Amy (Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA) on 12/03/2008:

I wrote to you a few days ago about a yeast infection after half a dose of turmeric. I'm writing you now to tell you what finally worked for me.

After treating the yeast infection, I tried turmeric capsules with a probiotic for two days. The yeast did not come back, but the boils didn't get any better -- in fact, one got worse. I've had two below the waist for quite some time that weren't very painful. My doctor told me I had "a little hidradenitis suppurativa" and if I didn't want to take antibiotics there wasn't really anything she could do for me; just continue the hot compresses and hope for the best.

Last week during the yeast infection treatment I got another boil that was much more painful. It just kept getting bigger and more painful until I could barely sit down or walk. I've tried everything; the turmeric internally, along with, topically: aloe vera, calendula salve, Neosporin, hydrogen peroxide, baking soda, hot compresses, hot Epsom salt compresses, baking soda with honey, and this one just kept getting bigger and sorer and more distended.

Since I've responded well to homeopathy in the past, today I googled "homeopathy boils" and found several sites that listed a number of remedies that help with this problem. I chose Silica/Silicea (it's spelled both ways) as the description sounded most like what I was suffering. I went to the health food store and got the remedy (30C) and took a dose right away. Two hours later, I felt quite sleepy and chilled and went to bed. I woke up 40 minutes later to find that the two largest boils closest to the surface of the skin were draining bloody fluid. I had chills really bad all afternoon but I've continued to take the 30C dose every 3-4 hours as recommended and the wounds have kept draining all afternoon and evening. The smaller boils that I had are already starting to get smaller from the inside. The largest, most painful one is much smaller and less painful and as long as I can keep it clean I imagine it will eventually heal fine. I'm so relieved that the pain is going away and hopeful that the problem will resolve in a few days or weeks.