Skin Boils

Sometimes called a skin abscess, a skin boil is caused by a severe infection deep inside the skin.

The bacteria that most commonly causes skin boils to form is the bacteria Staphylococcus Aureus and is actually carried by around a third of the population.  Infection occurs when the bacteria gets into the skin through a break in the skin.

A skin boil will startoff as a tender reddish area and over time will grow and will develop a hard yellowish white center.

This hard yellowish white center is called the pustule and consists of white blood cells, dead skin and bacteria and is the result of your bodies natural immune system sending infection fighting white blood cells to the infected area.

The collection of substance in the pustule of the skin boil is usually simply referred to as PUS.  Overtime the pus will work its way to the surface of the skin.  Eventually the pustule may break naturally (or may get broken), this will cause the pus to drain from the skin boil.

Care should always be taken to avoid bursting or breaking the pustle before it is naturally ready, as the resulting pus can easily cause the infection to spread, leading to further skin boils.

It is very important to follow a good regime of personal hygiene when you have skin boils, (well lets face it, its a good idea anyway, but even more so when you have skin boils).  Great care should be taken to ensure that the infection doesn’t spread to other parts of the body or that other people are not infected.

Some basic precautions to prevent the spreading of the infection are :

Use an antiseptic soap to wash and keep the surrounding areas clean.
Do not share cloths, flannels or towels with other people.
Be especially careful when handling or preparing food.