I know this is kind of gross, but I'd really like some help. Does anyone know of a home remedy to get rid of a boil on my stomach? I am going in for surgery next week and this thing is so disgusting I would like it to be gone by then. Thank you for all of your help.
Sandy from Pittsburgh
Sandy, it is an embarassing situation, many of my family members have them. This is the best remedy I have found and I got it off the net. Wash the place throughly and pat dry. Apply some tomato sauce (has to be sauce) to a clean white gauze. Attach it with tape of some kind. DO NOT use paper tape, it hurts like the dickens when pulled off! Change it daily and it will go away. Most of these have cores and until the core comes out, you will keep having them. Hope this helps. (10/27/2005)
By Michele
I would recommend going to Web MD or National Institues of Health. Vinegar is my miracle cure for everything. I don't know that I would try that unless it is like a pimple, then yes I would. Put vinegar on the area and let dry. (10/27/2005)
By Sandy
Sandy, because you are going in for surgery, it might be a good idea to call your doctor before doing anything. He or she might want you to be on antibiotics prior to surgery. You don't have to be embarrassed! A boil is very common. (10/27/2005)
By Judi
When we were growing up, my mother had a couple home remedies to draw out the core of a boil. One was to soak a piece of bread in milk and place it on the boil. You could use a gauze pad to hold it in place and tape it. The other method was a slice of raw potato taped over the boil. (10/27/2005)
By Harlean
I have a home remedy I discovered by accident that's pretty simple. Wash the boil area with soap and water and then dry. Apply a piece of duct tape, completely covering the boil. Yes, that's right, duct tape. It must be the type of duct tape with the fabric "fibers" and NOT the foil duct tape. Leave the tape on for 24-48 hours. It will stay on through a shower or bath. After the 24-48 hours, slowly peel the tape off your skin. If the boil has come to a head and popped, you will see the dried yucky stuff stuck to the tape. At this point, you have two choices. You can simply wash the area again, and apply some antibiotic ointment and a bandaid until it starts to heal. The second option is to gently squeeze around the boil to remove any remaining yucky stuff. Then, I would clean and cover as described above. The second option is not really recommended because when you squeeze, instead of pushing the remaining stuff out of the boil, you may spread it around more under the skin causing you more pain and problems.
By Tori
When I was a teenager and had a boil, my mom had me soak in a warm bath and then she put egg white on the boil, waited until it dried and peeled it off. The core came out with the dried egg white and it did not hurt but it all came out and I had no trouble after that (10/27/2005)
By Dannielle
This group is so wonderful, I can't even tell you how much I appreciate everyone here. Thank you so much for all of the advice. I printed this page out for future reference also. I just hope I can be of help to someone else here real soon. Thanks again! (10/28/2005)
By Sandy from Pittsburgh
I used to have boils as a child. The doctor told me to use Dial Antibacterial soap in the area of the boil. This works for me. When I feel one coming on, I start the antibacterial soap. I don't use it all the time as it's too harsh for my dry skin otherwise. Hope this helps you. (11/23/2005)
By badwater
This isn't a home remedy but it works wonders. There is a salve you can get at most drugstores (walgreens, CVS, etc.), called "Black Salve" or "Draw-out Salve" (sometimes they keep it behind the pharmacy counter but it requires no prescription). It is actually a black colored salve (under $10), that comes in a tube and well, it stinks BUT if you put it on a large bandage and cover the boil, it will draw out the stuff inside and also relieve the "burning hellfire" sensation.
The reason that boils appear is because of a staph infection. Years ago I would get these dreaded things and they were soooo painful. I kept thinking they would go away but they didn't so I finally went to a doctor. He told me what the cause was; bacteria, germs, and he wrote me a prescription for an anitbiotic and after a few days they went away and never returned. I even had one in my nose! (01/15/2006)
Try Magnesium Sulphate paste, apply thickly to boil and cover with clean gauze/pad and use surgical tape or a plaster to keep in place. Or, if very tender, wrap bandage to keep in place. Works well if you place the jar in boiling water to heat up before application - seems to draw poison yukky stuff out even better. Remove, wash area and re-apply daily. Can be bought from most chemists fairly cheaply and a small jar lasts ages. Poor you! Hope this helps (02/22/2006)
By zillah bell
I get boils all the time, under my breasts, OUCHY! I hate them so bad and they really hurt! I don't know what to do about the scars, wish I could get rid of them, but I do know I have tried just about everything known to man to rid myself of them! Here is what worked for me:
A product called Boil Ease. My grandparents use it all the time and it is available behind the counter at many pharmacies
This one worked the quickest for me: Make a paste from Flour and Vinegar, make it thick though. Rub on and around the boil, cover with guaze (I even soak a smaller piece of gauze in the paste and put it on under the covering piece) and tape to hold in place. Remove daily and clean with antibacterial soap. Once it breaks, I always clean it with antibacterial soap and rub Neosporin on it.
