Boils
Natural Remedies

Heal Boils Naturally: Effective Home Remedies

| Modified on Mar 08, 2025
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.
Nutmeg
Posted by Rob (Kentucky) on 03/01/2021
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

@ Louise from the UK who wrote about turmeric for re-occurring boils on 2/27/21

Try Nutmeg Spice:

Turmeric works wonders on boils topically. But if you're having re-occurring outbreaks. The bacteria has gotten in deep into the tissue or even the bloodstream.

A have a friend that suffered from re-occurring boils that would pop-up all over his body for years. He is a picker. He picks at them. I've even seen him take a needle to pop them (bad idea) that's why I suspected the bacteria was in his blood. He spent thousand's of $$ with doctors and got no relief from them. Til one day when we were hanging out with a few friends, he was picking at the newest boil to come up on his knee so I asked him, “do you want to get rid of them”? He replied, there is no cure. Well...believe it or not, there is! I told him he had to do exactly what I said. No matter how stupid it sounded. He agreed to do as I said.

Here is the treatment plan:

Go buy a spice bottle of nutmeg. Put enough powdered spice on the back of your hand “about the size of a US dime coin”. Lick it up with your tongue and swallow. Do this once daily for 30 days. That's it! Sounds too simple.

Note: Burdock root tea can also be used but, nutmeg can be found at most grocery stores.

Now here are the results of what happened to his body over the 30 days:

He noticed that he was not getting new boils at about 15 days thru the treatment and by the end of the 30 days, the old boils had completely healed. I saw him about 6 months after that and asked him about his outbreaks. He said “no new boils”!

Nutmeg stimulates circulation in the body, which can help your body fight the bacterial infection in your boil. This will help to prevent boils from developing. Compounds in nutmeg have strong antibacterial and antifungal properties. Nutmeg is also a detoxifying agent. It cleanses the blood by increasing the effectiveness of all the body's elimination systems. Its diuretic effect helps the kidneys filter impurities from the blood. It helps push toxins out through the skin, and it also boosts the ability of the liver to remove toxins. By pushing toxins out through a variety of pathways, nutmeg can purify the blood with minimal side effects and with minimal stress to the body.

Boil Treatment Warnings
Posted by Lisa (Thousand Oaks, Ca, Usa) on 01/09/2011

Nurserynurse, I can appreciate that you came here to warn people about boil treatments but many of us look to natural remedies to heal us not just "get rid of" surface problems. I think we're all well aware that we can easily go to the Dr. and get a round of antibiotics (which by the way, are not cheaper than turmeric, especially if you have an East Indian market accessible to you) but we are also highly aware that antibiotics lead to a load of other problems that then need to be rectified.

As for a boil on the labia indicating syphilis- well, paleeze! I think that's pretty far fetched and a bit of hyperbole on your part. Not that it isn't a possiblity but I have had them there and certainly, I know I didn't and don't have syphilis.

Turmeric is a highly effective herb that is being studied right now by the scientific and medical community for what has always been known in the Ayurvedic community and Chinese medicine as well.

So, basically you're giving us advice that the mainstream medical world gives and most of us here are pretty fed up w/ that standard. I think the majority of us who frequent this site do our research and have found a place that we have learned tremendous information regarding cures that we would not otherwise be aware of. Those who would look to your type of advice would be going to the mainstream medical profession.


Figs
Posted by Catherine (Rome, Usa) on 02/06/2011
★★★★★

I know that a lot of folks may think this is kind of crazy, but after reading all of the treatments that people posted for boils, one treatment that stood out was from the Bible. A fig poltice for boils (Hezikiah - 2Kings: 20:7)

I was desperate. I had what looked at first like a small pimple start next to my anal area that, after a few days, grew into a roaring, angry, large hard boil. This wasn't the first time I had been thru this. I had one in my armpit that had to be lanced when I was 17 years old, and one in the same general area as this one 2 years after my last daughter was born (that was 17 years ago - she is 19 now and in college).

