Any one had problems with boils?!

Any one had problems with boils?

I had a really big boil at the top of my leg - i had some cream to drain it and now its mostly gone but not completely healed - how long will it take to go?

What makes you get boils.

After going to the doctors I went to get some dressings from the phamacy and someone told me to put a hot potatoe on it - has anyone else heard of this?

2 weeks ago
i feel sorry for all that suffer - I've had magnesium sulphate (thats why it came away on monday) but the gap it came from doesn't seen to be closing

It will take as long to go away as it takes your skin to heal. If it is dry now, you can apply the gel from a generic vitamin e capsule to encourage healing and use a product called Mederma to reduce the final scar. Boils are usually caused by a variation of staph bacteria, that normally lives on the skin of everyone. For some reason, it gets into a pore and infects the sweat gland, and the body attacks the invader. The result is a boil. You were advised to use the hot potato because the easiest way to drain a boil is with moist heat- and a baked potato would provide both. Usually folks use a hot wet washrag, but a moisten heatingpad works well too. Point is the heat encourages blood supply to the area to hasten the isolation and draining process. Boils can just show up, for no particular reason anyone can figure out. On the legs of ladies, it's usually due to shaving and having the pant legs a bit snug, or wearing hose under pants. Both situations encourage the bacteria to overgrow, and tend to hold heat in, opening the pores and breaking off hairs- which let the bacteria get in to set up housekeeping. You could have introduced the bacteria via a small pimple from a shaving irritation, or gotten it from a razor. In future, as soon as you notice a problem, start applying heat. Hot as you can stand as often as you can stand, which will tend to encourage drainage sooner. Just don't poke at it, which will spread it around and make it worse. Keep it covered, and don't touch it unless you have to. Even then, use fresh washed hands, and don't touch anything else until you wash them again. When you have a boil, it's a good idea to use an antibacterial soap to wash the rest of you with, just as a safeguard against spreading the infection somewhere else- be really on guard to keep it away from your face. A boil is basically a super zit, just someplace else on the body. It is the same bacteria, which is why you don't want it on your face.
Otherwise, sometimes they just happen- not your fault, and nothing you can do about it. You got skin, you will get breakouts sometimes.