Boils are the medical name for an area of skin with acute inflammation. In the people, such an abscess is called a boil or tweet. There is even a saying: "The boil does not come alone." This refers to the fact that one area, inflamed, invariably entails a series of boils. You can and must fight this scourge: a lot of medicines and folk recipes will help in this.
What is boil (boil)?
Almost every one of us in childhood or already in adulthood jumped up a tweet. First, it swells under the skin, causing a desire to comb it. Then it breaks to the surface of the epidermis in the form of a large acne with purulent contents. When you touch the boil is very painful.
There are two approaches to the treatment of furunculosis:
- conservative (provides for folk and pharmacy treatment methods - tinctures, compresses, cauterization, taking antibiotics and vitamin-mineral complexes);
- operative (this is a surgical intervention, when a portion of the affected skin is cut out along with an abscess or, with the help of a special needle, the entire contents of the tumor is sucked out).
Causes of occurrence and proliferation
Most often, boils overcome the body during periods of severe stress, decreased immunity, after a series of colds or surgery. In women, this problem may worsen in the premenstrual period, when the body's defenses are at zero.
An infection called Staphylococcus aureus, entering the hair follicle or pore, causes inflammation there. This can occur anywhere in the body, but most often occurs in the back, forearm, neck, and auricles. Suppuration occurs, if the body does not have the strength to fight the focus of inflammation, then a purulent abscess forms .
Is Staphylococcus aureus always the cause of furunculosis? No, sometimes this phenomenon is caused by other pathogenic bacteria that cross the protective skin barrier through wounds and microtraumas. But in 70% of cases, the reason is in staphylococcus.
Causes of furunculosis (harmful bacteria entering the body): rare hand washing after the street, eating dirty vegetables and fruits, playing with dogs and cats, working in the ground.
If the body's immunity and resistance are at a high level, then suppuration will not occur, and the person will not even know about a possible infection.
What is forbidden to do with furunculosis?
At whatever stage the boil is located, the following effects on it are prohibited:
- It is strictly forbidden to squeeze purulent contents with your nails, hands, or other devices at home. A non-sterile environment with a high degree of probability will provoke re-infection and the appearance of new foci on the body. If the abscess burst itself, you need to carefully, several times a day, treat this place with an alcohol solution or chlorhexidine. Until the wound is healed, it should be sealed with adhesive tape, placing a sterile cotton under it.
- If furunculosis affects the auricles, mucous membrane of the nose and mouth, be sure to consult a doctor. These are “dangerous” areas from which pus can begin to travel throughout the body. Drug antibiotic therapy is required. In some cases, surgery will have to be postponed.
- The transition of furunculosis into a chronic form cannot be allowed. To do this, it is necessary to timely stop the spread of Staphylococcus aureus and drink a course of antibacterial drugs.
The main methods of treatment of furunculosis
By the method of influencing the focus of inflammation, methods can be divided into general and local.
General methods of therapy affect the whole body as a whole: increase immunity and vitality. Also, antibiotics can be attributed to this: destroying staphylococcus and other microbes, they prevent relapses of furunculosis.
Local methods of therapy are physiotherapy, compresses, applying ointments and creams. That is, the effect directly on the boil itself and the skin around it. Most folk methods have a local therapeutic effect. This does not mean that they are ineffective, but with complications it is better to consult a dermatologist.
Treatment of furunculosis at home
Folk recipes have been tested for decades and are completely safe. They can be safely used for furunculosis in adults and babies, but after consulting a specialist. If the pain intensifies, and the abscess increases, then hurry to the dermatologist. Sometimes the root of the boil lies too deep, and even the most powerful means are not able to "stretch" it without surgical intervention. It can break through and lead to complications, and ultimately to surgical intervention and blood transfusion.
Here are the most popular folk recipes that any of us can cook:
- Aloe pulp. A young flower with fleshy leaves is suitable. Cut a piece, squeeze the juice. It should be almost transparent in color, thick and with a tart smell of freshness. Blot a cotton pad with this juice and attach to the site of inflammation. Fix with a band-aid on top. Compresses must be changed once an hour. Aloe juice will quickly relieve itching, pain and in case of an abscess breakthrough, the infection will not spread.
- Raw potatoes can stretch the abscess root in a couple of days. To do this, a plate of raw fresh potatoes (previously peeled) is applied to the tweet and fixed with a band-aid. This method is good, but baked onions draw pus even faster.
- Infusion of dandelion root. This is a folk remedy for the general effect on the body. If you regularly drink such an infusion, the blood is cleansed, and furunculosis stops tormenting the patient. This method is especially good in spring, when hundreds of dandelions erupt from the ground towards the sun. Take a few roots of this plant, wash thoroughly, chop finely, pour boiling water. The resulting infusion should be drunk twice a day on an empty stomach in one glass. For 100 g of dandelion root, you need to use half a liter of water.
- Honey and bee products have long been famous for their anti-inflammatory properties. Hundreds of years ago, tweets were treated like this: they made a cake of wheat flour mixed with honey, applied it overnight to the affected area of the skin, fixing it with a cloth (so that the cake would not fall off during the night). By morning, most often the purulent contents of the boil came out.
- Laundry soap is probably the cheapest way to treat furunculosis. It is necessary to grate a piece of laundry soap on a coarse grater, attach a couple of chips to the boil and secure with a cotton pad and adhesive plaster. Promotes the stretching of pus and the early maturation of the abscess.
Treating furunculosis at home can be very effective. The result depends on the stage of the disease and the general resistance of the organism to pathogens. If after all the manipulations the pain only intensifies, and new foci of inflammation appear on the body - immediately consult a dermatologist.