Embarrased? OMG - You bet! Nothing worse than having to go to your doctor to have a boil lanced in the most embarrassing place you can imagine! I did NOT want to have to go thru that again! I scoured the Internet looking for remedies. Earth Clinic is a Godsend!

Someone had posted that in Biblical times they had suffered with boils and that God had instructed that figs be used for 3 days.

I'm here to say - it works!

Never in my wildest dreams did I EVER think I would place a slice of a raw fig over my boil. But I was desperate and can honestly tell you it works! It did take more than 3 days because I could only use the fig at night time. But today - the boil is just a small raised dot that causes me no pain and if it wasn't for the fact that I am OCD about keeping it covered and clean - I wouldn't even know it was there!

I'm posting because I prayed that God would bless me as he did Hezikiah, and that if He did, I would share my experience with others.

So please, if you are at your wits end - have tried it all and nothing is helping - give Gods remedy a try. I know it sounds crazy - but I am living proof that it works!

Onions
Posted by Oceanna (Wa) on 04/30/2018
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

In my family if we have a boil, or acne that won't head up, we simply apply a slice of onion and hold it in place with masking tape for a half hour, then remove. This will bring many infections to a head. After draining them we again apply the onion for another half hour to make sure it's drawn everything out. A friend of mine had a rabbit with a puss-filled sore on the top of its head and it was not responding to the vet's medication. She was afraid she would lose her rabbit. I told her about this and the next day she called to say, "It worked! You saved my rabbit's life!"


Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by KS (MA) on 09/05/2006
★★★★★

Drinking apple cider vinegar tonic ( 2 teaspoons with honey in 8 oz water or tea 2-3 times daily) has nearly eliminated my recurring cysts that dermatologists have been unable to cure in over a decade.

Apple Cider Vinegar
Posted by Anonymous (USA)
★★★★★

I have a history of having problems with boils and bear the scars of them. They are quite painful and at times have had to have them lanced. A few people in my family told me about vinegar tea. One tablespoon of Apple Cider Vinegar, one tablespoon honey mixed in a cup of hot water at least twice a day has dissolved more than one of my boils. Not only the vinegar tea but also: the recommended daily amount of water. Stay away from sodas and chocolate, as they seem to aggravate the infected area even more. If the boil does come to a head where it is going to open continue to drink the vinegar tea and the water. Use hot packs on the boil for 15-20 minutes three times a day. Doing this has more than once saved an unwanted visit to the doctor. What is also important is not to squeeze a boil. I hope this will help someone out there.


Colloidal Silver
Posted by Katzie (Calgary) on 12/31/2015
★★★★★

I suffered from boils in my underwear area for about 7 yrs, with a frequency of about every other month. From this amazing site, I was a user of the turmeric paste cure, which never failed me, but it does stain everything it touches. I then spent a lot of time in the colloidal silver thread one day and decided to buy it at the health food store one day. When the next boil came, I tried the colloidal silver (24 ppm) suspended in gel, on it. I figured the gel would stay on my boils longer. This only took one treatment to shrink the boil considerably, and one more treatment to finish it off. I was amazed. I did not get another round of boils for about 4 months, and then used the silver gel again, which worked equally as well. It was another 6 months before I got them again, used the silver gel and the boils were gone. It has now been almost a year since I've had any boils at all. I am SO eternally grateful to this site, and its posters, for adding to the quality of my life. I have not had a prescription from a Dr since I found this site because I can always take care of it at home. Thank you, Earth Clinic! I am thrilled to have found the power of colloidal silver on here.

Boil Treatment Warnings
Posted by Deb (Melbourne , Australia) on 01/09/2011

To "NastyNurse" who says we should all go to the Dr for longterm antibiotics, I think you are on the wrong website. We can all go to the mainstream medical sites for your information.

If you are a Nurse you can been trained to not think; just keep pushing the drugs. Mind you most drug's active ingredients can be found in nature!


