What Are Boils? 7 Tips To Combat Them
If you have frequent outbreaks of boils, pay special attention to your hygiene habits and go to a dermatologist to determine the possible causes of abscesses.
Painful, uncomfortable and dangerous if not treated with care: Boils are a skin discomfort that we can all suffer from, but they can be prevented. Here we will give you some tips to combat boils.
Abscesses that form on the skin due to infection of a hair follicle, skin structures on which hairs grow, are known as “boils.” The affected area becomes inflamed and a painful lump forms, which may fill with pus and dead cells.
As the amount of pus increases, the body will look for a way to drain it, so at a certain point a white or yellowish point will appear in the inflamed area, similar to the cases of acne.
These follicles are prone to infection, especially in areas that are very hairy, moist, and where there is friction, such as the armpits, buttocks, thighs, face, neck, and groin. Other cases that can cause skin infections are:
- Mosquito bites
- Friction, clothing, or skin-to-skin injuries
- Small cuts when shaving
- Excoriations
- Scrapings
Why are boils generated?
We are all prone to injury. This damage to the skin leaves it exposed to bacteria that live on its surface, which can cause an infection no matter how small. A boil affects not only the infected follicle, but also the surrounding tissue.
Not every injury to the skin generates a boil, as our immune system should be able to fight bacteria before infection is generated. However, even if we follow the advice to combat boils, there are certain aspects that can make us more prone to suffering from this type of infection, even suffering from furunculosis, a condition in which multiple abscesses frequently develop.
Some of the reasons that make us more likely to suffer from boils are:
- Genetic predisposition
- Poor hygiene
- Diabetes
- Renal insufficiency
- Cirrhosis
- Drug’s use
- HIV
- Chronic skin diseases
- Obesity
- Advanced age
- Wearing tight clothing
Why do I get boils so often?
Generally, the cases in which several abscesses develop in a row are a consequence of the points listed above, or of poor treatment to a previous infection. Another tip to combat boils is to wash clothes, sheets and blankets that may have been in contact with the affected area with neutral soap, so that another infection can be prevented.
If the inflammation does not subside naturally and the infection continues for more than 10 days, if you have several boils at the same time, or if you have a fever, see a dermatologist. He can drain them and give you treatment.
Seven tips to fight boils
It is possible to remove boils. You just have to adopt some good habits to combat them and avoid suffering them frequently. So pay attention to your skin. Take note!
- If you have a boil, use warm water compresses, chamomile tea, or basil leaves at least three times a day to reduce pain and inflammation. It is important that the compress is clean and that you use a new one each time.
- While you have the boil, bathe daily with antiseptic soap.
- Boils usually “burst” spontaneously after a few days. If this is your case, clean the area with a sterile gauze, water and neutral soap, to prevent the drained pus from infecting other areas of your skin.
- Keep the areas of your skin that have a lot of hairs controlled, clean and dry, this way you will avoid infections.
- Avoid wearing very tight clothing or clothing that generates friction in delicate areas of your body, so you can prevent injuries that can turn into boils.
- Do not squeeze the boil with your nails, otherwise you will make the infection worse. Let it drain on its own and, if it doesn’t, visit your specialist doctor.
- If you are very prone to developing these infections despite following the aforementioned tips, we recommend a general check-up to determine what factors are affecting the health of your skin.
Hygiene and care of our skin are determining factors to combat boils and prevent them from continuing to appear. It is also a way to take care of our entire body, since avoiding these infections also protects our blood and organs. In addition, it allows us to live a more comfortable and pain-free life.
