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.
Garlic
Posted by Margaret (Petaling Jaya, Malaysia) on 11/27/2007
★★★★★
I have had recurring boils since 1996 under the breast area and over all of the abdominal region and ocassionally on the inner thigh region. Application of active magnesium was helpful but painful. Garlic hi-dose of 20,000mg did reduce and clear but 2 are still stubbornly remaining as scars and do reappear if I stop garlic for a few months. But the recurrence is controlled with ingestion of garlic again. But my abdominal area is covered by the ugly spots and scars.
Gentian Violet
Posted by Ruth (NewCastle, California) on 09/15/2007
★★★★★
gentian violet works on my boils/sores. it takes awhile but it dries them up and then they fall off. no piking at sores, just takes longer to heal.
Iodine, Epsom Salt, Sodium Chloride
Posted by Caitlin (Springfield, Missouri) on 09/10/2007
★★★★★
About a week ago i noticed u bump on me at first i thought it was just a pimple until it got bigger and bigger it was right on my butt. It got to the point where i couldn't even walk or sit down it hurt so bad. So i talked to my mom ad she went to the store and got Iodine that really helped. Then i would take a hot hot bath ( hot as you can stand) and put Emsom Salt in there around the boil. It brought it to a head so i could pop it. Afterwards i started using Sodium Chloride' by the next day it was gone!!! It was the best for me!!
Turmeric Recipes
Posted by Anna (Union County, NJ) on 09/06/2007
Turmeric truly is the cure for boils. I have been struggling with boils for over 10 years! I have been to countless doctors and dermatologists for this embarrassing and painful ailment to no avail. I stumbled upon this website and tried it. When I saw a huge difference in 48 hours, I cried. Thank You.
Here is a turmeric tea recipe that is truly delicious, from Yogi Bhajan, founder of the Yogi Tea brand INGREDIENTS:
* 1 tsp turmeric powder
* 4 cups water
* 1 cup milk (soy or dairy)
* 2 tbsp almond oil
* liquid sweetener, to taste, optional (honey, agave, maple syrup)
PREPARATION:
Bring water to a boil and add turmeric. Allow to simmer for 8-10 minutes, stirring to make sure the turmeric is fully dissolved. Reduce heat, add milk and oil and stir well. Add sweetener if desired and enjoy!
This just shows how we should look to Mother Earth a little more often instead running to a physician.
Also, instead of using Neosporin on those nasty things, a little manuka honey and vitamin E salve goes a long way.
Turmeric Recipes
Posted by Sara (Kauai, Hawaii) on 05/25/2008
I tried this recipe without almond oil, and it's actually delicious! I didn't have almond oil on hand and was trying to research it's benefits. The only things I found were about almond oil externally. Do you know why it's of value in the tea?
Turmeric Recipes
Posted by Leila (Amsterdam, The Netherlands) on 03/07/2009
★★★★★
First, let me tell you that this site has become one of my favourites and has helped me get back in touch with my affinity for folk remedies. Thank you for that!
Yesterday evening, I tried the Turmeric Tea recipe that Anna from Union County, NJ, shared. It tasted so much better than I thought it would, it's actually delicious! I like drinking warm milk before bedtime :D
More importantly, only one large cup of this tea already reduced a boil in my armpit to half its size overnight. It also doesn't hurt any longer. I stopped using commercial deodorants about a year ago, because I kept getting awful boils under my armpits and suspected the aluminium in deodorant to cause these. Used green clay compresses, but they only work temporarily and the boils kept returning. I also get boils on my breasts - horribly painful and embarrassing.
I'm absolutely amazed at how quickly the Turmeric had an effect! Thank you, Anna, and thank you, EC!
Watkins Salve
Posted by Heather (Clarksburg, West Virginia) on 02/05/2011
★☆☆☆☆
I have been applying Watkins salve, washing the area and doing the best to treat it but it's not healing at all. It hurts a lot! Sometimes pus will drain, but it's not healing. I am not diabetic. I am not ill otherwise. Well no, I have a kidney infection which I am taking cipro for. But this is starting to worry me. The thought of going to the E. R. over this just makes me feel silly.
Deodorant
Posted by Chris (Paris, TX) on 08/11/2007
i used to get horrible boils (golf ball to baseball size) under my arm pits. i had a doctor suggest that i may have a condition known as (
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hidradenitis-suppurativa/DS00818) Hidradenitis Suppurativa, he said this was incurable. i do not believe in incurable conditions. After lots of research and a trip to a local allergy specialist i found that was actually allergic to aluminum zirconium, a very common ingredient in antiperspirants (see
http://health.howstuffworks.com/question627.htm for more information) i switched to an antiperspirant withouts actually allergic to aluminum zirconium and the boils stopped.
