Boils are not as common anymore as they were hundreds of years ago, but there are still plenty of people who get them due to genetics, stress, and staph infections. If your child gets a boil, here are 3 things you can do to treat the problem.

Apply Heat

One of the first things you should do is apply a heat compress. Heat is important because it softens the boil and can also help to bring the puss to the surface of the skin.

You need to keep heat on it all day if possible because the boil will be hard and will not give up easily. Just make sure that you use a hot, wet washcloth to sooth the pain. You can also use a heating pad, but be careful that the heating pad does not get too hot because it can cause discomfort to your child. A washcloth is usually safer and easier to control, so choose this method.

Apply Castor Oil

Next, you need to coat the boil with castor oil and put a bandage over it. The oil can be a bit messy, so put a cotton ball or some gauze over the castor oil first, and then apply a bandage.

Castor oil is a miracle worker because it softens the puss and can draw the puss out of the skin. While the heat will help the boil to soften, castor oil will actually break it down so that it cannot grow and spread more.

Leave the castor oil on all day, but change the bandage once or twice and check to see if the boil needs more oil. This should not cause any pain to your child either, so it is a great solution.

Visit Urgent Care

Lastly, you should visit urgent care, like Harrison Medical Center, just to be safe. Even if you are able to get some of the puss out after softening it and breaking it down, your child can still have a staph infection that requires medication.

Also, if you cannot get the boil to budge, then the doctor can lance the boil after numbing the area. This will allow the doctor to get all of the puss out, and he or she can put medication on the open boil with a bandage to help it heal.

Doctors will not usually stitch up the area because the boil needs to dry out and heal. You do not want to let bacteria or moisture get trapped in it by stitching it up too early.

By doing these 3 things, you can help your child to get over a boil quickly. Start treating it as soon as you see the white pimple-like bump appear. If you are not familiar with the look of boils, they are usually like cystic acne, but they are much more painful and can occur anywhere on the body.

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