What Causes Boils and How Do You Get Rid of Them?

Often Caused by Bacteria, Boils Can Be Treated at Home

Boils are usually caused by bacteria, although some may be caused by fungi. Boils are also called furuncles or carbuncles.

Skin boils look like large pimples and can sometimes be mistaken for spider bites. Boils appear as a red to purple lump on the skin with a white head. The head contains a white-yellow pus. Due to inflammation, boils can itch and hurt.

Boils are relatively common and can heal within two weeks with proper care. Treatment is typically done at home. You may need to see your healthcare provider, though, if the boils are very bad or get worse.

This article will discuss some of the common causes and symptoms of skin boils. It will also provide information on how to treat a skin boil and when you should call a healthcare provider.

What Causes Skin Boils?

This photo contains content that some people may find graphic or disturbing.

Skin boil
Skin boil.

Getty Images 

Skin boils are usually caused by a bacterial infection. The most common boil-causing bacteria are Staphylococcus aureus, also known as staph, and group A Streptococcus. Both of these infections can be treated with antibiotics if they become serious.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph that is resistant to common antibiotics. MRSA infections are harder to treat, but they look similar to those caused by other forms of staph.

Boils form when normal bacteria on the surface of the skin invade hair follicles. These are stocking-shaped structures in the skin that produce hairs. The infection often includes a group of follicles.

Symptoms of Skin Boils

A boil is a red, swollen bump surrounded by red, irritated skin. Usually, one or more small whiteheads, called pustules, will form in the center. These are filled with a white or yellow pus-like fluid. Sometimes boils heal without forming a whitehead.

Why Do Boils Itch?

Boils often itch and hurt due to the body's inflammatory response to infection. In fact, your skin may itch before a boil actually appears.

Boils come in all sizes. They may begin pea-sized and can grow to the size of a golf ball. This can happen quickly. A boil that develops multiple heads is called a carbuncle.

Once the boil forms, you may feel fatigued or generally ill. See your healthcare provider if you develop a fever or chills.

Common Locations for Boils

Boils occur most commonly on the face, neck, armpit, buttocks, groin, and thighs. However, they can occur in the hair follicles located anywhere on the body.

Who Is At Risk for Skin Boils?

Boils occur more often in teenagers and young adults. People in communal living situations are also at higher risk. This includes those who live in:

  • Military barracks
  • Homeless shelters
  • Other types of close-quarters housing

The spread of the infection in these places can be prevented with antibacterial soaps and good hygiene.

People with certain health conditions are also more likely to get boils. These conditions include:

  • Diabetes, a disease that affects your body's ability to control blood sugar
  • Skin conditions like eczema
  • Poor nutrition
  • Obesity, or having an excessive amount of body fat
  • A weakened immune system, such as in people taking drugs that suppress the immune system

Athletes who play contact sports or share equipment also have an increased risk of spreading the bacteria that cause boils.

It is possible for boils to occur only once. Some people, though, get them repeatedly. 

One study found that up to 10% of people who get a boil will develop another one within a year. Some conditions, like diabetes, make recurrence more likely.

Treatment For Skin Boils

Treatment for a skin boil depends on the cause and symptoms associated with the infection. A MRSA infection, for example, will need to be treated by a healthcare provider.

Home Care

There are some first aid tips you can try at home to make boils more tolerable. These may help them heal on their own. Home care for boils include:

  • Good hygiene: Keep the boil clean. Cover it with a clean, dry dressing or bandage. Wash your hands after touching the boil or changing the dressing.
  • Warm compresses: Place a warm, moist cloth on the boil. This might help it come to a head, break open, drain, and heal.
  • Over-the-counter (OTC) pain reliever: OTC medications like ibuprofen and acetaminophen may help with pain symptoms.

Do not pop the boil or try to drain it yourself. It should break and drain naturally.

Never reuse a cloth you used on a boil unless it has been washed in hot water. Do not share items that have been in contact with the boil. Be sure to wash everything that touched the boil in hot water.

When to See a Healthcare Provider

See your healthcare provider if:

  • The boil is on your spine or your face.
  • The boil lasts longer than one week.
  • You have a fever or chills.
  • The boil is painful or in an uncomfortable spot.
  • The boil comes back.

Medical Treatment

Some boils may require treatment by a medical professional, particularly if they are large or deep. Medical treatment may include:

  • Surgical drainage of the pus
  • Oral or IV antibiotics (to treat infection)

It's important to take medications as prescribed and carefully follow your healthcare provider's instruction on how to care for your surgical incision after drainage.

The infection (pus) inside the boil is extremely contagious and can spread through skin-to-skin contact or contaminated objects. Therefore, it's important to wash your hands with antibacterial soap and keep the boil covered with a clean dressing. Carefully dispose of any used dressings or bandages.

Complications

When the follicles are damaged, the bacteria can grow into the nearby tissue. Sometimes the infection can spread into the bloodstream. This is rare, but when it happens it can cause a serious illness called sepsis.

Possible complications of boils include:

  • Abscess of the skin, spinal cord, brain, kidneys, or other organs
  • Endocarditis (infection of the lining of the heart)
  • Osteomyelitis (infection involving bone)
  • Meningitis (infection of the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord)
  • Cellulitis (infection of skin and underlying tissue)
  • Permanent scarring

Summary

Bacterial infection is usually the underlying cause of boils. When the bacteria infect a hair follicle, it forms a red swollen bump. These bumps may develop whiteheads. That said, boils itch and may be tender.

Boils occur most often in teenagers and young adults, and in people in communal living situations. People who are obese, have poor nutrition, or have weakened immune systems are also at higher risk.

Boils should be kept clean. Cover them with a warm, damp towel to encourage them to break and drain. Severe boils can be drained by a healthcare provider. Antibiotics may also help.

6 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. Ibler KS, Kromann CB. Recurrent furunculosis - challenges and management: a review. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2014;7:59-64. doi:10.2147/CCID.S35302

  2. MedlinePlus. Boils.

  3. NHS. Boils.

  4. Ilyas M, Maganty N, Ginsberg Z, Sharma A. Skin infections due to bacteria in solid organ transplant recipients: a review. Dermatology. 2017;233:358-365. doi:10.1159/000484405

  5. Shallcross LJ, Hayward AC, Johnson AM, Petersen I. Incidence and recurrence of boils and abscesses within the first year: a cohort study in UK primary careBr J Gen Pract. 2015;65(639):e668-e676. doi:10.3399/bjgp15X686929

  6. Johns Hopkins Medicine. Folliculitis, boils and carbuncles.

By Rod Brouhard, EMT-P
Rod Brouhard is an emergency medical technician paramedic (EMT-P), journalist, educator, and advocate for emergency medical service providers and patients.