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Treatment of boils at home
Last reviewed: 04.07.2025

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Treatment of boils at home is real and accessible to everyone. You can treat with ointments, compresses, tinctures and even rubs. We offer you the most popular methods of treating boils. All traditional medicine remedies are based on plant components that are safe for the human body.
There are different ways to treat a boil. Here people are usually divided into 2 types: some immediately go to see a specialist, while others are looking for ways to treat a boil at home.
- Before proceeding to treatment, it is necessary to familiarize yourself with the first stage of furuncle maturation. An experienced professional can determine it without much difficulty. For example, at the infiltrate stage, doctors suggest undergoing ultraviolet irradiation. This is quite harmless if used in moderate doses.
- If the pus and accompanying necrotic masses have matured, then you can undergo antibiotic injections around the infiltrate. This procedure - blockade can be repeated every day in order to completely stop the development of necrotic masses. Usually, help with treatment comes immediately.
- The cavity of a recently opened boil must be washed without fail. To do this, you will need a solution of hydrogen peroxide. Then you need to apply a dry bandage or gauze, previously moistened with a solution of sodium chloride, to this place to completely clean out the remains of the disease.
- In case of carbuncles or abscesses, specialists advise to resort to surgical intervention. In this case, an incision is made under local anesthesia. The recovery period after surgery is not a difficult time for the patient to recover. It goes the same way as with conventional drug treatment.
- Sometimes, in advanced cases, getting rid of boils is only possible with the help of surgical intervention. Severe forms of furuncles can only be treated in a hospital.
If a boil is not treated completely, it can lead to various complications.
What should not be done if you have a boil?
Treatment of a boil at home can include a set of measures to remove the causes of its appearance and its rapid healing.
- First, as soon as the boil appears and matures, you need to apply pure ichthyol, before this you must clean the sore spot with alcohol. Hair must be cut and a thin layer of cotton wool must be placed on top of the ichthyol.
- In no case is it allowed to squeeze out pus at home on your own, because not only can microbes penetrate the blood and serious complications occur, which will even lead to sepsis, to that very terrible and dangerous blood poisoning. Also, patients should not take hot baths. Healthy skin around the affected areas should be wiped with camphor alcohol 30-40% 3-4 times a day. This should be done starting from the healthy area to the affected one.
- Only some boils that do not require additional medical care can be treated at home. Even a small furuncle in the facial area is dangerous. The infection can penetrate the brain through the venous bloodstream and cause further inflammation. In this case, a visit to the doctor is simply necessary.
- It is strictly forbidden, as we have already said, to squeeze or puncture a boil on your own. This can lead to serious consequences. Home remedies can usually be used to relieve pain.
Methods of treating boils at home
A boil is not just a pimple, as it may seem at first glance. Unpleasant consequences as a result of improper care can be the most unpredictable. The worst thing is if boils spread to other parts of the body, then blood poisoning will occur. And the worst thing is that such a small, and sometimes, at first glance, unsightly boil can even lead to death. This happens in cases where the wrong treatment for boils is chosen. So safety measures in self-treatment should be at the highest level.
To avoid infection getting into the blood, the idea of squeezing or puncturing such a "pimple" should not enter your head. Doing so is strictly prohibited.
When deciding how to cure a boil at home, first of all, you must not forget about hygiene. It is necessary to wash your hands exclusively with antibacterial or laundry soap, when in contact with the boil (both before touching it and after it is over). It is allowed to apply an antibacterial agent to the sore area about 3-5 times a day. After the boil opens on its own, you need to very carefully get rid of the pus, and only then treat the reddened area with hydrogen peroxide. Then it is important to apply a dry bandage. Thus, it is necessary to do it daily, without missing, until the boil disappears completely, there will be no trace of it.
At the moment when you are treating a boil at home, it is best to give up some harmful food. It is better not to eat spicy, sweet, salty foods. But as for brewer's yeast and multivitamins, they are simply necessary in your diet during this period.
