Boils

How to Get Rid of a Boil Overnight, Home Remedies, Pop, Burst, no Head

February 14, 2018

A boil can be described as a skin infection that begins in your hair follicle or oil gland. When an infection takes place, the skin first becomes red at the area of the infection, and then a tender lump develops. After some few days, the lump will increase and turn white to signify collection of pus under the skin. Boils can appear at any area of the skin, but they are common in areas such as the face, armpits, neck, shoulders, buttocks, and thighs. Here is an insight on the causes, symptoms and how to get rid of a boil overnight.

What causes boils?

pictures of a boil

Boils on the skin are caused by an infection of bacteria germs that area commonly referred to as staphylococcal bacteria. The germs can enter the skin through a small opening such as cuts, or tiny wounds and they travel down into the hair follicle or into the oil gland. Boils are usually very painful and they can greatly affect one’s daily activities.

A boil can appear as a single or several boils in the same area, or different areas of the body. When they appear in a group, this is usually a severe type of infection that is referred to as carbuncle. The following are main reasons for boils on your skin.

Diabetes

Diabetes is a condition whereby someone has a problem with blood sugar levels. The condition may cause one to have a poor health and it can generally affect the body strength to fight small infections such as boils. As diabetes weakens one immune system, it makes it easy for a boil to develop on the skin for the patient.

Poor immune system

Immune system is very essential when it comes to your body being able to protect itself when it comes to infections and sicknesses. Your immune system can be destroyed by some sicknesses such as HIV or diabetes, lack of some nutrients in the body. If your immune is poor, this makes it easy for germs to cause infections such as boils in your body.

Poor nutrition

It is very important to consider boosting your nutrition by eating healthy and balanced diet. Foods that are highly rich in fats should be eaten in moderate, and boost you intake of fruits and vegetables, including whole grain foods, and meals rich in fiber. Clogging of pores is mostly caused by increased oil production and this is common in people who take a lot of oily foods. When a pore is clogged, bacteria can take advantage to cause infections.

Poor hygiene

Poor hygiene exposes germs to the skin and therefore makes it easy for them to cause an infection whenever there is a cut or a wound on the skin. It has been noted that people who don’t take shower daily, those who work in dirty environment are common culprits of germs infections such as boils. Always observe your general hygiene including, having a bath at least daily, and washing your garments as well.

Exposure to harsh chemicals

Some chemicals are very harsh enough to cause an irritation to the skin. When irritated, the skin can become inflamed and therefore allow any infection to take place on the site where irritation took place. Take note of harsh chemicals in your environment and make sure they don’t come near your skin.

Symptoms of boils

Usually, a boil may start as a hard, red, painful and inflamed lump that may be about a half an inch in size. After some 4 to 7 days, the lump may become softer, tender, larger, and more painful. You may then realize a pocket of pus at the center of the lump which is seen with whitish color under the skin. In case of a serious boil, you can expect the following additional symptoms:

Development of fever
Swollen lymph nodes either under armpit, behind ears or in the groin, depending on the corresponding area of infection
More boils may start developing on the site of the main one
Reddish inflamed skin around the boil
Warm, swollen skin around the boil lump.

Symptoms will vary depending on the severity and area at which the boil infection has taken place. In case you keep getting boils after a very short period of time, or your boils are associated with serious symptoms, you can visit your doctor immediately.

How to Get Rid of a Boil Overnight

how to get rid of a boil

There are very many ways you can use to treat your boil just overnight. You can use medical ways or home remedies as they all have great results. So long as you are sure of your mode of treatment, you can go ahead and relieve yourself from pain caused by boil on the skin. Learn more about how to get rid of a boil overnight below under home remedies for boil.

Home Remedies for Boils

In most cases, boils are treated at the comfort of the home, so long as you choose the right option among those that we are going to discuss below. Boils can result into many serious problems including scarring, secondary infections and even loosing of your hand or limp in case the body part needs amputation. Therefore, while you choose to treat the boil at home, make sure you consider safety precautions with a lot of care. Some of the remedies for boils include the following:

Apply heat

You can use hot or warm water to apply heat on the boil. Heat helps to increase the circulation in the affected area, and therefore bringing white blood cells and antibodies to the area to help in fighting the infection. In this case you can heat up some water and put it in a basin. Deep the cloth in the water, then rinse the excess water from it. Then compress the warm cloth on the affected area for about 20 minutes at a time. Do this until the boil comes to the head.

Tea tree oil

Tea tree oil has been known to contain strong antibacterial and antiseptic agents, which may help deal with bacterial infections that cause boils. While using this remedy, make sure you do not apply it directly to the skin as it can irritated the skin. You may add some coconut oil to the tea tree oil before applying it to the skin. Put diluted tea tree oil on a cotton swab and apply it to the affected area at least twice a day, until the boil will disappear completely.

Turmeric powder

This home remedy has antibiotic properties that can help to cure skin ailments such as boils. It contains volatile oil that has anti-inflammatory properties which treat boils effectively. Also it helps boils to ripen faster. Turmeric powder is usually used as a natural blood purifier in many cases and its results are excellent.