I got one boil on my thigh, OMG, did it hurt! I couldn't even walk, and every time I moved it rubbed against my other leg and hurt so bad. I tried everything, but the vinegar and flour opened it in a day! Now I swear by it, LOL. Hope this helps in the future! (03/16/2006)
By Katie
Hi, I have had a lot of success with the benzoyl peroxide pimple cream that they sell for teens. It dries the thing out and kills the bacteria. Good luck. (07/05/2006)
By Diane
DON'T MESS WITH A BOIL. SEE YOUR DOCTOR. This is a very serious infection which requires medical attention. (09/12/2006)
By Tina
Make an ointment by mixing Epsom Salts with glicerine or Vaseline and apply to the boil. (09/15/2006)
By Willem
I have now a boil on my cheek, it's very painful-i had it first 3 years ago and after few weeks went away, simply disinfecting the area daily and removing pus (that was so so painful.) after 3 years now very close to the same place another boil came back! i cannot believe: all i did was to take out a black head. i used a lot of tea tree oil but it didnt work. now have just applied "magnesium sulphate paste" - awful chemicals, i know, but all i want is this boil to go... I did not quite understand how long i have to keep it on the boil and how many times i need to apply it before touch the boil gently to help the pus drains: can u help me???
thanks a lot
(b)Editor's Note:(/b) Because this is reoccuring and because it is on your face, please see a doctor. (09/25/2006)
By julie
Does anyone know how to get rid of the purplish looking color from boils i guess they are now scars.. on my body (10/09/2006)
By tc
I am removing a boil as we speak. I didn't even know what it was until I showed a family member at Christmas and she told me. Mine was small, on my hip and was formed in a stretch mark I had there from pregnancy. (I am not currently pregnant, my son is 8 months old) It wasn't terribly sore, or very big. As a matter of fact, it had come and gotten smaller and then started up again and was annoying in size by xmas.
She told me it was a boil. I saw the different methods, like apply HOT tea bags and heating pads to draw it to a head. But I my mother brought me a tube of DRAW OUT SALVE from the grocery pharmacy. It was like 5 bucks and it did the trick.
I just applied a big glob of the stinky black substance to a large fabric bandaid and taped it very tightly to my hip. I left it on for about 2 hours until I felt something, when I removed the bandaid the boil had come to a head and was beginning to drain.
Because it was pretty small I don't know if the core was removed or not, even tho there was some blood. But I just reapplied some more stinky black magic and am gonna leave it on as I go to bed, in hopes the ugly red/purple bump will be gone by morning.
I'm also suffering from ringworm right now, so I am assuming I've recently come into contact with some icky bacterias and molds. But I'm gonna be right as rain soon. Just keeping everything covered for fear that my precious boy might contract any of these things.
Now that I think about it, I think I used to get very little boils on me arse all the time. I chalked em up to being big painful pimples that eventually went away on their own....but by eventually I mean FOREVER!
I think from now on, if I ever get another on me arse again, I will apply to SALVE to my rear and see if it draws a head and goes away. This stuff is awesome. It's cheap and there is enough in the tube that i won't need to buy another one for a long time!
It's BEHIND the pharmacy counter tho, so you have to ask for it.
(12/29/2006)
By Veronique
i dont have a remedy for boils but ive been suffering from them since i was 13 years old i hate them. i have reoccuring boils that are very large, gross, and painful. i have many scars and i have been to 5 different doctors and they tell me that there is nothing i can do about it and i just have to live with it. i have tried tea bags, i use antibacterial soap daily, ive tried hot baths, and i changed from a lufa to a washcloth. what else can i do? i need serious help. (04/02/2007)
By nikki
Some people have given some excellent advice here. I have had 7 boils, each painful and quite memorable. The whole point of treatment is make it come to a head so you can drain it. Then treat with internal or external antibiotics. DO NOT SQUEEZE TOO HARD WHEN DRAINING, it may burst under the skin.
So I will give advice as to what it may not be.