Damp heat
You can get rid of the pain with a moist warm compress that needs to be applied to the affected area of the skin. For this method, a heated napkin soaked in water is suitable. A heating pad can also replace it. It is impossible to reduce pain in a humid or hot environment. On the other hand, such an atmosphere will help improve blood circulation in the weakened area. This will lead to an increase in the number of white blood cells, which will begin an intensive fight against infection. If a boil has appeared in the area of the upper or lower extremities, which can be easily dipped in water, adding Epsom or sea salt to it beforehand, to increase the effectiveness of the treatment.
Turmeric
Ayurvedic medicine advises patients who welcome alternative medicine that it is turmeric that can cure a boil. It helps fight inflammation, maintains optimal functioning of the digestive system and has an easy effect on the body. Turmeric is taken internally. There is such a method for this. 3 times a day, you need to drink 1 teaspoon of turmeric, which must be diluted with water beforehand. After this, you need to wash down this mixture with 0.5 liters of ordinary water. The procedure must be repeated for several days in a row.
If you take anticoagulants that can thin the blood, then taking it is not recommended. The same prohibition applies to those people who have clogged bile ducts. Turmeric is the cause of other undesirable symptoms. Dehydration and constipation are negative examples. Therefore, if possible, drink as much liquid as possible and eat foods rich in fiber. A paste made from turmeric and water can also be applied to boils to speed up treatment, and therefore a speedy recovery.
Fumaria
Along the roads and in the fields you can find a very inconspicuous, but useful herb called fumitory. Its leaves are small, and the stem is very fragile and thin. But their strength is simply enormous, majestic! The herb helps to cope with boils, which are the cause of metabolic disorders in the body, cleanses the blood and liver, has a mild effect on the intestines and gall bladder.
To do this, take 1 tbsp. of chopped fumitory grass, pour a glass of boiling water over it and leave for half an hour. Drink the fumitory infusion several times a day, 1/3 of a glass.
Pine bath
First, let's remember what pine needles actually are. They contain elements rich in vitamin C, essential oils. Therefore, if you put cones or branches in the bath, it can pamper you with its tonic effect and give you an excellent opportunity to reduce the painful sensations from the boils themselves or from their maturation. Pine oil is sold in a regular pharmacy. But it is worth noting that the quality of the product that you receive there will be significantly lower than if you prepared it yourself.
Aristolochia will help with dry skin, as it contains all the same properties and essential nutrients as pine needles.
One grandmother, who said that during the war years, a boil was a very common occurrence among other diseases, recommended taking sulfur. But she prepared it herself. How exactly, no one saw. Many people are wary of this method, some advise it, others do not recommend it. But real cases say the opposite. It happened to one woman when she began to suffer from boils, one case. All the doctors unanimously said to do only blood transfusions. But this method turned out to be ineffective in treatment, just as antibiotics did not have a positive effect. And then she decided to try that same grandmother's advice. Having learned the exact recipe from specialists, she went to the pharmacy, where she bought 20 sulfur powders. She took 2 powders a day, sprinkling it on bread products. 10 was enough for her to completely cure her ailment, which soon passed within 5 days.
Garlic compresses
In order to treat boils on the body well, it is necessary to first understand how and for what reason they appear.
- The first thing you may notice when a boil appears is a thickening of the skin and redness in the area.
- Secondly, at the moment when the boil is already ripening, you can feel certain painful phenomena. Therefore, if you want to achieve a quick effect, it is worth applying compresses that include garlic in the very first few days when it is ripening. Healing begins quite quickly and without characteristic signs of pain. In the first 2-3 days, everything may just end.
Here is another folk method of treating a boil using garlic. The first thing you need to do is cleanse the surface of the skin, having previously degreased it. If there is hair, then you need to get rid of it. To prepare such a garlic compress, you need to cut a head of garlic into thin slices, like you cut sausage. And this thinnest piece of it needs to be applied to the sore spot and secured. To make the boil ripen faster, prepare a gruel from the same plate, which should then be stored in a special small container, so that later you can apply it to the sore spot. The same mixture can also be poured onto a rag, which the patient then applies to the area that bothers him and secures with a band-aid.
I hope you are convinced that treating a boil with home methods is not so difficult, but on the contrary, very convenient. The pain goes away quickly enough. And it is easy to relieve it in any place where it appears, even if you are outside the home, for example, on hikes.
