The comments below reflect the personal experiences and opinions of readers and do not represent medical advice or the views of this website. The information shared has not been evaluated by the FDA and is not intended to diagnose, treat, or prevent any disease or health condition. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional for medical concerns.
Honey
Posted by CP (Huntington Beach, USA) on 04/22/2008
★★★★★
Manuka honey is an amazing remedy for M.R.S.A. wounds, as well as for diabetic skin ulcerations. It comes in several strengths, so contact customer service on websites to see which is best for you. It is a little pricey, but I think it is worth it. It's delicious and healthful when taken internally and is wonderful when applied externally to the face. I am taking one teaspoon of Manuka honey and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon each morning and evening. It has lowered my blood pressure from 156 to 125 in a very short period of time. It also improves my sleep! I love this website and it makes me happy to give back for all the help I've received. Good luck to all.
Honey
Posted by Tracie (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 10/23/2007
★★★★★
My son has suffered from boils in the past and in our efforts to offer temporary relief and avoid unnecessary medical treatment, we applied local raw honey topically. After applying the honey, we covered each boil with a bandaid overnight. The results took about three days of application, but they were astounding in that it stopped the outbreak and healed them so quickly. Next time I think I'll try it with a dash of turmeric.
Honey
Posted by Jen (Bedford, NH) on 11/13/2006
★★★★★
After several months dealing with a painful abscess on my bottom, I was desperate. I'd had it opened and drained by a surgeon, and had to have it packed every day for weeks. I took antibiotics, which gave me a massive allergic reaction. It was not healing. Finally the opening the surgeon had made became too small to insert the packing gauze, and I just set a gauze square on the outside. It flared up again almost immediately. While looking for any alternative to "modern" medicine, I first tried a sliced red beet. It did seem to draw out some pus, but it was still not healing. Then, I read a large study that had been posted on the internet dealing with the curative effects of honey vs. standard medical therapies. The results were so dramatic, I had to try it. within five days, the abscess has fully drained! No more pus is coming out, it has NOT swollen up again, and doesn't hurt anymore. I used organic honey on a gauze square, and will continue to do so until it is fully closed and healed. I am also going to start trying it internally for acid reflux (just diagnosed), as I cannot take the prescribed pills (excruciating abdominal/colon spasms!). Thanks for a wonderful website!
Hot Flannel With Soap
Posted by Sarah (London, GB) on 02/15/2009
★★★★★
What I found worked for me was getting a hot/warm flannel and putting soap on it. Try to use soaps that are free of perfumes e.g. Simple and hold it on your spot/boil. Do this for a few days maybe 3 if you do it enough. it will take a while but it does work!!
Hot Water and Witch Hazel
Posted by Tasha (Jax, FL) on 09/08/2006
★★★★★
Really hot water and witch hazel will cure boils. As soon as you notice one developing just heat up some water in microwave or on the stove. Get a rag (water will be really hot), dip it into the water and pour some witch hazel on it. Hold it against the boil until rag cools down. Repeat often as needed sometimes it will drain immediately. if not then the next day, but it will stop the pain.
Hot Water Compress
Posted by Michelle (Nixa, MO) on 01/29/2007
★★★★★
I had a boil last year on the left side of my left breast. I went to my personal doctor and she recommended that I use just a warm wash cloth and place it over the infected area 4-5 times a day. I did this and it finally came busted and she recommended to put your regular peroxide down in the small hole and keep covered with a bandage. This was the best way I've found to cure a boil.
Hot Water Compress
Posted by Stacey (Los Angeles, CA) on 09/01/2006
★★★★★
I put a hot compress on every night since it developed. Within three days it opened and released pus. I also kept it lightly covered with a bandaid, put bacitracin/zinc antibiotic on it. Drank lots of water (LOTS) and ate more fresh fruits and veggies.The boil went away. Felt less tired and peed alot!
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Vera (Boca Raton, Fl) on 09/15/2017
★★★★★
A 100% cure for boils.
Apply 27% hydrogen peroxide with a q-tip. Rub into the skin so the skin begins to burn a little, and turns white. Keep doing, even several times a day, until a crust forms. Wait a few days, then poke off the middle of the boil -- there will be a "cone" (like in a volcano) of hardened pus.
