Life necessarily involves a little discomfort. We all take a step wrong occasionally or find ourselves waiting in the DMV line for one reason or another. As a result, most of us have a certain tolerance for discomfort. Sometimes we simply need to accept it as part of our lives for a time, but we shouldn’t always take this approach. Boils and carbuncles in particular are a good sign that you shouldn’t simply accept the pain and discomfort. They represent a form of active infection that you should work towards treating relatively quickly to prevent it from becoming worse. To start, let’s ensure we’re talking about the same thing. A boil is an infection that begins below the skin at the hair follicle and slowly spreads. This can lead to the formation of further boils as the infection spreads. Cluster boils are typically referred to as carbuncles and require direct care to ensure they don’t spread further. Managing the discomfort is a big part of this.

Warming to the Issue
A traditional and surprisingly useful home remedy is to simply apply a warm compress to the affected area. The warmth penetrates into the skin and works to help lessen the overall irritation of the area. It is important to note that this both decreases the pain and begins to cause the body to do what it can to heal the area. Repeated application of a warm compress or soaking the boil or carbuncle in water can and likely will eventually cause it to drain eventually. This will allow the body to release the accumulated pus freely into an area. You need to be ready for when this happens so that you can clean the area thoroughly with an antibacterial compound to prevent further boil formation. Once the boil or carbuncle drains though, you can expect the skin to start being able to properly recover from the infection and gradually return to normal as long as you continue to thoroughly clean the area properly and apply antibiotic creams.

An Easy Response
We don’t always have the time to be patient with the warming approach to soothing and treating boils though. Sometimes you need to be able to get through the day before you can settle into looking after the infected area. This is a time when you’ll want to put a clean bandage over the area to protect it from outside irritation. You get the additional benefit that the affected area can’t touch your clothing, workspace, or other things to leave the potential for spreading the problem. The clean bandage will protect things and minimize potential irritation, but you’ll want to take some painkillers on top of that. Over-the-counter options are perfectly suitable and will offer adequate pain management for the duration of the problem. You will need to properly treat the area eventually though to truly alleviate the discomfort. This is a temporary solution at best.

Talk To Your Doctor
Some boils and carbuncles can prove to be quite stubborn and hard to treat. Longer infections open the chance for truly bad effects to begin settling in over time as the bacteria properly settles in. As a result, you may want to talk to your doctor for treatment of a particular stubborn boil or carbuncle. They can prescribe appropriate drugs to help kill the bacteria and manage the pain of the condition. Targeting the most common culprits will help minimize any symptoms of spreading infection as well so that you have more time to recover from the issue. Remember to listen to your doctor’s advice exactly on the matter. Stubborn boils are sometimes the result of resistant bacteria and that absolutely necessitates medical intervention. So don’t get caught up in thinking you need to solve the issue on your own and ignore when it is becoming a noticeable problem.

The pain and discomfort from boils and carbuncles is relatively easy to treat. Warmth applied directly to the area both soothes the discomfort and actually functions as a basic treatment for the problem. Painkillers can add an extra layer of aid to easing the issue, but aren’t necessary. The main thing to remember is that if you start actually feeling sick then you need to immediately seek proper medical attention to ensure that the infection isn’t spreading to the rest of your body and putting your health at true risk. As long as you know that, you’ll likely be able to deal with any boils with relative ease.