Heal Boils Naturally: Effective Home Remedies

Ice cubes got rid of my boils! For three weeks, I suffered with boils around my waist. I think the waistbands of my pants actually caused them to spread. They weren't very large, but boy, were they painful! Being a veteran Earth Clinic user, I tried everything recommended ... H202, coconut oil, ACV, baking soda, hot moist heat, antibiotic ointment, turmeric and garlic. NOTHING worked. The other night, as I was going through my familiar routine of applying hot moist heat and draining them, it suddenly occurred to me taht maybe the heat was making them worse. I remembered that years ago, when I suffered with cystic acne, the only thing that would get rid of the painful bumps was in ice cube applied directly to them. Somewhere, I had read that bacteria thrives on hot moist heat and is killed by freezing cold temps and that's what made me try the ice on my cystic acne. I could often get rid of a cystic acne bump before it even became noticeable just by applying ice. So I decided to try it with the boils. I got an ice cube and held it directly to the biggest boil and then after a minute or so began rubbing the ice cube over the whole area that was infected with boils. I did this before bed and when I awoke the next morning, the smaller boils were completely gone and the bigger boils were less than half the size they had been. After I ate breakfast, I got another ice cube and applied it to the bigger boils first and then rubbed it over the whole area. By evening, the bigger boils were super tiny. I continued the ice cube treatment another day and then they were all gone. I cannot tell you how happy I was after suffering with these things for nearly three weeks and watching them grow worse and worse!

POTATO!!! After getting a tattoo on my chest, I developed a rather painful pimple about 3 inches above my left nipple (probably from razor burn from shaving, ingrown hair, etc). I attempted to 'pop' it which was a bad idea. Over a few days...this horrid wretch grew into a furious monster of an infection...

I used antibiotic ointment and bandaids for a few days which did nothing, and the pimple seemed to grow in size and pain. I then tried toothpaste and a bandaid, which got solid and hurt bad taking off...revealing some gnarly green pasty pus. I squeezed some pus out of it and again that evening and also drenched it with peroxide every chance I got. I then read about the baking soda/peroxide mix paste...in which I applied several times over the next day and drained it every now and then (painful stuff). I also took baking soda baths.

After seeming to get nowhere, I read about the potato method. I purchased a single potato, cut off a slice, cleaned the infected area with peroxide and taped the potato slice to it for the night. Upon removing the potato in the morning, I noticed a big chunk of pus on it and the wound (almost the size of a dime) kept draining itself. Having to work, I cleaned it and put a bandaid on for the day.

Upon getting home and removing the bandaid, the 'head' of this abomination was right at the top and came out with some effort and Qtips and peroxide....what relief! Instead of a white hole, it is now a bloody red hole and its draining itself! Will update in a few days on healing.... THANK YOU!

Last week I noticed that I had a strange skin infection on my cheek. After researching my symptoms on Earth Clinic, I think I have had a reaction to almonds! They are a favorite snack, and I keep a jar in my car for busy days, when I don't have time for lunch. Instead of eating just a few, I ate a large handful and noticed my symptoms the next day. I started on Turmeric, a teaspoon in a glass of water. I took my first dose on Thursday night, and took a second dose Friday morning. By Friday evening, my skin had completely cleared up! I am thrilled and amazed by this simple, natural cure!

When I was a young child my mother did something similar, but she had her's in bag like she bought it at a store. Could you tell me the amount of the ingredients used in your remedy, because I forgot how much you use. Thank You.

Boils: recipe Turmeric + Sesame Oil + black pepper

Hi everybody.

Another post, this time it's about what helped me with the latest boil, which appeared right after the first rain of summer just like it happened a year ago with another boil and two years before and so on. First of all, there is certainly a connection with seasonal rain and pollution, I was ready for the first rain trouble, but unfortunately I had to be outside on that particular day. Within an hour the boil started and became quite big, the next days it got huge. I started with turmeric in warm water, and applied some topically too, it helped a bit, but then it got very nasty, the next few days I continued with onions (compresses), eating raw garlic and ACV+honey. Nothing changed. I thought that turmeric and all the other remedies worked temporarily for me and took antibiotics and aspirin. Again, nothing AT ALL changed my condition for the better, so I stopped taking any medication. A day and a half passed and I started reading the testimonies and info here again and again thinking that perhaps the answer to my problem was hiding somewhere. Indeed, I read about combining turmeric powder with oil or fat, I'm allergic to lactose, but coconut oil was mentioned, so this reminded me of oil pulling and I use top quality sesame oil for that. Yesterday, on the verge of arranging an appointment with a doctor to have it lanced after having lost my faith and courage, I did the following:

Two tablespoons of sesame oil
Five tablespoons of water

I warmed them a lot, without boiling them I then added one teaspoon of turmeric powder and a bit of black pepper. I stirred well and drank it.

