Your Skin Problems Answered

Skin Boils are a nasty combination of inflammation, pain, infection and pus.  Skin boils are simply a skin infection on a large scale.  Anyone who has experienced a skin boil will agree with this.  They are one of those unpleasant experiences in life that we would rather avoid.

What causes Skin Boils?

In most cases, skin boils are a result of a bacterial infection in a hair follicle.  The infection is most often caused by Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) bacteria, invading a hair follicle by travelling down the follicle and forming a collection of pus at the base.  Eventually, the pus forces its way to the skin surface, and the boil comes to a head.  So, the result is a hard, swollen, painful, red lump on the skin. 

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Where do Skin Boils Occur?

The most likely places for skin boils to occur are the groin, buttocks, and under the arms.  In general, areas of the body that are often moist.  Occasionally, skin boils do occur on the face or neck.  A stye on the eyelid is also a type of boil. 

How to Prevent Skin Boils and Abscesses 

There are some things that can be done to reduce the occurrence of skin boils.  Using antibacterial soap can reduce the likelihood of skin boils forming by minimizing the amount of bacteria on the skin surface.  Also, using a skin buffing brush, sponge or loofah in the shower can help keep the pores of the skin clear and pores free from oil, which will aid in stopping the cause of skin boils. 

There is also a new way of treating skin boils from the inside out, which I have recently discovered.  It is possible to significantly reduce the severity of the nasty and debilitating symptoms of skin boils.

Click here to learn more about Preventing Skin Boils

I’ve provided the traditional first aid treatment for boils below for you.  I’m a retired registered nurse, and when I trained, a big emphasis was placed on first aid.  The information provided below is sound and will help treat a boil.

Having said that, I have a strong interest in natural medicine, and in particular homeopathy.  I have used homeopathic treatments for myself and my family, with great results, for more than 20 years.   I highly recommend it.

The reason I mention it, is that there is a homeopathic treatment available for Boils.  It is called Boilx, and it is effective for both the treatment and prevention of boils.   If you would like to learn more, visit the website here

The First Aid Treatment for Boils

When treating boils, it is important to understand that you are dealing with a skin infection.  If done incorrectly, treating boils yourself can cause the spread of infection, and potential serious illness.  If in any doubt, always seek medical attention.

When you first notice a skin boil appearing, using a warm, moist compress often helps to sooth the inflammed skin. The compress also aids in treating boils by helping draw the infection to the skin surface.

It will take several days for the skin boil to come to a “head”.  Keeping the area clean, and covering the boil with a clean, dry dressing to help protect the area is a good idea.

A skin boil will most often burst and drain itself.  It is not recommended that you lance a boil yourself.  If you believe this is necessary, you should see a medical practitioner to do this for you.

In treating boils, once the infected area has drained, use a saline solution to clean away the pus and fluid. An antibacterial solution would also be helpful to kill bacteria in and around the skin boil.

The fluid within a skin boil is highly infectious, so when treating boils cleanliness is very important to avoid further spread of infection.  The skin area should be cleaned and covered daily until the skin boil heals completely.

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What is the best home treatment of a boil?

There are various schools of thought on whether it is wise to treat a skin boil at home, or whether it is best to seek medical advice.  As always, using common sense is the best place to start, and if there are complications such as fever, chills, multiple boils, or if the boil is on the face, head or neck, seeking medical attention quickly, is advised.

As a nurse in my previous career, I saw quite a few home treatments gone wrong.  It is important to follow the instructions I’ve listed below carefully, and see your doctor if you are at all unsure.

If you would like a natural safe way to lessen the symptoms associated with boils, I recommend you have a look at this site:  Natural Treatment for Boils.  It uses a type of natural treatment that I have used for many years with great success.  I go into a little more detail about it in this post:  Treating Boils

One important caution in the home treatment of a boil is:  Never burst or squeeze a boil.

The reason is that a skin boil contains a large amount of highly infected fluid.  Squeezing a boil will actually spread the infection and make it worse.

Having said that, if you are wanting a home treatment for a boil, here are some suggested steps:

Steps for Home Treatment of a Boil

1. Apply a warm compress. Warm, moist heat increases blood flow to the area, which may help “draw” the skin boil and bring it to a head and speed up healing. Apply for 20-30 minutes, 3 times a day.

2. Once the skin boil has come to a head, it will usually burst on its own and drain.

3. Once the boil bursts, apply a saline solution to draw out the pus and fluid and to dry it out. You can purchase a saline solution, or mix your own with 250ml (1/2 pint) hot water and 1 teaspoon of salt.

4. Keep the area clean by washing with an antibacterial soap and water. This is especially important after the skin boil has started to drain. During home treatment of a boil, it is important to keep the skin area clean and dry. Cover the skin with a clean, dry dressing, between treatments.

5. An antibacterial ointment can also be helpful during the home treatment of a boil. The ointment can help kill any bacteria both inside the boil and on the skin.

Click here for a simple way to effectively treat painful boils

Skin boils, also know as Skin Abscesses, actually have more than one cause.  One cause of skin boils is more common than others.  The other causes are less common, but equally unpleasant.

The main cause of Skin Boils is an ingrown, infected hair follicle.  When a hair follicle becomes ingrown, the skin becomes irritated and inflammed as the body tries to correct the problem.  This sometimes causes an infection which can become a Skin Boil.  A skin boil caused by an ingrown hair follicle is more likely to occur in the groin/inner thigh or underarm area.

An effective natural treatment to help relieve the painful symptoms associated with boils is available here.  (It also helps stop boils recurring).

The second most common cause of skin boils is blocked oil or sweat glands.  When oil and sweat glands become clogged and are unable to secrete, there is a build up of fluid in the gland which can become infected.  These type of skin boils occur in cases of cystic acne on the face and neck.

Another cause of skin boils can simply be a break in the skin surface, such as a cut or graze, which becomes infected.  The skin is our natural barrier to infection, and when that barrier is breached by an injury, bacteria can enter the wound and the potential infection can result in a skin boil.  Therefore, it is very important for skin cuts and grazes to be properly cleaned and covered.

A foreign body injuring the skin, such as a splinter, can be another cause of Skin boils.

The human body’s response to a foreign object in the skin, is to send white blood cells to fight the potential infection and attempt to expell the splinter which doesn’t belong there.  That is why the area around a splinter often becomes inflammed, and if not removed and treated with antiseptic, can result in infection and sometimes a skin boil.

A further cause of skin boils is a staphylococus aureus infection on the skin.  This is a particular type of bacteria which can cause a skin boil known as a carbuncle.  A carbuncle is larger than a skin boils and usually has multiple openings onto the skin surface.  They are are particularly nasty, and should be treated by a medical practitioner.

Knowing the cause of skin boils is fine, but knowing how to treat Skin Boils early and reduce the pain and severity of skin boils is better.

If you are interested in learning more about natural treatment for boils visit this site

Skin problems are something faced by every generation, both young and old.  Today, many skin problems are treatable.  If the problem can’t be completely eliminated, at the very least the symptoms can be minimized, and skin appearance improved.

Skin problems are multiple in nature, including:  skin tags, skin boils, warts, moles, skin allergies, hives, acne and more.  Then, there are the multiple skin problems created by aging which are a whole separate area. 

YourSkinProblems.com will provide information, education and the best products and techniques available to treat, heal and improve the skin problems mentioned above, and more.

Keep checking back here regularly to see the latest news on the elimination of undesirable and embarrassing skin problems.