You may choose to ingest the turmeric powder, or use it by applying directly to the boils. If you choose to ingest it, boil some water or milk with a teaspoon of turmeric powder and drink it after it cools down. Topically, mix the turmeric and ginger with water to make a paste, and apply it on the boil two or three times a day.

Epsom salt

Epsom salt is also used at home when it comes to dealing with boils. It is a great remedy when it comes to drying out the pus that causes boils. Just dissolve the salt in warm water and soak a clean soft cloth in it. Then compress the cloth on the affected area for 20 minutes at a time. Repeat this thrice a day and the boil is completely gone.

Over-the-counter antibiotic medication

Most of the medications that we acquire over the counter are very helpful when it comes to getting rid of boils within a day. You can discuss your condition with the chemist who usually has some knowledge on every drug, and is sure you will be advised on the best drug to use. Over the counter medications for boils may range from topical, to oral and even injections. In some cases, let your doctor help in deciding the right option for your condition

Onions

They have great properties that heal pain and impact early cure of the boil. Onions contain 25 active compounds including potassium, salts, essential oils and flavonoids which have antifungal, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties which effectively prevent boils. Red onions are considered to effectively detoxify, disinfect wounds and stop skin inflammation.

Just put a slice of onion rings on the affected area and allow it to stay there for 2 to 4 hours in a day.

Garlic

Garlic is very rich in medicinal agents apart from being used as food. It has high deposits of sulfur compounds that are helpful when it comes to curing boils. Furthermore, garlic is an anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-fungal agent and therefore it is a good remedy for problems like boils. Increase garlic intake in your daily diet for good results. Apply its paste on the affected area at least twice a day.

How to Get Rid of a Boil with no Head

how to pop a boil

Getting rid of a boil greatly depends on how will carry out the procedure. If the procedure is done wrongly, it can worsen the condition. it is not usually recommended to try getting rid of a boil that has no head, but if you are going to do it with a procedure that will not cause other infection or scarring, you can go ahead to do it.

In our research, we found that if you want to pop a boil that has no head:

You should fast apply a warm compress on the lump. A warm compress will help to bring the pus closer to the skin and enable you to get rid of the boil. Furthermore, a warm compress will help to reduce the pain that could have been felt from the boil without head.
After you are through with the compress, take some time to allow the boil to form a head, then prick the top of the boil and as the pus begins to flow out, apply some pressure from the sides of the lump so that all the pus is removed. It is advisable that you pull the skin from the boil rather than squeezing in the process of forcing the pus out
Once you are through with the process, ensure to clean the area before applying anti-bacterial ointments and covering the area with a bandage.

This should be carried daily until the boil goes away completely.

How to Get a Boil to Pop Overnight

You can use a warm compress to bring the boil on the head. It is not advisable to pop a boil that has not yet come to the head since the infection can start in other areas of the body. Warm compress allow the movement of fluids to and from the lump thus increasing the speed of pus collection so that the boil comes to the head. There are other more remedies as we have discussed above that can do the same.

If you are sure your boil has come to the head, popping is very easy so long as you have required equipment and observe safety precautions. Popping a boil involves the following:

Before doing anything make sure you wash your hands with antiseptic soap and pat them dry with a clean towel
Deep a clean soft cloth into hot water and place it on the boil making sure that the temperature is bearable on your skin
Place a dis-infected clean pin on the light of the candle so that it is heat for around one minute
Using the safety pin prick the head of the boil so that a hole is created at the center of the lump
Using your two fingers from both hands press the sides of the boil gently, so that pus is forced out of the boil. You may increase the pressure bit by bit until you make sure all the pus has been eliminated
You may wash the wound with the use of hydrogen peroxide solution to make sure that all the bacteria is killed to prevent secondary infections, and wait for area to dry from air.
Apply recommended medication to the wound and swallow some antibiotics and painkillers to reduce pain
Cover the wound with a bandage to make sure no germs can again enter the open wound. Also, covering the area will prevent dirt from getting into the wound.

If you cannot carry out this process on your own, you can let someone who have some first aid knowledge help, or just visit your doctor to do it for you to avoid more complications.

How to Bust a Boil

Although bursting a boil is not encouraged, many people carry it out, and therefore we will advise on the right way of doing it. Bursting a boil is either done by lancing it where the boil is pricked or cut by a sharp object. Trying to pop a boil that has not come to the head is very painful, and therefore you have to wait until it comes to the head. It is highly recommended that lancing a boil should be done by your medical provider, especially if it formed on your face or eye (sty).

Bursting process

When the boil has fully come to the head, your medical specialist will try to feel the lump to make sure it is tender and pus filled
Using a scalpel, he/she makes a hole at the center of the boil lump so that it is opened.
Using cotton wool, the specialist tries to gently press the surrounding of the boil while she wipes the pus with the use of cotton wool
When the boil is completely drained, the wound is dis-infected and gauze placed on it before covering it with a bandage. The bandage will prevent germs from entering the wound.

In most cases the doctor will wait until the boil has come to the head before he/she tries to do anything to it. This will ensure that the bacteria in the pus have been already neutralized by the body’s immune system and therefore not active anymore.