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Symptoms
By Mayo Clinic staff
Boils
A boil usually appears suddenly as a painful pink or red bump that's generally between 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch (1 to 2 centimeters) in diameter. The surrounding skin also may be red and swollen.
Within a few days, the bump fills with pus. It grows larger and more painful, sometimes reaching golf ball size before it develops a yellow-white tip that finally ruptures and drains. Boils generally clear completely in a couple weeks, though it can take a month or more. Small boils usually heal without scarring, but a large boil may leave a scar.
Boils can occur anywhere on your skin, but appear mainly on your face, neck, armpits, buttocks or thighs — hair-bearing areas where you're most likely to sweat or experience friction.
Boils can resemble the inflamed, painful lumps caused by cystic acne. But compared with acne cysts, boils are usually redder or more inflamed around the border and more painful.
Carbuncles
A carbuncle is a cluster of boils that often occurs on the back of the neck, shoulders or thighs. Carbuncles cause a deeper and more severe infection than single boils do. Also, carbuncles both develop and heal more slowly and are likely to leave a scar. Carbuncles sometimes occur with tiredness, a fever and chills.
When to see a doctor
You usually can care for a single, small boil yourself. But see your doctor if a boil occurs on your face or spine or if you have:
- A boil that worsens rapidly or is extremely painful
- Boils that are very large, haven't healed in two weeks or are accompanied by a fever
- Frequent boils
- Red lines radiating from a boil, which may be a sign that the infection has entered your lymphatic system
- A condition that suppresses your immune system, such as an organ transplant or HIV infection
Children and older adults who develop one or more boils also should receive medical care.
- Habif, TP. Furuncles and carbuncles. In: Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy. 4th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Inc; 2004. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/103911270-3/743722527/1195/55.html#4-u1.0-B0-323-01319-8..50011-X--cesec55_993. Accessed Aug. 27, 2008.
- Baddour LM, et al. Skin abscesses, furuncles and carbuncles. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Aug. 27, 2008.
- Wolf K, et al. Section 22. Bacterial infections involving the skin. In: Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology, 5th ed. McGraw-Hill Companies Inc; 2005. http://www.accessmedicine.com/popup.aspx?aID=755117. Accessed Aug. 27, 2008.
- Tree tea oil. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com/(S(iyok1uyiw1fl112ek3ax2lu2))/nd/Search.aspx?cs=MAYO&s=ND&pt=100&id=113&fs=ND&searchid=11129198. Accessed Aug. 28, 2008.
- Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA). American Academy of Dermatology. http://www.aad.org/pm/temp/mrsa/qa.html. Accessed Aug. 28, 2008.