Dough
To get a healing dough, mix 1 yolk with 1 tbsp. butter, then add flour. The dough should not be too thick. You can attach it to the boil, for example, with an elementary bandage. It is best to store it in the refrigerator. If you need the dough again, you need to take it out of the refrigeration equipment to repeat the procedure again. Treatment of this nature will not take you too much time. You should wait just a little. And soon, in a few days, the effect of treating the boil at home will follow you immediately.
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Soap
The laundry soap should be grated into an unattended bowl and 350 grams of liquid should be added to it. Then it should be boiled over a fire. When it cools down, it is recommended to use it. But first, it is moved to a bandage, and then, like any other liquid, it is applied to the boil.
Beetroot juice
Beetroot juice is another useful remedy that can help not only with problem areas of the skin, but also generally helps improve the general condition of the body. It is made with a juicer, without even peeling the skin. After obtaining it, it is drunk half an hour before meals, but not more often than 4 times a day.
A few more folk recipes for treating boils
- In order for the boil to "ripen", you can use a honey cake, which is usually made from 1 tbsp. of natural honey and flour. The consistency should end up being like wet clay. After that, the prepared solution should be applied to the boil and not removed until it comes out.
- Bake a small onion. Cut it and tie it to the sore spot with the cut side. Change this bandage every 4 hours.
- An auxiliary method that cures boils is the real plantain. With the help of fresh leaves, you can have an antimicrobial effect on the boil. For this, the leaves need to be washed and placed in 3-5 layers on the weakened area, securing it with a bandage. It needs to be changed periodically. From 3 to 4 times after 1 to 1.5 hours.
- Cut an aloe leaf and place it on the boil with the cut side. It should be changed often, since fresh juice is especially valuable here. It should be held until the boil ripens and comes out.
- Silver water, which looks like warm compresses, is also quite effective.
- Cut a rye bread, sprinkle it generously with salt and chew it well. This bread should be placed on the place that bothers you and bandaged. The recipe, although not familiar to everyone, is useful, like in the good old days.
- Yeast is a good proven preventive remedy that helps get rid of boils and abscesses. To do this, you need to drink dry brewer's yeast 1 teaspoon 3 times a day.
- Another way to prevent furunculosis is considered to be freshly squeezed nettle juice (1 tbsp. once a day).
To make the boil softer and the hardening to dissolve as quickly as possible, try using the following home remedies:
- Chew raw buckwheat, then put it on gauze and bandage it to the abscess. The bandage should be changed every 4 hours.
- Eat 5 dried tansy flowers 2 times a day. In a month you can say goodbye to this disease altogether.
- Mix 2 parts of brittle buckthorn bark and the same amount of fennel fruits, 2 parts of warty birch leaves and the same amount of black elder flowers. Add 1 part of naked licorice roots and 1 part of wild pansy herb. Next, pour 1 tbsp of the mixture with a glass of water and boil for 15 minutes in a water bath. Cool the remedy after this and filter. Drink half a glass 3 times a day.
Dead nettle or nettle copes well with blood purification and provides effective help with all kinds of abscesses, boils, eczema. To 1 tbsp. nettle you need to add 200 ml. boiling water. Then close it with a lid, wrap it well, let it brew for one hour and strain. You need to drink this infusion 3-4 times a day, half a glass at a time.
Do not forget that if the treatment does not bring positive results and the disease does not go away at home within 2-3 days, then you should think twice and visit a doctor, no matter how much you do not want to.
If boils are frequent companions in your life, then it is time to think about a complete blood transfusion to cleanse it.
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Aromatherapy
You can treat boils with herbs, but this is more about infections caused by bacteria. If boils appear for another reason, then essential oils can be used to treat them.
To do this, you need to dilute a 2% solution of lavender essential oil in warm boiled water, then wipe the sore spot with a cotton swab.
Hot compresses also help draw out pus, if you add bergamot, chamomile and lavender oils beforehand. They not only act as antiseptics, are excellent at relieving inflammation, but also speed up the process of wound healing.
