Boils- What Causes Them and How to Handle Them

Boils, also known as furuncles, are skin infections that originate in a hair follicle or oil gland. Boils are raised reddish swellings that are firm and sore to the touch. Boils are most often found on the face, back of the neck, upper legs and groin area, armpits, and buttocks and more likely to develop on men than on women. Boils that form in a group are known as carbuncles; boils and carbuncles can be treated at home in most instances quite successfully, but there have been documented deaths from boils on the face that are improperly cared for, with brain infections the culprit.

A boil is normally two-tenths to four-tenths of an inch in diameter and slightly raised above the skin, but they can occasionally grow larger. Reddish and tender, boils have a visible middle core of pus while carbuncles are larger than boils and have several raised “heads”. While boils can appear on the aforementioned places on the body, carbuncles normally show up on the back of the neck and are far less common than boils. People that suffer from diabetes, alcoholism, drug abuse, poor hygiene, immune system disorders, and allergies are more likely than others to develop boils, as are those that have occupations that expose them to greasy and oily compounds and individuals living in crowded conditions.