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My poor little man has a HUGE boil on his tummy, just the one, went to the doctors this morning and she has put him on antibotics and told me to pop it in the shower. I had hoped that she would have done it this morning but now I'm left with the task of trying to pop it. It's rather red and hard and has a black head :(
Any hints / tips... pretty please...
There are ointments you can use to draw it out so hopefully won't have to pop it. I use Thars, but it's hard to get.
My Dd has had a couple. I recommend a reasonably hot bath, it softens the skin and if it is ready just wiping it with a facewasher can do the trick, sometimes a little pick, but i found that with boils there is so much gunk in there that they just need a little encouragement. I wouldn't squeeze it too hard, just gently, and then do the same tomorrow night.
Also get yourself some chlorhexadine wash from the pharmacy and wash him in that for a few days, particularly up his nose as that is where the bacteria that cause boils like to live. Boils suck. :(
BR- mum used to use Thars! Magnoplasm is another that is easy to get from a pharmacy. Pop a big slathering under a band-aid overnight.
My dd gets them. A good soak in a warm salted bath will do wonders. It will soften the head and probably burst on it's own.
Good luck!
JM my nanna used it on everything and there is another called on man o war or something for colds too.
That old stuff ricks. I didn't know they even made Thars anymore! i can still smell it. :sick:
I didn't know you could use thars for boils! Mum used it for splinters.
Reminds me we need to get some magnaplasm, or maybe thars?
GL with the boil
When I had a boil I was told not to pop it as you can kind of collapse it inward. So I was given a plaster with some ointment that drew it out and eventually it erupted by itself. It was a few years ago though so maybe the advise has changed now. I feel for her though - they can be so sore!
lol JM at the thars!
I got some magnaplasm from the chemist along with some large plasters, and boy does he hate plasters!!! Fingers crossed the morning will result in a boil that no long has a head so he can recover. Poor little dude, it looks so sore.
The doctor advised that I pop it, I was actually hoping she would have done it this morning. If it's still whole in the morning I will go back and ask the doctor to sort it.:
Dr advised me exactly the same thing. Must be the recommended thing these days. :) Did you try a bath tonight?
I tired but he didn't want to hop in and decide that he wanted to go to bed instead so perhaps in the morning, such a strong willed little boy at the moment.
It's hard negotiating with toddlers at the best if times! Strong willed is a good trait. :)
When dd had her last one I just pretended to be washing her with the facewasher and it was 'soft' enough to take the top off. Hopefully it's that easy for you. Wold be less traumatic than dr lancing it I think. Goodluck.
What a horrible night, he kept rolling over and waking himself up when he got to the side the boil is on :-( it hasn't popped but looks pretty close, maybe with a bit of movement this morning it will go on it's own. A mid morning bath is in order.
Magnoplasm for sure! I get lots of boils (most of which have to be lanced and have a wick put in so it heals from the bottom up instead of just healing over).
If you are going to pop it , don't squeeze it. Instead, gently separate (you know, squeezing you push your fingers together, instead pull them away- does that make sense?) it stops the gunk being pushed down and should be more effective in getting it out.
Thanks ladies, he's had a bath and the black head has now been removed, the whole head doesn't seem to have been removed as it's only gunking out one side when I pull away from it as Scone's has mentioned. He doesn't like it one bit, and neither would I.
Do I have to do this until all the yellow puss has gone or now that it's partly open will it do it on it's own?
I'd leave it now and do the same thing again tomorrow. It is so painful for them that i think a little at a time is better. It's not going to do any harm letting it drain over a couple of days.
How's it looking?
The discharge is still real red so we are just waiting at the GPs to get it checked. He won't let me assist any of the discharge and refused a bath so fingers crossed it's looking good when the plaster comes off (hasn't been changed this morning but I can see the red through the material)
Doctor said it looked fine, she cleaned it and said that the eye of the boil needed to come out, told her he wouldn't let me do it so she did it, he didn't cry, just wiggled heaps, and then wiggled more when she tried to put a plaster on it.
The eye was HUGE!
Glad he was brave, and it's better that you didn't do it. Hope it heals nicely now.
That's awesome. You should see big improvement now. Just a word of warning my dd had a few recurrent ones until I did the chlorhexadine wash, including the nose for a week. She hasn't had one since, touch wood!
My brother had one when he was younger and mum heated up one of the old glass milk bottles and put it over the boil. It created a suction and popped the boil and also sucked out all the gunk. If you can find a glass bottle of some kind you might be able to do the same thing. Hope this helps
OOOPs should have read all the posts lol. Helpful hint still stands though for next time