Bacon
Posted by Craig (Carrollton, Texas) on 06/06/2008
★★★★★

I had a cut on my arm that got infected and I was desperate because it was very painful and I didnt want to go to the doctor for an expensive bill. Someone advised me to wrap it in bacon and duct tape it overnight. I was desperate so I did. The next morning the infection was gone. The salt from the bacon is what kills it. I was amazed. ps dont eat the bacon.

Baking Soda
Posted by Angela (Ohio) on 01/21/2014
★★★★★

I have a boil in a very tender spot and I came here to see what I could do on my own and thank God I did. All I had was baking soda on hand. I was in tears trying to make the paste and I had put a "drawing" salve on the boil and kept it on there for two days. It got sooooooo much worse. When I made the paste and applied it, I felt my skin crawl. There was pain, but nowhere near as bad. It took about ten minutes to start working and the pain is soooooo much better and it started draining almost immediately. I hope this works and I wouldn't wish this pain on anyone. Good luck!


Bacon
Posted by C (Knoxville, Tn) on 10/30/2010
★★★★★

Omg I swear by the bacon. I've had this boil in a pretty delicate spot for a week now. It hurt so bad I could hardly sit, or even walk. I'm a baby when it comes to pain, but I was really resisting the urge to take a kitchen knife and just rip it open. My mother-in-law told me to put a piece of bacon fat directly on the boil and then cover it with a slice of potato and leave it there. I really thought she was nuts, so I went online looking for information on how to lance a boil and stumbled on this site. I saw that other people suggested it, so I thought I'd give it a try. You know, I sat on a heating pad for days and tried to lance it... None of it worked, it didn't even soften up.

I put the bacon on it (the fattiest piece I could find), and I swear on everything that within an hour it had developed a head, and in less than an hour and a half it was draining. I decided to leave it on overnight, and now it's almost completely gone and I am free of pain. I know it sounds like a ridiculous idea, but seriously, try it for a day or two (leave the bacon on as long as possible). I wish I'd known about it days ago.


Baking Soda
Posted by Jake (Asheville, NC) on 08/27/2008
★★★★★

I also tried the boil baking soda method, by putting some BS on a rag, dripping some water on it, then placing it on the boil for an hour or two. It drew the infection out and it drained with very little effort. Thanks so much for this advice.


Bacon
Posted by Trillz (Dallas, Texas) on 07/03/2015
★★★★★

Omgsh so I just came across this interesting thread, for about a week I've had this boil on my butt at first it was just itchy and slightly uncomfortable. I called my grandma who is usually the queen of home remedies but she just told me to sit in a warm bath, instead I put a wet cloth in a baggy and put that on it every night with absolutely no results.

So this weekend while visiting my mom I mentioned it to get she bought me some salt pork (bacon cured in salty, saltier than the damn pacific) so I cut a piece and duct tape it to my butt, lol this sounds so ridiculous) I left it on for a few hours and took it off and it was draining, lots of blood and some pus. But it actually worked. Initially I thought she was joking but it does work, or it did for me. Is actually on right now. The pain had gotten so bad and the boil was so deep that it was actually putting pressure on a nerve and my entire leg had this numb dead feeling pain, super uncomfortable. It's still kind of hard, and painful to sit on, but the pressure is leaving. I'll leave it on for the rest of the night and see how it does in the morning.


Castor Oil
Posted by Hef (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 05/03/2013
★★★★★

My nephew has a boil/acne mix on top of his nose with blood and pus coming from it for a month and was not getting better. When I visited him, I recommended applying castor oil dipped cotton gauze and then putting on band aid on top of it overnight daily.

On my next visit in a week his problem was healed completely. He was a very happy kid.


Drawing Salve
Posted by Drea (San Antonio, Usa) on 05/02/2011
★★★★★

Didnt read through all the listed stuff, but I really wanted to add in something, sorry if someone else may have mentioned it, but both my father and I have suffered from reoccuring boils/staph infections.