Keep applying the peroxide until the whole boil is gone. There will be no scar, and no leftovers causing problems later. Mine was an inch across, I waited too long, and it's taken over a month of treatments. Simple and effective. (Pool stores carry 27% peroxide as "shock".)
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Ron (Emporia, Kansas) on 05/04/2010
★★★★★
5-04-10, Ben, down at the health food store, was in pain last Tuesday at work and had difficulty walking...he had developed a large boil on the top of his big toe (about the diameter of a mans thumb)...he asked me what I would do...I suggested soaking in H2O2 might help...use the cheap 3% HP...I saw him today and he said he had gotten the 3% HP and soaked his toe in it full strength for about 5 minutes in the evening about 10pm...the next morning he was at work and felt wetness in his shoe...the boil was draining...his pain was relieved and he said now it was all gone (about 4 days later)...so, the HP appears to have caused drainage in about 12 hours...he said he hadn't squeezed the boil or anything at all because he didn't want to aggravate it...the only thing he had done was the HP....I was surprised it worked so well...I know that HP will kill Staph if enough HP is used...the study I saw was a ratio of 500 HP to 1 Staph...I reasoned the only way HP might help him was if he soaked the boil in the HP so enough HP might be absorbed into the boil to have an effect...don't know if it would work for others, but sure did for him...he was very pleased...he now has an internet connection, so I suggested he study up on Turmeric at Earth Clinic so he could keep the staph under control, because, although the HP worked on his toe, he might get boils in areas of the body where it would be difficult to soak the boil for 5 minutes or so (like in an armpit or on the face)...but, topical application might work in those areas by putting on a thick gauze soaked in HP on it and covering with plastic to keep it wet overnight...don't know for sure...might be worth a try.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Leah (Albion, IN) on 05/16/2007
★★★★★
We wash our hands and the site of the boil. We use Hydrogen Peroxide to clean it and then With a steriled needle we break the head of the boil and drain it. we use the peroxide and it helps bubble the pus out. Its very painful. Afterward we put triple antibotic and a bandaid and it heals within days. if you catch it and drain in sooner than later it wont get so large. its very painful but you feel an instant relief after its drained.
Replied by Anonymous
(Indianapolis, In)
06/07/2010
★★★★★
Replied by
Merryanne (Orange City, Florida, Usa)
06/09/2010
113 posts
Hypericum
Posted by Mallika (Bangladesh) on 01/18/2021 7 posts
★★★★★
If you're getting any kinds of boils, especially recurrent boils in the same area, then take the homeopathic remedy Hypericum 200 4-6 times a day. It could be in pill form or in the liquid form. That should fix it in a couple of days.
Ice Cubes
Posted by Erin (Naperville, IL) on 06/15/2009
★★★★★
Ice cubes got rid of my boils! For three weeks, I suffered with boils around my waist. I think the waistbands of my pants actually caused them to spread. They weren't very large, but boy, were they painful! Being a veteran Earth Clinic user, I tried everything recommended ... H202, coconut oil, ACV, baking soda, hot moist heat, antibiotic ointment, turmeric and garlic. NOTHING worked. The other night, as I was going through my familiar routine of applying hot moist heat and draining them, it suddenly occurred to me taht maybe the heat was making them worse. I remembered that years ago, when I suffered with cystic acne, the only thing that would get rid of the painful bumps was in ice cube applied directly to them. Somewhere, I had read that bacteria thrives on hot moist heat and is killed by freezing cold temps and that's what made me try the ice on my cystic acne. I could often get rid of a cystic acne bump before it even became noticeable just by applying ice. So I decided to try it with the boils. I got an ice cube and held it directly to the biggest boil and then after a minute or so began rubbing the ice cube over the whole area that was infected with boils. I did this before bed and when I awoke the next morning, the smaller boils were completely gone and the bigger boils were less than half the size they had been. After I ate breakfast, I got another ice cube and applied it to the bigger boils first and then rubbed it over the whole area. By evening, the bigger boils were super tiny. I continued the ice cube treatment another day and then they were all gone. I cannot tell you how happy I was after suffering with these things for nearly three weeks and watching them grow worse and worse!
