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.
Iodine
Posted by Rebecca (Elk, Wa Usa) on 02/28/2012
★★★★★
My family became plagued with boils for many years while working in Romanian Hospitals. I really believe I have come up with a viable cure for boils. The concept of iodine or any other topical treatment is it kills the infection to some degree. If you place triple antibiotic ointment in your nose, where staph grows, and in your ears, you will cut the spreading of it. Scrub you skin with an rough washcloth and antibiotic body wash. Bleach your tub every time you use it so others and yourself will not be reinfected. Staph grows in your nose, ears and other warm wet places, but, mostly on your skin. It appears to be external, and that is where you have to fight it. It is highly contagious.
Triple anti biotic, like Neosporin, seems to be the cure, when placed in the nose in pea sized amounts. We beat it after a long battle very quickly after starting this treatment and this method has kept us free and helped others. It is proven to really be a answer to the boil problem.
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.
Iodine
Posted by Tammy (Wellston, Oklahoma) on 04/18/2007
★★★★★
I tried the basic iodine you get from the pharmacy on some sort of hard lump on my inner thigh .. I can assume it to have been a boil, anyway it started as a small bump, I thought maybe an ingrown hair. After a few months it was still there only very much larger, hard, dark brown and painful. Don't know what it was, probably dont want to know, but after a weeks worth of iodine swabbed on from a q-tip, it has become only a scar. It was almost diameterically dime sized and raised about 1/4 inch ... little more as it centered in, so I painted about an inch all around it as well, just for added measure ;) One thing, I also have a skin tag near it, I also applied it to that and nothing happened to it sadly. But whatever "bumps" you've got ... give some iodine a shot!
Iodine
Posted by Carolyn (Hollywood, FL) on 12/20/2006
★★★★★
Hi, here is an update on my condition. All the original boils dried up and there were no lumps left under the skin. This was fine for 2 days and today there is an extremely TINY bump that formed near the original infection area. I think it is so small because of the turmeric in my system. But I doused it anyway with iodine and gave a fresh douse to the whole area that had been infected. I also keep a plastic bucket in the tub and fill it with water and a few drops of iodine. I reach into the bucket and swish around, this will clean under the nails, and rub the iodine water up my arms. Also I soak my clothes overnight in an iodine water solution as described. Before going out today, I am going to bathe with the solution and when I get home, bathe with it and change into new clothes. Of course making a new solution each time. I want to deeply thank the people who run and post in this forum because without your information, I would have had a disaster on my face. I am teaching others as fast as possible in my area. A friend who lives with me owns a large daycare. She is taking all this information very seriously. She has not seen any boils or infected sores on the children yet, but she is prepared now, thanks to Ted and all of you in this forum. God bless you and thank you.
Iodine
Posted by Dee (Washington) on 07/21/2006
★★★★★
I used Lugol's iodine to cure boils and acne. During the last several years I have learned to live with boils popping up all over my chin area including on my nose once. Nothing worked at making them go away quickly so I was always stuck with looking at big red spots that take a long to to go away. When I put the iodine on my chin the two boils were basically gone (redness too!!!) within three days of application. It cleared up all the small pimples as well. This is incredible stuff and as cheap as it is.... it far beats any expensive treatments and doctors I have ever tried. Now I put it on as a mask at night now and then and my face is clear. Cheers, D
Iodine
Posted by Darya (Santa Ana) on 05/24/2006
★★★★★
I tried the iodine on a 2nd boil on my face after reading about it on your website. I held a q-tip soaked in colorless iodine to the boil until it burst. It scabbed over and took about a week to heal. I would try something else on my face next time because I think it will take weeks before the blemish actually fades (looks now like a large freckle). But for boils elsewhere on the body, I would go for iodine.
Iodine
Posted by Earth Clinic (USA)
★★★★★
Use colorless (aka "decolorized") iodine on the face, as iodine will stain your skin orange. Hold a q-tip soaked in iodine to the boil for several minutes. Replenish the iodine if the q-tip dries out too much. The boil will burst. However, it does scab and take about a week to heal. Cover with fresh aloe or dab with hydrogen peroxide 3x a day to speed healing.
