Home Remedies for Boils: What Works and What to Avoid

Camphor Spirits

Posted by Vivian (Missouri) on 12/06/2020
★★★★★

Editor's Choice

I have suffered with boils all my life. I have tried all the remedies, tea tree oil etc. nothing worked.

I started using camphor spirits. If caught at the first small bump it works great. Do not use on an open draining boil. Antibiotics work but getting in to see a doctor can be too late. Most doctors are at a loss with boils I have found. Draining can be painful and most doctors just don't have the time. I could write a medical book on boils, but no happy ending or fix.

Gentian Violet

Posted by Pegasus1898 (Couva) on 01/06/2018
★★★★★

I had a boil/carbuncle that would not peak and it was really huge and red and painful and it was located in an area which prevented me from walking properly. I got some gentian violet 0.5% solution and applied with a cotton ball. After a couple hours it was throbbing and the next morning the boil/carbuncle popped! It began draining itself and the bump went down ..pain subsided tremendously and I could walk normally again. It works so fast like magic! It dried up in 2-3 days time

Colloidal Silver

Posted by Myway (Usa) on 12/31/2015

Katzie, just as a side note, if you are susceptible to boils, a therapeutic way to prevent them is sudzing a wash cloth with an organic soap, spray two squirts of magnesium oil on the suds and wash away. Rinse. This method works extremely well for the elderly who sit a lot and are prone to many skin problems in the folds of their skin and their bottoms.

Good Luck!

MyWay, :D

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Ted (Micronesia) on 07/05/2016

Joe,

Why don't you try honey. Apply thick honey on it cover it with gauze and wrap it. Apply it twice a day (morning and evening) and see what will happen. Honey is my magic bullet.

Aloe Vera

Posted by Grace (London, Uk) on 05/28/2012
★★★★★

Fresh aloe vera works for drying out many things, spots, cold sores and also boils. I have posted about it in the cold sores section too.

Boils are nasty things and I do find linked to diet. A good probiotic helps to minimize them as does cutting out sugars and hard trans and saturated fats as I detail below.

I am sorry so many of us suffer from these nasty things but I have managed to minimize them by being careful with my diet and when they do come up, acting fast with fresh aloe vera from the plant only.

If a boil develops I do find taking turmeric helps to bring it to a head however once it is oozing you need something to dry it out as soon as possible.

I do find to avoid boils avoid sugar, avoid eating hard fats (eggs, lots of red meat or porc, I keep cheese consumption down and try to mostly eat soft cheeses).

I do find that despite the warning on this page that you want to pop the boil as soon as you can with a sterile needle or other implement and get all the gunk out. Until you have done this it just cannot heal properly.

Once you have gotten all the yucky stuff out I find Fresh Aloe Vera straight from the plant is the most amazing thing for drying it up. The yellow ick should start to dry out and form a brown coloured scab which gets darker and drier by the day. If it is still very swollen and painful after a day it may be because not all the gunk has been extracted in which case lightly press on either side of the boil either with Q-tips or fingers wrapped in tissue paper and see whether more thick white stuff comes out, usually it does if the boil is very swollen. Keep taking the turmeric in water as suggested in other posts here.

Once the thick white stuff is all out of the boil, the boil is usually gross and oozing with that see through pus so you want to dry it up as fast as possible, avoid wetting the sore or taking long showers and baths. Holding a tissue to it for about 30 mins to stop the flow of pus will help, then you start applying aloe vera like crazy!

You should apply fresh aloe vera- the juicy part- straight from the plant every half an hour or so until the boil gradually turns into a scab and then keep on applying as often as you can. Only fresh aloe vera from the plant works, I have tried the bottle stuff and it just does not work the same. I always have an aloe vera plant in the house for these needs and have been known when travelling to bring parts of leaves with me in a ziplock bag!

The best thing is to slice a small amount off the plant and keep it in the bathroom and just keep on applying the juicy liquid as often as you can. Eventually you'll need a fresh piece as the juicy part will dry out.

I have found I can 'cure' a boil in 3 days if I am lucky, with only a minor red mark at the end that is easy to cover with concealer. Usually on the 3rd or 4th day of applying the aloe vera the scab is so tight and dry it easily falls off or peels off, do NOT pull it off if it is still stuck on too tight or you will have a scar and the sore may not be healed properly underneath yet.

If you are sure the boil is really dead and dried out and all scabbed up, another thing that helps the healing is to apply -only when you are 100% sure it is all dried up! Or else you will reactive it- some neosporin. This will help humidify the skin underneath so it heals nicely without leaving a big scar.

Aloe vera, straight from mother nature, from the fresh plant is heaven sent and I thank beautiful nature and mother earth for giving us this wonderful miracle!

Bacon

Posted by Da Mith (Brisbane, Qld, Australia) on 02/05/2012
★★★★★

Out of desperation tried a piece of bacon fat on my boil. Had trouble getting bandaid to hold because of location of boil. Did manage to have bacon in place for a couple of hours. Awoke next morning and boil had started to discharge small and scab began to form. Pain almost completely gone. Next day boil incredibily itchy. Put some betadine ointment on and this eased itching. Day 4 and boil is healing well. Still a little redness and swelling but definately... this boil has been defeated.