After you successfully remove the boil, a new "pit" will appear in this place in any case. If you do not think about its treatment in time, at best you will have the unpleasant sensations that you had to endure. At worst, you will walk around with a scar or a deep scar on your face for the rest of your life. Therefore, immediately after its appearance, it is worth treating the "depression" in the skin with a composition that must be prepared according to this recipe:
- Take 1 tablet of mumiyo, let it dissolve in a small amount of liquid. Use the composition, applying it to the sore spot 2 times a day, until the traces of the boil disappear forever.
Traditional methods of treating boils
- Take a spoon of turmeric powder, a spoon of honey, salt and ginger. Mix the ingredients and apply to the boil. The compress should be wrapped with a warm cloth on top. This remedy is recommended to be done at night to get the maximum result from the remedy.
- Using laundry soap is another folk method of treating a boil that can be used at home. To use this method, you will need newspaper and a piece of laundry soap. Rub the paper thoroughly with soap and apply it to the boil. You can secure the compress on top with a bandage or dressing. The soap softens the skin and quickly pulls the boil out, which significantly speeds up the treatment and healing process.
- Onions are excellent for treating boils of any size and at any stage of development. For this remedy, you will need one small onion and a tablespoon of dry celandine. Grind the onion to a mushy state and mix with dry celandine. You will get a grayish gruel, but with an unpleasant odor. Apply the mixture in a thick layer to the boil, tie it with plastic wrap and a bandage on top. This compress dissolves small boils and draws out pus well from large abscesses.
- Honey is a natural source of vitamins and microelements. Honey is great for fighting colds, but it is no less effective in fighting boils. For this remedy, you will need a spoonful of flour (preferably rye) and a spoonful of honey (flower or buckwheat is best). Mix the ingredients until you get a doughy mass. Apply a medium-thick layer of the mass to the boil and cover with a bandage. After five hours, remove the compress. Wipe the skin with the boil with soapy water or warm chamomile infusion.
- Take one red beetroot. Grind the vegetable and apply it to the boil. The beetroot can be spread on a gauze bandage and bandaged to the boil. Change the compress after 3-4 hours.
- If the abscess is at the ripening stage, it is necessary to speed up the removal of purulent contents. Take a fresh pumpkin and cut it into thin slices. Apply the slice to the boil and wrap it well with a warm bandage. The compress should be worn all day, before going to bed, remove it and change the pumpkin slice for a fresh one. After two days of using this remedy, the boil will burst.
- To prepare the tincture, you need to take aloe leaves, alcohol or vodka. Wash the leaves of the plant well and cut into pieces of 5-10 mm. The pieces need to be put in a glass jar and filled with alcohol or vodka. Keep the tincture for about two weeks so that it infuses well. Take a spoon before meals, but not longer than 15 days.
- Prepare a decoction from the wheatgrass and its root. Drink a glass of the decoction before each meal for a month. An ointment is prepared from the root of the grass. Grind the root and add an equal amount of propolis ointment to it. It is best to use the ointment at night, under a warm bandage on the boil.
- Carefully salt and chew a piece of rye bread. Place the chewed mixture on the boil and bandage it. Wear this compress for 3-4 hours, then change to a new one. The remedy perfectly draws out pus in large boils and dissolves small ones.
- An ointment made from animal fat draws out pus in boils well. Mix a couple of tablespoons of fat (chicken, goose) with the same amount of beeswax and birch tar. The resulting mixture should be melted over low heat until a uniform consistency is obtained. After the ointment has cooled, it should be poured into a glass jar and stored in a dark, cool place (preferably in the refrigerator). Apply the ointment to the boil every 5-7 hours for 10-12 days. This will cure the boil.
- You can treat an abscess with buckwheat. Take one hundred grams of raw buckwheat and grind it in a blender. Add a couple of drops of fir oil to the resulting buckwheat gruel, mix well and apply to the boil. The compress should be changed every 4-5 hours.
- Another effective method of treating a boil at home is a combination of vegetable oil and garlic. To prepare a compress, you will need small strips of linen fabric. Soak the fabric in oil and put crushed garlic on top. Apply the compress to the boil and wrap it well with a warm cloth. Change the bandage twice a day. Thanks to this compress, the boil will dissolve and the pus will come out.