Replied by Judith
(California, USA)
07/13/2015
★★★★★
Ice Cubes
Posted by Megan (St. Louis, MO) on 09/04/2007
★★★★★
I have always gotten boils since I was young. I recently came across some information regarding them and a simply cure that I tried. Putting a whole ice cube on the boil 3 to 4 times a day and waiting until it completely melts will kill the boil. The information I came across said that boils need heat to grow and that the ice cubes stop them in their tracks. When you put the ice cube on it has a burning sensation and after 3 or 4 days the boil went completely away that I had. Just thought I'd share. An inexpensive remedy.
Infared, 125 Watt Clear Lightbulb
Posted by Bev (Elroy, WI) on 09/05/2007
★★★★★
to respond to the woman with the terrible boils. I suffer from horrific cystic acne. I discovered that if I eliminate all forms of hidden MSG [do an internet search to find all that it is in] that my skin is perfectly clear. I am so sensitive that I cannot even touch anything with citric acid or natural flavor which is a form of hidden MSG and is in most shampoos, liquid hand soap, prepared foods, pop etc. I convinced my husband to eliminate all hidden MSG and his headaches, ezcema and skin rash went away. Now when he has any exposure the itchy, weepy skin rash comes back and today it is back with a vengence. He had mustard on Sunday and it flared. By Monday evening it was drying up and he licked the spoon of the ice cream he served our children and during the night it erupted so bad he could hardly sleep.
A good rememdy for all these skin things is a 125 watt clear infrared bulb. Not only will this clear up the skin but is great for any aches and it healed my son of acute asthma. Asthma requires a one hour treatment 1-2 times daily or more. The more you use it the quicker it heals. The only draw back is having to stay stationary so long. My husband hasn't had time to sit under it the past two days so he is still in bad shape. He started on the vinegar and honey last night to see if a change in body pH will help.
Iodine
Posted by Frances (Gainesville, FL) on 04/25/2007
★★★★★
I got my first boil ever recently. At first I had no idea what it was, but it rapidly increased in size and pain, began to itch around the edges and turned very red. My mother (a nurse) told me it was a boil on Sunday and to "leave it alone" (I have a bad habit of picking at wounds, etc.). Through the night, this became one of the most painful things I had ever experienced. The next day, Monday, everything I did was a royal pain - getting in and out of my car, sitting down in a chair, even walking - because the boil was on my lower back, just above my rear-end and a few inches to the right of my spine. I knew I had to do something or I would lose my mind, so I started researching remedies, and I came across your site. Monday night, I went home, took a long, hot, epsom salt bath/soak, and then swabbed the entire area with iodine. The next morning, I cleaned the area, then swabbed it with more iodine. This seemed to reduce the pain slightly and the itching more. Partway through the day, it started getting a little more sensitive, so I figured I'd try it again. I went to the bathroom at work and cleaned it up and put some more iodine on it, making sure to spend a good deal of time just resting the iodine swab on the scabbed area of the boil. Through the rest of the day, the pain did not seem to diminish, so I had decided to try baking soda when I got home. However, before my mom left for work, I asked her if she would please remove the bandage I had put on and check to see if it looked any better. Taking off the bandage was very painful, and I was afraid that it was no better at all. However, I was plesantly surprised to find out that the reason it was painful was because it was DRAINING. Yes, less than 24 hours after starting the iodine, after just 3 treatments, the draining started. It was great. We cleaned it well with some peroxide and put some neosporin on it, then some gause to help soak up the pus. After a while, I did another epsom salt bath/soak and took a shower, where I washed it well with a tea tree oil / aloe vera body wash. Out of the shower, I again cleansed it with peroxide, then put on some more neosporin, one of those non-stick pads, and a bandage to catch the ooze. Hopefully it will all drain out today or tomorrow so that it will just be a distant memory by this weekend. :) Thanks for all of your help!
P.S. I was thinking of trying an oatmeal-and-baking soda combo tonight to see if that makes a core come out.