In half an hour the boil that was the size of a golf ball by then, burst, and kept draining for half an hour! The size of it was reduced to minimum! I could feel comfortable again, relieved! Amazing I said to myself. But hey, there's more: All night more fluid came out and in the morning when I thought that was it, it's over, it burst one more time.. and in the end, a white little thing popped out as well, I guess it was the root!

I hope this recipe will help someone out there. If turmeric has worked temporarily for you, maybe in really ugly situations you need to combine it with something, such as oil (sesame oil or coconut oil) or milk/creme.

Best wishes to all of you and thanks Earth Clinic!
Your fan.

Hello Teresa,

Have you ever entertained the possibility that all that make-up you are tossing away may be triggering the acne and boils you are troubled with? The best way to find out is to stop using all cosmetics, probably should leave off all soaps, cleansers, lotions and creams also for a couple of weeks. Good old ACV would be a good cleanser and maybe you might want to try a homemade facial mask or scrub like oatmeal,egg & honey or any similar one you can find on line.

I just read this account in the Bible. If you want to read about it look under I or II Kings and read about King Hezekiah. The story goes that Hezekiah was almost "sick unto death." (I know the feeling when I get a boil). You don't know what he is sick from, but if you keep reading, it will say that he had a boil and the priests placed a fig on it and he was cured.

The acoount is found in II Kings 20:1-7 and you can also find references to this in some Western Civilization books in the chapters about early civilization of Mesopotamia and Egupt.

I am going to try this the next time I feel one of these things. I get them on my face and ear lobes and I am getting scars from the condition. It is very painful, embarassing, fatiguing, and I am chunking makeup in the trash right and left to prevent it from spreading. I have had to resort to buying very cheap makeup like Wet and Wild, since I am having to throw all my makeup out so frequently. However I have found that Neutrogena liquid makeup in a pump with Retinol combined with 10% Benzoyl Peroxide face wash and topical treatment is keeping my skin clear for the moment. However with summer approaching and humidity, I am starting to have some small ones forming.

I am going back to the doctor next week, and ask him to change my blood pressure medication back to Aldactone. Aldactone will clear up acne, which is usually a precursor to boils forming in the first place.

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?

My family has been using the homeopathic cell salt silica to stop boils in their tracks. It is #12 of Dr. Schuessler's tissue remedies and should be available at most natural grocers which sell homeopathics. It is indicated in abcesses,boils,and any other skin conditions with thick,yellow discharges. It also helps to deacidify the body. As with any homeopathic you should increase the frequency of the dosage to about every 15 minutes in an acute situation and take it less frequently in maintenance doses. There is no way to overdose on homeopathics and taking silica should not interfere with any remedy you are currently using. Silica usually comes in lactose tablet form and about 4 tablets under the tongue or in some water is the dosage. If this remedy works for you, you can keep it going forever by following these simple steps (by the way this works for all homeopathics and Bach flower remedies). Take 4 of the lactose tablets and put them into a new glass bottle with a dropper. Add any liquor or hard alcohol to the bottle, filling it 3/4 of the way to the top. Allow the tablets to dissolve for a few minutes. Succuss the bottle 100 times, by tapping the bottle on the palm of your hand. Since homeopathics are vibrationally based you have simply transferred the vibration to the liquid. This process can be repeated again when your bottle gets low. 4 to 6 drops can be taken as a dose.

Iv lived in many States and never found a Grocery store that did not sell "yellow soap" its just smaller than every thing else. its usually on the top shelf in the detergent area near the stain removers wrapped individually in white like regular soap and says PHELS-NAPTHA. I hope this helps you find it.

Boils/Staph" Most all of the treatments mentioned here are helpful, but the single most important thing I have found is lancing or pin pricking the boil AS SOON AS YOU NOTICE IT. Even if it doesn't appear to have any drainage in it, IT DOES. Clean the area with soap and water, let dry and quickly make about 3 quick needle pricks right on top of the thing, then take a dry washcloth and apply even pressure around the thing to get the junk out. You don't want to waste time in doing this step, because the tissue begins to swell right after the needle pricks and it will be more difficult to get it all out.