- A healing herbal decoction will help cure a boil. The decoction is prepared from dry violets, marigolds, nettles and walnut leaves. The decoction is infused for two days. It is recommended to take half a glass before meals.
- Another medicinal decoction is prepared from burdock leaves and roots. The plant components are poured with boiling water for 20 minutes and filtered. From the decoction it is necessary to make compresses and apply to the boil. In addition, each time before eating it is necessary to drink a spoonful of decoction, at least 4 times a day.
- This recipe will help, cure a boil on any part of the body. You will need a couple of spoons of freshly chopped potatoes, lemon juice, vegetable oil and an egg. The ingredients must be mixed and copper sulfate on the tip of a knife added to them. The resulting mixture is applied to the boil for 20-25 minutes and washed off. The product cleans the sebaceous glands and helps well with boils on the face.
Ointments for the treatment of boils
Ointments for the treatment of boils are a comfortable method of treatment. You can buy a medicinal ointment or make it yourself. Ointments effectively treat purulent skin diseases.
- An ointment for treating a boil is prepared from aloe leaves, spruce resin, butter and tar. All ingredients must be taken in equal proportions and melted in a water bath. You should get a uniform creamy mass. It is recommended to apply the ointment to the boil at night.
- Another ointment for boils is prepared from lamp oil, wood oil, sugar and wax. All ingredients are mixed in a water bath until creamy. The ointment should be stored in a glass jar and applied to the boil for 3-5 hours. The ointment can be stored for a year.
- Mix one spoon of dry crushed plantain leaves with a spoon of olive or any vegetable oil. Apply the mixture to the boil for 5-6 hours for 5-6 days and the abscess will go away.
If you do not want to deal with the preparation of ointments, then you can buy a remedy. Ichthyol ointment and Levomekol show high efficiency in the treatment of boils. Ointments quickly dissolve abscesses and accelerate healing. But Vishnevsky ointment and Pantoderm are used to treat not only boils, but also any abscesses on the skin.
Healing ointments for boils
The pulling ointment has an effect, due to which the head of the boil is formed - a pustule, after which it soon opens up, and pus comes out of it. Do not press on this place in any way, trying to squeeze out the boil. This way you can cause an infection, which will later spread throughout the body. To help yourself, buy a pulling ointment at the pharmacy. For example, Vishnevsky ointment, Levomekol or Ichthyol, which also have an anesthetic effect. You can also make it yourself.
- To prepare such an ointment, combine 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder with half a teaspoon of ground ginger, add 1 tablespoon of honey and a little salt. Place the resulting mixture on a piece of gauze, and then apply it to the sore spot. To keep the compress warm, it is best to cover the gauze bandage with plastic food film or put a few more layers of gauze.
- You can make another ointment from almost all the ingredients that you always have on hand. This way, you can quickly help not only yourself, when an unpleasant lump and redness occurs, but also your loved ones, who will be infinitely grateful to you.
- Here is another recipe for an ointment that can draw out pus. To do this, you need to melt high-quality butter and add finely chopped beeswax (4:1). All this liquid needs to be heated until the wax is completely dissolved. There is no need to boil it. If the consistency is solid, you can add a few drops of oil. To get rid of skin abscesses, you can use shavings made from dark laundry soap. It is important to apply the ointment warm, as a compress, without using a film. Keep it for at least two days without changing it. And be sure, dear readers, always wash your hands before touching the boil and after touching it.
- An ointment made from the plant is useful for external wound treatment. Mix 1 tbsp. of dry fumitory herb with 50 grams of Vaseline. This ointment also helps treat eczema and acne.
- Abscesses, bedsores, scratches and furuncles can be easily cured by a simple ointment, as we have already said, made with your own hands. The ointment presented below can also help with purulent wounds, burns, frostbite, abscesses.
Treating a boil at home requires effort and patience. The result of home treatment does not always meet expectations, so before using any treatment, it is recommended to undergo diagnostics with a doctor (endocrinologist or surgeon).