- Pimples: pimples, zits, acne can occur anywhere on the body but are most common in areas of highly oily skin, i.e. the face. Pimples can have a white head. They may be a little larger, up to 1/4 inch in diameter for the red swollen area. Sometimes larger. Do not squeeze if they do not have a head, they may burst under the skin.
- Plugged sweat glands: about the same size as a pimple, 1/4 inch diameter, it is a raised hard area, USUALLY NOT PAINFUL. Do not do anything, except shower after exercising or sweating.
- Boil: boils are hard, very painful areas ranging from 1/2 to 4 inches in diameter. Boils are infections, usually caused by staphylococcus naturally occuring on the skin. They GROW RAPIDLY from the start. They may or may not come to a head. They may or may not have a "core", a solid area expunged when the boil is drained.
I forgot to add that I began getting boils when I began fishing and cutting up worms for bait. After I stopped fishing for 2 years, I had no more boils. Coincidence?
(04/02/2007)
By Chuck R.
I had cystic acne in my teens and early twenties and finally got a perscription for Acutane which really helped but not before I had already had noticeable acne scars on my face. I once had to have a boil surgically removed from under my chin. I can still squeeze areas on my face where I used to have acne and a smelly oily stuff comes out, usually under my ear lobes. I have a boil on my back at the moment that I apply a damp, hot, wash cloth to, as hot as I can stand. I had used this remedy before successfully when I had a painful boil on my buttock and it was hard to sit. It eventually shrinks, loosens and drains. I rarely get boils. Last one was five years or more ago. (04/29/2007)
By Matt
The best thing I have used abd have heard others use is a little tube of stuff called "draw out salve". It is ichthammol ointment. It is gross looking an smelling but works great. U can get it from a place called wonderlabs. (05/16/2007)
By Bill
Hi all I have read alot about Ichthammol Ointment on different sites also how lots of individuals use this ointment it is like after 10 pm and I am at the point of running to Walgreens to get Ichthammol Ointment I'm at the point i dont care what time it I have a boil on my butt I havent had a boil in 11 yrs so this is a like oh NO OUCHY but hopefully Relief with a Capital R will be here soon :( (05/20/2007)
By Jillian
tumeric pills do the trick! (05/29/2007)
By neek
turmeric is great for boils u can buy them in capsules or powder at a health food store or walmart
(06/04/2007)
By angel
I grew up as a ranch kid this is what we used for Boils and/or Infections, first clean area with anti bacterial soap, then use hand sanitizer or Listerine (Original). This does two things it kills the surface germs and bacteria. Next use Ichthammol (pronounced Ik tham mol) 20% Ointment which you can get at any Drug store it is behind the counter at the druggist counter. Ichthammol is sometimes called "black drawing salve" or DSSO. Apply to a bandage big enough to cover area, change 2 3 times daily. Also 4 times daily take a 8oz glass of half water mixed with half fresh lemon juice this will help detoxify your body. Also Turmeric pills are also helpful as they are anti-inflammatory.
Rob F.
(06/15/2007)
By Arizona Ranch Kid
ok, i am now recovering from a VERY embarrassing boil on my butt. and let me tell you 9 people have seen my butt in (1) week. yea painful and embarrassing and anyway i tried all kinds of home remedies and even the black draw out salve well the salve brought out some of the pus but not much and then it hurt soooooo bad and i finally went to the doctor and it was the best thing i could do because i had 2 boils in one spot together with one HUGE VERY painful core. then when i arrived at the doctor the core came out before i even got to see the doctor which was major relief of pain and then the pus came out the doctor said it looked a lot better and i took 2 antibiotic shots and i am on antibiotics for 10-12 days and i am felling sooo much better now sooo i definitely recommend going to the doctor for the first sign of the boil this is staph infection and is very dangerous if it spreads and can spread very quickly soo GO TO THE DOCTOR! it is the best thing you can do for a boil... (06/20/2007)
By Jared
omg everyone, OK check this out. I suffered bad from boils I am a very clean person have a very clean house and have tried every remedy possible. Doctors didn't know what to do either. I got them on my breast my arse and my bikini area, I have used many antibiotics I have had them for 7 years now, I had 2 to 3 constantly and I didn't feel sexy at all. I hated it. So about 4 months ago I thought my gosh I need a tan I went to the tanning bed every day for about a week till I got a good tan then I went 2 times a week for a month now I go once a week. I haven't received any new boils and all old are gone. I feel great and I look great . I have a friend that has a son who is 15 he also gets them real bad well he did till I suggested this to her and her son he no longer has them any more he to is very happy, I have also told 4 other people about it and they just started doing the same thing I am sure the results will be great for them also. So please try this out and keep in touch about it. I am curious if it will help all who try it. if so great. I am very excited that right now I am boil free. Good luck to all. OH and PS the scars i have don't look bad any more with this tan and no more purple looking scars either. (b)(/b) (07/09/2007)
By Linda
boils hurt like he** when you get them make sure you go see a doctor because they hurt like me i have 1 on my back and i cant stand up straight and my back is in so much pain i cant sleep on my back and it feels like somebody is stabbing me in my back but all i have to say is go see a doctor (07/22/2007)
By the wifey
Linda your post seems to make me think you may have Hidradenitis Suppurativa. It is a rare disease with no cure which I myself have. Have you ever been diagnosed with it? There are many doctors who don't know much about it. Ichthammol ointment seems to help mine some but i get mine mostly in bikini area and buttocks area. I am very clean and take 2-3 baths a day. I have found I can only use coast soap and all other soaps irritate me severely and stress makes them come worse. They leave scars also which in time and i mean alot of time heal up some. I had this horrible disease for 3 yrs before I found out what it was but now I am too ashamed to go to the doctor. Just do a search for Hidradenitis suppurativa and read about it. Hope this may help you out some.