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Phyllis (Norwood, Nc) on 12/25/2011
★★★★★

A paste made of charcoal powder and water will draw the fever out of a boil very quickly. Cover the boil with the paste and then with a damp, flat cotton pad covered in plastic to keep from drying out and wetting clothing. Can tape in place.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by S (L, A) on 11/23/2011
★★★★★

My uncle soaks his feet in an ACV/water bath. The first time he tried it, his mrsa boils began to drain within the hour. He had them everwhere--shoulders, neck, around his waistline; he couldn't go to work, they were so bad. Temperature doesn't matter. I don't know how much ACV he adds to the water. I think he just glugged some in and soaked his feet while he watched television. A five year old would probably rather soak than swallow!

Colloidal Silver

Posted by Enchanting123 (Los Lunas, Nm) on 10/15/2011
★★★★★

First I have to say I love earthclinic website. So many natural cures to look up.

My husband had another boil on his behind. After one week he finally told me, he had put on rubbing alcohol. I immediately looked at the website to see what can be done. I had colloidal siver and I put it on a little cotton cloth and covered it with a bandage. Overnight it drew out the head and looked a lot better, redness and a lot of the swelling was gone. Put on some more and covered it. Thank you earthclinic and all the wonderful people who share their natural remedies.

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Melissa (Houston, Texas) on 04/04/2010
★★★★★

My two year old son has had recurring boils in his buttcrack ( sorry, but that's where they are :) ) - anyways, previously we have used the heated bottle method with good results. However, this time it only released a little bit of fluid with that method...it just kept getting bigger and bigger even with turmeric applied to it. He couldn't sit down and his little butt cheek was all purple. Doc's office was closed for the weekend, so I hurried to the health food store, desperate for some help and the lady suggested Activated Charcoal - it was sold in capsules.

I wet piece of gauze, opened the capsule and sprinkled a decent amount across the bandage (it needs to be damp to work, so make sure the gauze is significantly damp so it won't dry out quickly). That usually takes about 1/2 the capsule.

Then I dump the rest of the capsule into a little bowl of yogurt so he can eat it.

I have him eating the yogurt/charcoal mix 2x a day (morning and night) and changing the charcoal bandage about 3x a day (the health food store lady advised every 2 hours, but bandage changes were a little traumatic for my guy, so 3x a day it was) I think the main idea is you want a consistently damp bandage, so a fresh one ensures that.

Anyways, after 24 hours, his huge boil (biggest one he's experienced) burst - I mean, really, hours later, the stuff won't stop coming out...I will ALWAYS keep this stuff on hand now. Also said to work for bug bites, rashes, etc - pulls the poisons right out of the skin. It's not completely eradicated right now, as it just burst this evening, but I just applied more charcoal before he went to bed, so I'm certain it will be completely gone within a few days. It is amazing the improvement in just 24 hours.

side note: charcoal has no flavor, so is REALLY easy to get a toddler to eat - especially mixed in a creamy something - like pudding or yogurt. However it is BLACK and stains REALLY bad, so I literally just spoon feed it too him myself - he thinks it's cool to watch the yogurt turn black...lol...although chocolate pudding would make it easy too. Do all your bandage preparation over a papertowel or plate, or you'll have black countertops!

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Charity (Faithville, Usa) on 10/08/2016

My daughter went camping and came back with over 50 itchy mosquito bites red and raw and I put charcoal and a bandage over each one and they all healed. No black marks. 13 yrs ago.

Boil Treatment Warnings

Posted by Citygirl27 (Richardson, Tx, Usa) on 10/19/2012

Also, doctors can puncture a boil to get the pain, pressure and liquid out, All they do is pierce it with a sterilized instrument, and clean the area with alcohol right away afterwards. No need to pay out hundreds of dollars for a medical visit for that. Now if you have more than one, or have boils in multiple places, you may have a systemic infection and need oral treatment. In that case, you would want to get a prescription/medical advice.

Boil Treatment Warnings

Posted by Nickie (Ruislip, Middlesex Uk) on 07/06/2010

If a boil comes to a head it can be lanced with a sterile needle. Don't squeeze. Dress the open wound with Boracic Ointment on gauze. This will draw out the infected matter; it's also good for splinters you can't reach with tweezers but the skin must be broken.

EC: From our internet research, boracic ointment was used to treat wounds in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Here's a recipe we found:
http://chestofbooks.com/food/household/Work-Management/The-Toilet-Continued.html

Boracic Ointment

I ounce vaseline or lard (if not for facial use), 2 dessertspoonsful of finely powdered borax or boracic acid. If lard is used it should be freed from salt, but if this is the basis the ointment will not keep good for long, as lard quickly becomes rancid. Mix the powder and the fat until the borax is thoroughly incorporated. Place in a jar, using a knife dipped into boiling water to render the surface smooth and even.

