Abscesses, Boils And Carbuncles

An Abscess is formed when pus accumulates anywhere in the body. Abscesses can occur right under the skin or even inside the tissues.

 

When a hair follicle gets infected and pus accumulates around it, the abscess is called a boil.

 

If an abscess is formed right under the skin making a painful to touch, swollen or a bump, it is called a carbuncle.

 

Symptoms

 

Abscesses form red spots in the form of elevated lumps that gradually get filled up by white or yellow pus. These are painful to touch.

 

Carbuncles grow in size and form a yellow or white spot in the center. This is filled with pus. In about three to five days, the pus filled bump ruptures and all the pus comes out. Once the pus is out completely, a carbuncle would heal itself.

 

A boil is formed due to an infection of a hair follicle. A boil is red and swollen. It commonly occurs under armpits, sometime on the scalp, or anywhere else on the body where the body hair may get pulled or rubbed against the tight clothing. A boil is painful, but cures itself in about three to five days.

 

Causes of Abscesses

 

1. Bacterial infection

2. Problems with the immune system

3. Improper drainage of tissues

4. Pulling of hair on the body by tight clothes

5. Improper digestion

6. Eating a lot of spicy or oily foods

7. Trauma

 

Prevention

 

The best cure is prevention. Since abscesses erupt from inside the body, the main factor that needs to be controlled is diet.

 

Avoiding food with saturated and hydrogenated fats would prevent skin inflammation. Caffeinated foods only make the condition worse.

 

Avoid sugar completely or at least cut down on it as much as you can. An elevated level of blood sugar contributes to skin inflammation.

 

 

Treatment

 

Carbuncles and boils normally do not require treatments. Once the pus is removed from the infection location, an abscess normally heals itself. If the carbuncle or a boil grows up big in size, you should see a doctor who can cut the abscess and clean it up to provide relief.

 

If you try to squeeze a carbuncle yourself all the pus may not get squeezed out leaving a more painful wound behind making it longer and harder to heal up. The best approach is to let a medical practitioner decide if the abscess needs to be cut or squeezed out.

 

Use the prevention methods described above to reduce the toxic build up. Vitamin E is helpful to the immune system and makes the skin healthy.