My allergy Dr. told me that alot of people actually get misdiagnosed with Hidradenitis Suppurativa because of boils in the armpit when all that is wrong with them is their choice of antiperspirant. i also want to point out that i have seen this ingredient listed on several feminine hygiene products for moisture control.
Foods to Avoid
Posted by Angela (Sarasota, FL) on 07/22/2007
I've been reading all the comments on your website (for future reference) and I'm happy to have found the turmeric cure for boils. I've suffered with them in the past, and like another one of your readers I thought mine may be hormone related since I used to break out prior to my menstral cycle. I asked my endocrinologist on my last visit to have my thyroid levels checked if it could be related (she said "possibly") but she also told me to watch what I ate just prior to getting a boil. She suggested I never eat peanuts and chocolate together (what?). She said separately they are fine, but never eat them together (as in some of my favorite candy bars). I took her suggestion and even tested it later by intentionally eating it... sure enough, within days I could feel the start of old boil sites coming back. I'm happy to say that since I've avoided that combination I don't have any more problems. And yes, I can still eat peanuts and chocolate, as long as it's a few hours apart and they don't hit my stomache at the same time! Other nuts, such as walnuts and pecans don't seem to cause any problems. And you have to admit, chocolate covered walnuts are a pretty darn good substitute for peanuts so I don't feel deprived at all! Also, I just recently asked my dermatologist about the peanut/chocolate connection and she said she knew about that problem personally (she avoids the combo too) but she didn't know it was a widely know belief and was happy to hear it worked for others. Thanks, this really is a great website!
Foods to Avoid
Posted by Alib (Swansea, Wales, Uk) on 12/04/2010
Yes, but is it really the chocolate and the peanuts - or what they usually come with? Candy bars contain a huge quantity of carbs and sugars - often high-fructose corn syrup - something the body definitely will want rid of. Peanuts can sometimes contain aflatoxins and the body doesn't want those either!
Epsom Salt
Posted by Tammi (Montgomery, Alabama) on 07/12/2007
★★★★★
I am on my third boil within the past 7 days. Seems like as soon as I drain one another one comes in that place. This is the most painful and uncomfortable illness I have ever experienced. I am 36 years old and my labor pains from my two children didn't last this long. I do believe mine were staph infections. I soaked in hot hot water. I applied on my hand towel hot water and epsom salt and apllied it directly on the boil for about 15 minutes. The next morning most of the soreness and swelling disappeared. I am on day ten now and the boil has not drained yet!! I have been on antibiotics for 5 days so far. Boils are definitely a delicate and serious situation!!!
Turmeric and Homemade Salve
Posted by Dustin (Texarkana, AR) on 07/11/2007
★★★★★
Homemade Salve for Boils: I started getting boils on my bottom and on the inside of my legs a few years ago...I guess when I was about 19. I'm 23 now and multiple boils have combined on my right buttock into a huge carbuncle...or a huge boil with many different heads. I started the tumeric remedy about a week ago...big difference fast! Just be sure not to miss a dose...I have been taking more than instructed only because of the enormity of my problem. I went to a health food store today and bought some oil of oregano and Red Clover-a blood purifier like turmeric. I am so reay to get ths thing knocked out....it is working!
There is a salve i concocted just this evening that is very soothing for the boils...I mixed baby oil gel with desitin diaper rash cream as a base, then added turmeric powder (careful, too much can stain your skin yellow!) the powder from one of the red clover capsules, oil of oregano, and tea tree oil. The diaper rash cream is brilliant because it is thick and helps it to stay in place, it also reduces friction to those boils between the legs...and causes the other ingredients to stay in place and not get wiped off.
Oregano Oil
Posted by Drazky (Manila, Philippines) on 10/03/2009
hi, may i asked what did you do with apple cider vinegar with water and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda. you can email me at edgarmnavarro (at) gmail(dot) com. tnx
External Application of Turmeric
Posted by Kraig (Omaha, Nebraska) on 05/17/2007
★★★★★
...equal parts yogurt and turmeric powder.. just enough to cover the boil. heat it up in the microwave till warm.. then use a piece of bread to soak it up and apply to boil for at least half an hour. boil should come to head. at night: leave on honey and turmeric over boil. wash off in morning.