There is no good reason to wait until the boil has "come to a head". The sooner you put a stop to it the better.

I am just wondering if the Baking soda is the same as the bi-carb soda in Australia? or is it the baking powder?

Question for L who writes Ted about boils on face:

Hello L, I have a question after reading your request for help. This "black drawing salve" you used, was it blood root black salve or was it ichthymol, a totally unrelated ointment? Blood root black salve is not usually indicated for boils.

Try H2O2 for your crusty spots. That is what I use on my face and it only leaves a red mark after wards, which will go away soon. If the H202 burns then there is still a slight infection, you may want to try one more application of the paste.

Can you tell me what happened when you used the bloodroot paste?. my sister is dealing with this also and has scarring and some lumps that won't go away.

Iodine Resolves Developing Boil

I have been taking 5 drops of Lugol's 2% strength solution for 3 months now. [I understand this to equal 12.5 mg of iodine whereas the 5% solution would require only 2 drops.]

About a month ago I began getting an infection in one nostril and could feel a boil developing. My nose was sensitive to the touch and I knew it was only a matter of time and it would be really bad. I waited a couple of days as it worsened. I then increased my dose of Lugol's 2% solution to 5 drops in a pint of water 6 times a day along with 500mg of vitamin C 6 times a day. After 2 days, the infection was 95& better and I dropped my dose to what I normally take. Another 2 days later I was back to normal.

I have been suffering from boils for over 15 years. Normally I would go to the doctor, get them lanced, and they wouldn't come back for months. But recently the boils come on a regular basis. I mean they come two to three at a time and just about every week. Yesterday I tried the ____ brand vapor rub, and after three applications the boil came to a head, and I bust it. Oh my Lord Thank You for leading me to this website.

I was just browsing through this site, I spend a lot of time doing that, and read the remedy posted about boils. As a child I frequently had boils. While at a family gathering an uncle took me into the kitchen to "fix me up" with a home remedy. He got a raw potato and a potato scraper. (as if to make hashbrowns) He then washed and scraped the entire potato into a clean, sterile bandage and taped it to my arm. I wore it all that day and through the night. Bt the next morning the boil had come to a head, and my mother drained and cleaned it. I had been plagued with boils many times prior to that and they were always painful and lasted several days before coming to a head. This one was over quickly and what a blessing! After that we used a raw potato any time one came up. I no longer have this problem. I seem to have grown out of it. I have given this remedy to friends and family members since then and it has been a success with them also. Hope it helps!

I read that if you add the tumeric to an anti-bacterial cream and put it on the boil, it will go away. I could not find the cream for the life of me 5 days ago and had 2 boils - one very close to my va-jay-jay and the other on the upper thigh in the same area. i could not walk at all and no pain meds helped.

i mixed up some hydrocortisone 1% that i had handy and tumeric in a little contact lens cap (the case was old) and made sure the mixture was gooey and pliable. i then applied the mixture directly on the boils and taped a gauze on top of both areas.

when i woke up the next morning, my thigh boil burst and overflowed (i did not notice while sleep) and my va-jay-jay boils went down significantly.

after that night they did not hurt. after two days, there were no remnants of any boils.

one piece of advice: USE OLD SHEETS OR VERY DARK SHEET TO SLEEP WITH THIS ON! i used cheap black satin sheets i bought from a store that sells brand names for less ;) otherwise, your reguler sheets will be lots of yellow tumeric patches (i know from experiance).

My father-in-law cam home from Samoa with several large, infected boils. He was visiting us and I immediately put some essential oils on him. I used 5-10 drops of a mix containing melaleuca (tee tree), oregano, rosemary, and clove on each boil. Then my daughter contracted a boil, and I repeated the same treatment. The boils are tenacious, but they are drying up over a period of a week.

In order to absorb the Vitamin D, I believe you need to wait at least 20-30 minutes after sunbathing to take a shower. The shower washes away all the oils on the skin.

I read this in the Doctors Book of Home Remedies. To cure boils, sit in the sun for about one hour, preferably morning or afternoon. Then take a very warm shower. I guess the action of the warmth from the sun and the added warmth from the water will soften the skin to the extent that the boil will easily burst. The Vit D may also have something to do with it cuz you don't get the same effect from just a heating pad so go out and enjoy the sun for a spell then shower! Best of luck to you and say bye bye to that boil for me!

Martha Eloy

To Steven from Los Angeles, Barbara from Las Vegas, Nevada.

