stage of ripening is the formation of a rod. A crust forms in the central part of the abscess, under which the purulent contents of the boil are visible.
In the last stage of ripening, the abscess opens and pus flows out. After this, the painful sensations disappear and the healing stage begins.

Most boils are treated without surgery; time is given for them to mature and open on their own. Despite the fact that the disease can go away on its own, it is recommended to see a doctor, since the disease can have complications if its dynamics are not monitored by a specialist.

is especially important to contact a medical facility if the boil is located in the facial area .

Traditional treatment

A few years ago, boils could only be removed surgically. But today everything has changed; if the tumor is small and does not pose a threat to human life, then less traumatic treatment can be used. The most popular procedures are:

Laser therapy. During this procedure, the patient's skin suffers the least. It only takes 10-15 minutes to remove a boil. The procedure is virtually painless, so there is no need to use local anesthesia. After removal, a small wound remains on the skin, which in 98% of all cases heals without forming a scar.
You can remove the tumor with regular salicylic acid. The product is carefully applied to the affected area of the skin, wrapped with a sterile bandage and left for two days. During this time, the formation of a necrotic core should occur, as well as the opening of the boil itself. It is worth noting that this option is only permissible if the diameter of the growth does not exceed 0.7 cm.
Surgical intervention is used less often. Such a radical treatment is used if the laser knife is no longer appropriate. The procedure is performed only under local anesthesia. In especially severe cases, temporary drainage can be installed in the wound, which helps prevent new suppuration.

Only a qualified doctor can decide exactly how to remove a boil. Since it necessarily takes into account the size of the growth, its location and the general condition of the patient.

Ripe abscess

The most vulnerable parts of the body for the formation of abscesses are the area of the head, neck, back and gluteal-femoral part of the leg. Stages of disease development:

Infiltration stage. A reddish lump forms and pain occurs in this area.
Formation of a rod with purulent contents.
Opening of the boil and pouring of pus out.
Healing.

IMPORTANT : Boils do not appear on the skin of the palms and soles.

What to do?

Improper manipulation of a mature boil can lead to complications such as infection of nearby skin areas, spread of inflammation and the addition of other infections.

Manipulations with unopened boils

Under no circumstances should you squeeze out the pus yourself ! When pressing, the pressure inside the abscess can go deep into the tissue. This is especially dangerous if the inflammation is on the face. Complications may include thrombophlebitis, abscess and meningococcal infection.
If a purulent core appears, do not treat it with dyes . Iodine, brilliant green, manganese solution and others complicate the diagnosis and assessment of the depth of inflammation.
Antibiotics and other medications prescribed by a doctor must be used in the required dosages . Use traditional methods only after consultation with a specialist. To ripen and draw out pus, ichthyol ointment and Vishnevsky ointment are used.
To quickly ripen the boil, you can apply warm water compresses . Use only boiled water and a sterile bandage for them. This bandage relieves pain and softens the upper layer of the purulent core, which speeds up and facilitates the process of breaking through an already mature abscess.

WARNING : Do not use antibiotics yourself! Preparations containing antibiotic substances are prescribed if there is an analysis of the sensitivity of the microorganisms that caused the inflammation to them.

After preparation

Do not help the pus to come out with your hands, do not press, do not massage intensely.
A light massage of the skin around the inflamed area with clean and disinfected fingers is recommended. Remove pus with a sterile cloth or gauze.
On the first day after the abscess opens, it is forbidden to wet the area of inflammation.
The wound, after the pus has come out, can be treated with hydrogen peroxide and covered with a gauze bandage. There is no need to smear it with anything else. Change the bandage every 2-3 hours. It is best to keep injured skin dry for as long as possible. This way, recovery will be faster and the likelihood of scar formation on the skin will be reduced.

ADVICE : A boil that does not open for a long time is dangerous for the spread of infection. In this case, it is opened promptly in a medical institution.

Every person can face the problem of this skin disease. Proper treatment and following professional recommendations will help avoid complications.