Boil is an age-old skin problem bothering us with its awful appearance and uncomfortable and painful symptoms since long. A small boil occurred today can turn to a monster tomorrow and spoil our entire routine. Although it starts as a small red and soft bump, gradually it accumulates pus and swells as an inflamed painful hard lump. The center or head of the boil is filled with white blood cell, pus, bacteria and protein which gradually bursts to drain out the pus and then starts healing. While some boils go away of their own without causing any harm, others become painful and needs to be treated.
Why we get boils: Our skin is made up of millions of hair follicles. If and when one of these follicles gets blockage due to excess oil secretion or accumulation of dirt and pollutants, it gets easily infected by a bacteria named as staphylococcus. The result is formation of a boil. So boil is a bacterial infection which can be treated easily. The deep rooted cause might be a hormonal imbalance or toxins in the blood stream or even it might be in the genes. People suffering from acne, dermatitis, anemia and diabetes are more prone to get staphylococcus infection.
Boils are sometimes described as teen epidemic as the teenagers and people in their early 20s suffer from boils more than the others because of the hormonal changes at the time of puberty. But people of any age can be a victim of boil irrespective of age. Some parts of the body like face, neck, nose, armpit, thighs and buttocks are more in risk to get boils than others. The life span of a boil is approximately 2 weeks. And they can be treated with some simple home based formulae.
1. Prepare a mixture of onion and garlic juice or any one of them and heat a little. Apply the juice on your boils. It will help the pus get out easily and reduce your pain too.
2. In the morning, empty stomach drink a mixture of sweet gourd and lemon juice both mixed in water in equal amounts. Continue for a month. It purifies the blood stream.
3. Turmeric is also effective home remedy for boils. Drink lukewarm milk mixed with turmeric powder daily. Also applying a paste of turmeric on the boils locally would be of great help.
4. Honey, fresh lemon juice, orange juice and cod liver oil if mixed in equal quantities in water, make an excellent tonic for boils and to overcome fatigue too.
5. Gently warm some betel leaves, coat with a layer of castor oil and spread on your boils. Make a bandage and keep for hours. The medicinal property of betel leaves works amazingly on boils.
6. Another useful home remedy for boils is cumin seed. Mix cumin seed powder with warm water and put it on your boils. It will help the boil to become soft and rupture easily.
7. Avoid fried and oily food and never forget to drink plenty of water to combat any skin hazard.
Boils are practically harmless. Give them the healing time they require. Take a little care while healing. And simply forget them. Cheers!