Hydrogen Peroxide
Posted by Merryanne (Orange City, Florida, Usa) on 06/09/2010 113 posts
If you have trouble with boils, try eliminating all soy products.
Calendula Homeopathic
Posted by Scott (Evanston, IL) on 05/04/2007
★★★★★
calendula homeopathic has seemed like a friendly topical for my persistent boils, which you might try while taking the turmeric.
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 Julia (Greenville, Nc) on 07/28/2012
I am battling with a boil on my knee that the doctor had to lance and pack, 4 visits to her, but it takes a long time to heal. It was lab tested and is MRSA. It's finally healing after two weeks! It has a pea sized center that's still red. I find large bandages draw it out, and they go costly so I would use fresh menstrual pads and the thickness seemed to pull out more pus. I would lay them inside a soccer sock and the compression seemed to help. Sometimes I would get a mild fever if I exerted myself during the day too much. I wonder if it can be spread by fleas? Though I do my best to control fleas, I have dogs, and cat, one lives outdoors, and it just dawned on me that they need a round of antibiotics.
Iodine
Posted by Rseagle69 (Atlanta, Ga) on 07/29/2012
Colloidal Silver will kill it immediately and save you having to go to the doctor. Also try oregano oil or both which would be my approach.
Iodine
Posted by Timh (Louisville, Ky, Usa) on 07/29/2012 2048 posts
Julia, "slow heal" and "chronic infection" are almost always directly linked to Zinc deficiency. 25-50 mg daily for a couple weeks should help very much.
Sea Salt
Posted by Carolyn (Hollywood, Florida) on 04/12/2007
★★★★★
I stopped using sea salt and tried regular iodized table salt and I paid the price for my stupidity. Now that I have sea salt again, my outbreak is calming down. Ted is absolutely correct about sea salt. There are studies showing that magnesium inhibits staph. Sea salt is rich in magnesium. Everybody in this forum needs to pay close attention to Ted.
Sea Salt
Posted by Ted (Bangkok) 392 posts
Dear Carolyn: The pH of an Iodized salt is quite acid at pH of 5, while a sea salt is 8. Staph generally flourishes in an acidic medium.
Turmeric Recipes
Posted by Roy (Sarasota, Florida) on 03/29/2007
Turmeric virtually tasteless in chocolate milk.
Cayenne
Posted by Matt (Springfield, USA) on 03/27/2007
★★★★★
Hello, I have almost a cure for a Pilonidal cyst. The reason I say almost is it will come back in usually about 10 months to a year, and then you will need to repeat the steps again. I came across it from another person who has suffered from this health problem and has been through many surgeries with no help. I myself have been through one surgery in which the cyst came back a year later. The cure is to put cayenne pepper mixed with water in the sinus opening of the cyst for 3-4 days straight using an eye dropper with a narrow end. The solution should be 1 heaping teaspoon of pepper in a cup of water used over the 3-4 day period. This does sting quite a bit for the first minute or two after the pepper is injected but subsides afterwards. Note: you will probably need someone to do it for you to really get the solution in the sinus. I've read this works because the sting of the pepper brings a rush of white blood cells to the area, not sure if that is true or not, but it worked for me. Of course check with your doctor before doing anything. I'd also be interested if anyone else has found other ways to deal with this issue.
Cayenne
Posted by Dan (Chicago, Il) on 09/30/2011
I'm assuming this is about the cyst you get in your nose and not on your tailbone?
Cayenne
Posted by Socher (Mesa, Arizona, Usa) on 12/19/2011
The 'sinus' mentioned here is not referring to the nasal cavity sinus but rather to a part of the structure of a pilonidal cysts (also known as a) sinus.
Turmeric, Sea Salt, Lemon
Posted by Dave (Peoria, Arizona) on 03/23/2007
★★★★★
I suffered with boils and impetigo infections for years. The allopathic treatments have been a complete failure and have only made matters worse not to mention very costly. Started to use internal turmeric. Started cleansing wounds with sea salt and water in varying concentrations to remove exudate and puss. Applied raw honey to the wound bed several times a day, everyday. I drank: 1/8 teaspoon of sea salt and washed that down with 16oz. of water 4 times a day. I drink several cups of green tea with honey and raw lemon per day. I would take 1 gram of turmeric 3xday. This combination approach from the inside out is impressive. The honey is amazing. If you think about it honey is protected by antibacterial, anti fungal agents in order that it does not spoil in nature. There is much research done on honey and infections from many credible resources. It works better than any antibacterial chemical product. I have tried many.