As soon as one would form, both of us would use something called Ichthammol. The one we used was a thick black ointment, not sure on the clear ones cause we didnt use it. It smells a bit like roofing tar but the smell isnt so bad to where you cant stand it, and believe me this stuff works miracles. We would apply it, and put a thick cloth over it cause it can stain clothing, and would tape the area with medical tape for the skin. By the next day the head would form, we would them clean our hands, take tissue and wrap it around both pointer fingers, and pop the head. You want to push out as much of the infection as possible till nothing but blood is coming out, then you would wipe the area good, apply more of the Ichthammol with new wrapping and repeat the process the next day of removing whatever pus was there.

To best describe what it seems to do, is make it easy for the puss to be drawn out do that draining it is easier, and the pain or the infection doesnt last for days or weeks. I use to go to the Hospital for mine and they would numb the area with shots which was extremely painful because the skin was already tender to the max, and then they would slit the skin with a blade, and remove what they could, they I would have to stuff it with guaze over and over for about a week, everyday and it would leave a nasty scar that at times either would heal over 6months to a yr, and some have not seemed to heal at all.

With the Ichthammol, and all the easy removal of the fluid, there isnt as much pain compared to having to stuff the open sore wound with guaze, and it seems to heal more rapidly with no scars left after.

Also I make sure to apply something called Hibiclens over my skin when I take a shower. But I only do this about once a month. It helps to clean the skin and kill bacteria, now it doesnt get rid of the boils coming back permanantly but it does help bring down the reoccurance of them, cause I use to get them every 2-4months, and I made sure to wash/bleach my sheets and clothes, also went around the house with bleach and hot water, wiping down things that are touched often but forgotten about like light switches and door knobs. Now I might get a boil/staff infection once every 6-8 months.

Hope this helps anyone dealing with these horrible things, I wouldnt wish these on anyone and hope everyone has found some kind of remedy that works.

Boil Treatment Warnings
Posted by Maria (Minneapolis, Mn Usa) on 08/18/2010

Luckyseattlegirl, boils generally ARE staph infections! It's not an either/or issue. Not all staph is the same, though, and that's how MRSA come into it. Here's what the Mayo Clinic says:

"Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection is caused by a strain of staph bacteria that's become resistant to the antibiotics commonly used to treat ordinary staph infections. "

So-- you can have a boil which is caused by the "normal" staph bug, or be unlucky enough to get one caused by an antibiotic-resistant strain. Meanwhile, I've had great success over the past year with turmeric. I generally use capsules from a vitamin co. in the Midwest whose name begins with S. -- however, I love turmeric in FOOD, and try to cook with it when I can (Indian cuisine). My boils are on my chin area, usually-- I always thought they were just a different kind of adult acne. Turmeric knocks them out in a day or two-- before that, they used to linger for up to a month!


Cream of Tartar
Posted by Thomas (Chehalis, WA) on 06/08/2008
★★★★★

Here's a folk remedy for boils. I get boils all the time, always around my belt buckle. They seemed to last a week or two, and even after they burst, the area remained tender for a few days. My Grandmother gave me a teaspoon of Cream of Tarter mixed with about 6 oz. of water when I had a boil the size of a golf ball. Within about 4 hours it had burst, and the next day, it was gone. Now I use it all the time, with great results. She says "It cleans your blood", but I'm sure there is a scientific reason for it. You may want to use warm water, as it doesn't dissolve well in cold water. Also, it tastes very acidic, so I usually dissolve it in an ounce of warm water and mix it with cold orange juice, and you can't taste it at all.


Castor Oil
Posted by Karen (Alberta, Canada) on 08/15/2014
★★★★★

I just wanted to add something that I've never seen on here before - and that is when you start to feel a boil forming, start rubbing castor oil into the area as often as you can. I find that it prevents them from getting any bigger and then they go away. It is also amazing on boils after they've been drained. Take care now.