I am forever in your debt, thank you very very much for your post.

I moved to Japan 5 years ago and since then have been suffering the daily horrors of boils - mostly around my chin.

I tried your tips, both the oil from a crushed garlic clove, which neutralised the pain and over night a sliced clove applied to the boils.

Truly magical. I cant believe how quickly it works. It stings a little when you apply it, but if you can just grit your teeth and remember that the pain comes from the cleansing.

I've tried almost everything else; baking soda that cleansed the boil, but didn't seem to speed up the healing process greatly - an improvement but not much.

From my experience Garlic Oil and Cloves worked best for me.

Thanks again <3

I get boils in the inner thigh and on my bum regularly, especially during my period. I discovered that by application of coconut oil, once every 1/2 hour or one hour, the boils subsided or broke and disappeared within two days. However, this seems to work only for boils below the navel. I have boils on my chest which don't respond to this. Hope this works for all of you.

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!

Hello I am very grateful for your remedy for boils/acne I used the Tumeric 1/2 tsp and Cayenne pepper 1/2 tsp in some water, and baking soda and vinegar made into a paste rubbed into the area where the problem was I used this on my 2 sons who had boils/ acne on the back and chest area in one day both of them had a great improvement in the condition in fact the boils looked dead and not inflamed as they were before and very sore so today I have done it a second time and I feel it will get rid of it completely I cannot thank you enough.

Steve, have you tried locally produced raw or unprocessed honey on that boil yet? If not google for honey's antimicrobial action and read on it. I was just reading on some of it today and their suggestion was to either apply a thin or thick coat of honey and cover with gauze. For deeper wounds the recommendation was to pack it with gauze saturated with honey. The honey prevents it adhering to the wound.

Try washing with Dial Bar Soap (yellow bar) and Neosporin the (original kind) and cover it at first to absord the drainage. Once it's closed continue to wash and apply the Neosporin but don't cover it. I had the same problem and this worked for me. Dont stop when it gets better, continue to do it until it heals. I still use Dial bar soap daily and it seems to keep the infections away. I hope this helps.

Perhaps use manuka honey, it works wonders with healing also.

Boils, possibly MRSA, and tumeric:

My son was hospitalized for serious, rapidly spreading cellulitis, which started with a boil. He responded well enough to antibiotics to come home, but although the culture indicated the boil was not MRSA, the boils did not respond to the various antibiotics the Drd tried. He developed multiple boils on and around his privates which wouldn't go away. By the way he's been hospitalized, had many surgeries and on intravenous and antibiotics many times for a digestive disease he was born with. The celulitis came back three times, while following the infectuous disease Dr's advice to control it, which was exhausting, frustrating for both of us and ineffective. Of course the Drs think you're not following their directions if their strategy doesn't work. Then I found this site! I gave my son one turmeric capsule three times daily for three days. A nutritionist suggested I watch the acid alkaline balance of his diet. Topically I applied black salve to any full blown boils. If I noticed any small emerging boils which have not yet formed pus at the tip, I apply straight tea tree oil to the tip only, being careful not to get it on the surrounding skin. I discovered the effectiveness of these particular topicals by observation after using so many topical remedies.The advantage of the black salve is that it stays on without a dressing. I couldn't use bandages/poultices because of the location of his boils. Nothing has worked like the turmeric, supported by the topical application of black salve and tea tree oil for healing the boils, as well as watching the diet. He now takes one turmeric a day for prevention. The origin i think is candida, but we're working on that.

My son has Down Syndrome, Hirschsprung's disease (never could spell it.), and an ileostomy, so you can imagine the difficulties with nutrition. It was an ordeal I thought would never end. I worried constantly that the celulitis would return. It's been almost a year without boils or cellulitis. Thank you for this site! If it wasn't for this site we probably would have continued with the endless cycle of antibiotics and hospitalization.

Apply coconut oil. It's miraculous at healing wounds. You will find the wound is much better overnight.

Try applying a turmeric paste to the boil for several days in a row. I imagine that will help.

My wife's boil popped when garlic was applied to it 1.5 months ago and it wont heal! can someone help? what should we do? have been applying tenula oil to it for a few days, started silver last night, have been doing epsom salts soaks too. any thoughts? we need help quick! please email me

What I found worked for me was getting a hot/warm flannel and putting soap on it. Try to use soaps that are free of perfumes e.g. Simple and hold it on your spot/boil. Do this for a few days maybe 3 if you do it enough. it will take a while but it does work!!