Boil Treatment Warnings

Posted by Elizabeth (Nashville, Tn) on 07/12/2010

Boric Acid and Borax are two different things. Boric Acid is the acidic part of boron and Borax is the alkaline. Boric Acid can be very toxic if not handled with care. Borax is way more gentle, you can even wash clothes in it. Never ingest Boric Acid.

Boil Treatment Warnings

Posted by Om (Hope, Bc Canada) on 12/10/2014

Beth0210 --- yes, according to Ayurveda statements, they both work. But they work in different ways. Here in the West, the dry form is mostly easier to procure. If you juice the root, your juicer could be orange forever. In India, people even hang the root from the neck for protection. Turmeric has special subtle powers which I have experienced myself. So it is not superstition.

After an illness, spray your body with a solution of water and turmeric to cleanse the subtle body of residues of unhealthy energies. This is widely used in India for that purpose. That is when I had an experience indicating it does work on subtle levels.

Namaste, Om

Boil Tips: Prick the Boil

Posted by Mcneillmama3 (Asheboro, NC) on 06/06/2009
★☆☆☆☆

WARNING!

I would be cautious about picking or pricking any boil. Most instruments that you would use in your home are not sterile, no matter how much cleaning or heating you do to the instruments. Furthermore, sticking a pin in a boil will just drive the bacteria further down in to the hair follicle and cause a wide spread systemic infection that could be worse than the boil itself.

The best thing to do for a boil is to use topical heat, topical broad spectrum antibiotic ointments, the turmeric paste works well, and mixing Epsom Salts in warm water and soaking a gauze pad that you apply to the boil several times a day. Keep the boil covered with a band aid, and eventually it will resolve itself with minimal scarring. These pesky little things take about 10-14 days to run their course and completely heal.

I am a nurse and I caught the bacteria that causes boils probably in a nursing home that I worked in and I think I picked it up from the telephone at the nurses desk that never gets sanitized (also the most used piece of equipment) I break out on my face with them, so I wouldn't recommend picking or pricking a pimple or a boil

I was also reading a Western Civilization text book and it mentioned King Hezekiah of ancient Judah. So I incientally got my Bible out to verify the account in the history book, and as I was reading the Bible, there was an account of King Hezekiah having a painful boil, he was sick almost "unto death" and the priests applied a "fig" to the boil and the Bible says that Hezekiah was cured. So I am, today, looking up the fig/boil connection. Has anyone else heard anything regarding this natural remedy for boils?

Copper Penny Water

Posted by Elna (Cape Town, RSA) on 02/11/2009
★★★★★

As a child I had recurring boils. My mom got the advice to take an old copper penny, heat in to red hot on a stove plate, and then drop it into a glass of water. Then I had to drink the water. No more boils, ever. You have to use a copper penny that hasn't been heated before.

Lining of an Egg Shell

Posted by Sandy (Round Lake, IL) on 03/20/2008
★★★★★

I recently had a boil (ailment) and was experiencing difficulty getting it to come to a head. My daughter-in-law researched your site and was able to give me some suggestions to assist in my plight. She gave me several remedies. I chose to use the skin of an egg and lined it with a tumeric paste ((few drops of water & tumeric)(remedy). I applied it to the boil and covered it with a bandaid overnight. In the morning it had come to a head and I was able to extract the core. I then covered the area with an antibiotic ointment and a bandaid. It worked fine!!! Thanks so much for your information.

Colloidal Silver

Posted by GABI (TORONTO, CANADA) on 02/04/2008
★★★★★

Hi. I didn't try turmeric when I was in boils. I use Colloidal Silver Water. Apply a drop or two on top of boil (acne too!). After 1-2 hr it stops hurting, stops "growing". Up to 3 days it subsides to red spot. You can use small hair spry bottle (with very fine mist like spry). If you have acne or boils more then one and you expect more to show up spray it on your skin just once and let it dry. Nothing will break out! I suffered for almost 30 years from something what doctor called "diaper rush" (!). The pic of my "diaper rush" was always during summer months. After using once single spray of Colloidal Silver Water I am free of this skin condition. I will get 1 tiny pimple time to time but who hasn't have it during hot summer days?

Apple Cider Vinegar and Baking Soda

Posted by Dawn (Zachry, LA) on 12/06/2007
★★★★★

I found that baking soda and vinegar made into a paste applied to a boil helps draw the infection out

Castor Oil

Posted by Fredrina (Philadelphia, PA) on 10/30/2006
★★★★★

Castor oil on a cotton ball cured my boil.

Tomato

Posted by Margarita (Madrid, Spain) on 06/13/2006
★★★★★

If you have a boil (abscessed pimple), which often comes up on thighs, bottom, bikini line, try this remedy. It is absolutely brilliant and worked wonders for me. Cut a tomato in half and heat it (microwave will do). Place it over the boil and leave it there. Hold it in place with a gauze, I used a gauze and band-aids, and kept it there until it cooled. I then placed the other half of the tomato and repeated the operation. Although it got my underwear tomatoey, the boil opened up by itself and all the pus oozed out on its own. The results are remarkable. I didn't believe my mother (it was her remedy) and suffered in silence for ages. The boils also seemed recurrent, and I have been boil free for over a year. Some feat for the humble tomato!