Drawing Salve
Posted by Robert Henry (Ten Mile , Tn) on 08/22/2015

HI U MARIE, , , , , , , , , Lordy you must be as old as me to know about Ichthmmol. These young whipper snappers have no clue what this ointment can do.

In my day every household had a tube because as you say, boils were common, as were splinters. A few years ago a grandson got a splinter under his toe nail from our lake dock. He's a crybaby and was going nuts. We took him to a doctor which charged us $400 to remove it. Are you sheeting me?

Anyways, you probably know that in addition this ointment brings boils to a head, this ointment will form a pus pocket around a splinter and within a few days it almost comes out on it's own.

A few years ago our 40 year old tube played out and I went to Walmart to buy another tube. They had no clue and had to look it up and make a special order. Yep, Big Pharma and the medical folks had rather you spend $400 than a few bucks for a tube of Ichthammol.

Last Wed. I had a heart spell. It felt like someone had put a sack of concrete on my chest. I moved from my easy chair to the couch. No help and I was getting nervous. Took my blood pressure and it was good , the problem was that my pulse rate was at 170. My heart was in Fibrillation, I went to the internet to Mayo, etc and their advice was to call 911 and go to the emergency room. I then went to EC and read what others had done in this situation. Here's what I did:

Drank a glass of Power Ade

Drank 2 Tbsp of ACV

Drank water containing 5 drops of Iodine

Took 3 capsules of Magnesium

Sprayed my body down with MgCl

Soon my pulse rate went back to normal.

What I have learned is that if you in deep sheet then go to EC instead of Mayo's. That statement should get EC in trouble for certain. I have been to Mayo's twice for my company's physical and I was not impressed. They talk the walk.

To cut to the chase, listen to what Marie has told you because, undoubtably, she has been down a lot of dusty trails.

YO BUDDY ========ORH===========


Boil Treatment Warnings
Posted by Tommy (North York, On, Canada) on 01/09/2011

Hi and welcome in earth clinic,
I'm a pharmacologist and I can tell you that turmeric has a VERY POTENT activity against bugs like Salmonella and MRSA. If you need published papers just ask. Drugs like B-lactams will just suppress your TH1 immunity and give you candida.

People are mature and they can choose for themself. My health deteriorated since I took antibiotics as a child. I believe also that the natural healing will force these big pharma to look for new remedies.


Boil Treatment Warnings
Posted by Kelly (Cincinnati, Ohio) on 11/11/2009
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

I would like to warn everyone about treating boils. Prior to knowing about earthclinic I had a boil on my leg that grew to the size of a grapefruit (inner thigh). I'm not a doctor, this just my personal experience. I shudder when I read someone advising others to apply heat to a boil to make it come to a head. That's what I did and I almost died. boils for whatever reason one has one, are full of infection. applying heat pulls blood to the surface and increases the risk of spreading the infection already in the boil. I was treating myself, like many others w/o insurance. I did not have the knowledge about turmeric and other home remedies then. better to use the home remedies, have patience, and if it does not clear up get to a hospital. I hate being in debt, but I think I'd hate being dead over a boil worse. If you have a store near by that sells indian groceries buy turmeric in bulk--inexpensive. Then either get empty capsules from a healthfood store and make your own (empty caps also not expensive), or to get the turmeric into you, make golden milk and drink it:

1-2 tablespoons turmeric
2 cups milk (lactose intolerant- use rice milk)
1 tablespoon honey ( I prefer molasses blackstrap, full of b-vitamins and iron) to personal taste

heat milk to warm, not boil, and add turmeric and honey. when drinking stir cup before sip as turmeric settles to bottom and you want to get it all down w/ the liquid.

Turmeric is the key ingredient in mustard, wear old clothes or handle carefully it stains. c/o topical apps here at Earth Clinic. I wish I had known about this site, I might have been able to save myself from having emergency surgery and 2 months on my back in a nusing home on a wound pump (pumping out infection). I'm only 49 years old!

EC: Thank you Kelly, great advice!


NEXT 
Advertisement