thanks,
crystal (08/22/2007)
By Crystal
I had my first boil last year, I thought it was an ingrown hair under my air, however it grew so large I could not put my arm down. I went to the doctor and had to get it lanced, he had to have his nurse hold my hand to keep me from punching him the face. First he cleaned the area and then he numbed the area with a needle that felt like a wasp had stung me. Then he cut the boil open and squeezed out blood, green, yellow, and black pus. After my culture came back I had a staph infection, after a week on the antibiotics I was in the clear. Now I have a new boil under my other arm, and the pharmacist at Ekerd's told me to soak a warm rag in epsom salt, then apply the Draw Out Salve to a band-aid. I will give feed back when this ordeal is over. (08/26/2007)
By phoenix
thank you Crystal I have never been diagnosed with it but i will definitely get that looked into i really appreciate you're advise that is the most i have ever gotten from anyone, even doctors.
Thank you Thank you, Linda (09/29/2007)
By Linda Coll
HI! I just want to start off saying that this board has really given me some good advice. Ok, I've been suffering from boils back to back, and I haven't gotten to try out this home remedy, but i hope it works. Apply garlic or onion juice to the boil several times a day. This should help bring the boil to a head were you can start to drain it. Oh, and eat alot of garlic in your food as well. Hope this helps! ^_^ (09/30/2007)
By Lenox
I used the black stinky stuff and it worked I've never gotten boils before and all of sudden i had an ingrown hair in my private area and I was so scared i thought the bump might've been an STD. The doctor told me it wasn't that it was a boil not an std they gave me antibiotics for it but I went to the the store and also bought the ichthammol ointment (that's sold behind the pharmacy counter) and it worked really fast. After a couple of hours it burst and oozed out all the gunk I'm going to keep using it until it's completely gone but I'm glad I started looking in the internet for home remedies on boils because those are the worst things to ever have. It was a very painful spot to have a boil at and I hope not to get it ever again. (10/01/2007)
By d
I have had one boil between my breasts and the "black salve" did take care of it. However, many years later, I've just developed carbuncles in my nose and just outside my nostrils above my lips. Can't put black salve in your nose and the pain is so bad the ER docs put me on pain pills. I'm on antibiotic now and the carbuncle did come to a head after 5 days! The pus is gross and I don't recall any solid core coming out of the 2 areas on it's head. There is still a lump under the skin after 1 week. Is this normal? My ENT didn't want to lance it because it was so close to my sinuses/brain.
Anyone else out there who gets these things around/in their nose? (10/13/2007)
By Redpepper
I know this is going to sound crazy (I laughed when I heard it). It really works though. Take a glass bottle like a coke bottle or something similar. Fill it about 3/4 of the way with boiling water. When it has cooled off enough for you to handle place the bottle over the boil and turn upside down. Make sure you remain still so the bottle doesn't lose it's suction. It should draw the puss and the core of the boil out.
I also used campho phenique to make the boil come to a head.