Baked Onion - The Enemy of the Tweet
But the most popular folk remedy for furunculosis is onions. He is able to draw a boil with a root in a few hours. This is the easiest tool to use, but one of the most effective:
- Peel an ordinary onion. Separate a small piece two by two centimeters in size.
- Light the burner on medium heat and carefully, on the tip of the fork, bring a piece of onion to the fire. Keep until the slice is baked and has a uniform light brown tint.
- The resulting piece of onion is applied to the tweet, cover with a cotton pad and fix with adhesive plaster
- Every hour you need to apply a freshly smoked piece of onion. This dressing is an excellent tool, after the third or fourth compress, the boil will break.
- After the pus flows out, a shallow funnel will remain in place of the boil root. Once an hour, treat it and the affected area of the skin around with a cotton pad moistened with medical alcohol.
The treatment of furunculosis with baked onions is recognized as the most sparing and effective even by dermatologists. This is a safe method that has been proven for decades.
Vishnevsky ointment for furunculosis
This tool has established itself as safe and effective. They were treated by boomers as our great-grandmothers. Vishnevsky ointment has an irritating effect, provides a rush of blood to the site of application. As a result, the tweet ripens very quickly and opens with its purulent contents.
The composition of Vishnevsky ointment is very environmentally friendly:
- Birch tar;
- xeroform;
- Castor oil.
It can be used to treat children. A minimum of allergic reactions and side effects, as well as a low cost, make this ointment for the treatment of furunculosis a means of No. 1 on pharmacy shelves.
However, surgeons and some dermatologists do not welcome this method of treatment, since an abscess can burst from the inside, and pus will go into the bloodstream and to nearby organs. This can provoke complications: abscessed furunculosis, phlegmon and carbuncles. In this case, it will be much more difficult to achieve remission; a blood transfusion or more complicated procedures will be required.
Furunculosis in children: features of treatment and complications
The child's body has less resistance to infections due to unformed immunity. If you do not heal furunculosis or prematurely squeeze purulent contents, then the following complications may begin:
- extensive infection with Staphylococcus aureus;
- blood transfusion with furunculosis;
- separation of pus in nearby organs or bone tissue;
- in rare cases, severe complications are possible, such as meningitis, sepsis.
So, children's furunculosis. Which doctor should I go to? This question worries many parents. First make an appointment with the therapist, he will prescribe a course of antibacterial drugs and send him for a blood test. Antibiotics will destroy the pathogenic bacteria, and the causative agent of furunculosis (most often it is Staphylococcus aureus) will stop its attack on the children's body.
Medication
Most often, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory ointments and vitamins are prescribed for furunculosis. A competent dermatologist will first send the patient to take a puncture from the boil. She is sent for analysis in order to find out which particular group of bacteria caused the development of the disease. After that, antibacterial drugs are prescribed, which, depending on the effect on microorganisms, are:
- tetracycline;
- macrolide;
- fluoroquinyl;
- fucidin;
- zineritic.
Modern people are frightened by the hysteria surrounding antibiotics for furunculosis and prefer to be treated with anything, but not with these “dangerous” and “killing all living things” pills. Modern antibacterial drugs are quite safe, without far-reaching consequences, and many of them are prescribed even for pregnant women. So feel free to be treated by what the doctor prescribes. The harm from their use is in any case significantly lower than the intended benefits.
Antibiotics are also prescribed for topical use. The solutions in which you need to moisten the cotton wool and make compresses on the boil are Dimexide, Linkomycin, Biseptol, Miramistin.
Ointments "Ichthyol", "Tetracycline" are inexpensive and inflict a crushing blow on the bacteria that cause furunculosis. These ointments are very effective, and you can buy them at any pharmacy without a prescription. They are active against almost all types of bacteria that provoke furunculosis.
Dermatologists often prescribe anti-inflammatory ointments to treat the affected area of the skin. This is “Malavit”, “Rescuer”, “Solcoseryl”. Their action is primarily aimed at relieving itching and burning.
To prevent decay and disinfection of the abscess, alcohol tinctures and antiseptics are prescribed: Fukortsin, Betadin, salicylic acid, magnesia.
Homeopathy and vitamins
Homeopathic remedies are prescribed for the chronic form of the disease at the same time as a therapy and as a prophylaxis. Homeopathy has practically no contraindications. When boils apply compresses, extracts and extracts from calendula, yarrow, arnica, plantain, chamomile.
Vitamin therapy is designed to enhance immunity, the body's defenses. A high-quality vitamin-mineral complex is an excellent prevention of boiling in the future. Dermatologists often prescribe brewer's yeast for furunculosis. They contain the whole complex of B vitamins and relieve skin diseases.
Also, excellent vitamins for furunculosis are Supradin and Supradin Kids (for babies). They contain the daily required rate of not only vitamins, but also minerals. The effervescent form of tablets is absorbed completely by the body. Reviews of people about "Supradina" are mostly positive.
Surgical methods
Do not be afraid of the word "operation"! In the treatment of furunculosis, it means a simple procedure, during which the surgeon will dissect a section of skin with a scalpel and with a special tool will remove the inflamed bulb along with the boil root.
Abscessing furunculosis, phlegmon and carbuncles are almost impossible to cure without surgical intervention. These operations are put on stream, carried out with local anesthesia, and in a week up to a hundred people are in the hands of such a surgeon!
After surgery for the speedy healing of the lesion, physiotherapy is prescribed: UHF or ultraviolet irradiation, magnetotherapy.
By the way, surgeons have a negative attitude to folk methods of self-medication and attempts to “stretch” the boil root with compresses and infusions. They argue that thanks to these methods, pus often goes inside, provoking even greater infection and the appearance of new boils in a place close to the former.