Hope it works for you! (10/14/2007)
By Lindsay
I just recently had a very painful boil on my breast. This being my third boil over a time span of 6 yrs. I was very nervous knowing what I would have to endure while getting it drained. So I checked out this website and saw the suggestion about the potato skins. Guess what?? I tried it, and in 2 days it actually worked !!! You actually feel the potato skin drawing the poison to a head, but it's so worth not getting cut open again. It drained on it's own for the whole day and then finished like in 2-3 days. (10/28/2007)
By TEMW
Thank You all.. I have also received great advice from this page. I recently got a boil on my nose. I've seen two Doctors with no help from either of them. They looked at it and sent me home with a antibiotic and no other advice. That didn't help. Within the past few months I've had it. It's in the same place and it is now back for the third time. I have cancer and have to take meds. everyday but I can't take them a few weeks before my radiation treatment. This leaves my immune system very inactive. For everything I've read on boils a low immune systems and cancer and radiation can be a big culprit. I've read many things on this site and some on others and I now have a great list to go by. List includes;
Colonic treatment- this rids the toxins out of the body
Hot compresses- hot towel, tea bags, egg white, potato,..), Creams- Clindamycin, Palymyxin, Benzoyl Peroxide and Ichthammol
Vitamins- A, C, E, Garlic, and Tumeric Pills.
and Tanning!
I hope this helps someone so they don't have to read as many sites as I have.
Amber
(11/06/2007)
By Amber
OMG this is so annoying! A few days ago a got this big ol lump under my skin on my chin at volleyball practice and I was thinking "OH GREAT A PIMPLE!!" But OHH NO - It just had to be a boil, I didn't really know what it was at first so I treated it like my big bertha of pimples and as I waited for Mount OlimPUS to errupt, well, - it never did. My friend said I had a BOIL. (GRR!!) By this time it was picture day and tea tree oil had done nothing to help but dry out the surrounding skin...errrrr
SO its on my chin, about a cm and a half big, its annoying, its in the way, it looks gross, it feels gross, IT SECRETS PUS!! and my make up will not stick to it. This is one evil thing. All I know is that my lymph nodes are screwed, I'm 15 with a boil - and i want a home remedy cure/MIRACLE PLEASE! (11/08/2007)
By Brittney
I used the black salve stuff and it worked! Although finding the ointment was tricky. Walgreens/Meijer/Walmart etc. do not carry it but CVS does- it is special ordered and kept behind the counter and only cost 5 bucks! BE SURE to clean your boil after you drain because it really is toxic! Hope this helps! I love this site! (12/04/2007)
By Andrea
I used the black salve stuff and it worked! Although finding the ointment was tricky... Walgreens/Meijer/Walmart etc.. do not carry it but CVS does- it is special ordered and kept behind the counter and only cost 5 bucks! BE SURE to clean your boil after you drain because it really is toxic! Hope this helps! I love this site! (12/05/2007)
By Andrea
Take a steamy hot washcloth and place on the boil for 15-20 minutes. Drip 5-8 drops of TEA TREE OIL (found in the vitamin section of most stores. approx. $5) The boil should open up in no time at all (our experience has been within 20 minutes). Be sure to have gauze ready on hand to absorb the nasty infection that comes out. (12/10/2007)
By Missie
I have what i think is a huge boil on my stomach, and when i say huge i mean its really big, it started small, but now its grown. Its not really full of pus though, its just flat kind of and hard...any advice? im really scared to go to a doctor about it, and my mom(who's a nurse) gave me antibiotics, which took the pain away, but the boil is still there. (12/15/2007)
By Sierra
Like most people here I use turmeric and black salve. I have also found Zinc supplements to be helpful, and I take bromelain which is derived from pineapple and is supposed to amplify the turmeric.
Make sure to drink plenty of water. If you are embarrassed to ask a pharmacist for salve I buy it online from wonderlabs. And Puritan Pride has cheap vitamins for mail order.
(01/20/2008)
By Craig T
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I am a carrier of mrsa unfortunately and my family has always been succeptible.to these going generations back. Not sure why
My great grandpa always used flax seed
Drawl salve
Not the kind in the tin either the kind in a tube that is black in Color is absolutely amazing. It will remove glass stick undwr skin to stuff like this
Next best is deffinetly.tea tree oil. but apply it to the bandage then the area.
I haven't had one in like two years until now. And no where down here carries the salve and I dont have tea tree handy as I just used it up in a scrub last week. Duhhh I can least use that for now. I just thought of that lol
As far as purple marks and scaring. I am fair skin so usually get them bad. I use vitamin e and c with hyleronic serum and it has helped take care of any acne acara i had from years ago as well as for this
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