What works for

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Kind of a weird thing to post about but my hubby has been suffering recurring boils since last fall

. He has been on antibiotics repeatedly and they don't seem to be doing much. The last time a new boil came up even while he was still taking the prescription. He has gone to a naturopath but hesitates to take the pills she gave him along with his regular blood pressure/cholesterol drugs. Particularly since one is or contains mercury. Anyone have any experience, ideas on what might work with out risking his long term health? Any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Katiean]

I know it is gross. But, does he drain them? I know it is not people related but at a barn we were leasing for our rabbits carried a virus or something that caused huge boils on the rabbits. We would drain them, irrigate them with saline, pack them with neosporin and gave penicillin. I know your husband is not a rabbit but this worked for them. I think I would be very hesitant to take anything that was mercury.

Also, my dad had this smelly stuff that looked like chewed gum that would draw the boil out to drain. It worked. I just don't know what it was.

 

[bevann]

black salve or icthamol ointment.I used it over 40 years ago on a horse and it worked so when I got a boil on my butt I figured if it worked on the horse it was good enough for me.Worked like a charm.good luck. works good on zits also.

 

[Miniv]

When Larry had them I would put a hot damp wash cloth over it until it cooled -- to help pull all the puss to the surface, lanced it, washed it, and covered it with hydrogen peroxide. I left it open to let it continue draining overnight. It usually showed evidence of shrinking and healing by the next day. (I also washed my hands after the process.)

 

[RobinRTrueJoy]

Has the boil been cultured? There is a possibility that the bacteria may be MRSA. It can be contracted from any where. Needs a special antibiotic and close monitoring by a Dr. Please ask him to ask about MRSA!!! It can look like a boil!!!!

Robin

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Thank you all for your responses. I am feeling so bad for my guy and would really like to find a solution for him. I'm not so thrilled with our doctor's handling of this to be honest. Katiean, he doesn't drain it but he does encourage it to reach that point itself with hot compresses like what Miniv suggested. Bevann, I'll have to look for Ichthamol ointment. Someone else suggested that as well but I have never seen it anywhere. I'll ask around and see if I can get some.Robin, he had a nurse early on say it was MRSA but our Dr. insists we needn't worry or take special precautions. My own paranoid nature makes me do that anyway. When something doesn't clear up with standard treatment I get a bit suspicious so we are careful to keep our toiletries separate (toothpaste, soaps etc) On the suggestion of someone else he is showering (daily, but he did anyway) with a liquid antibacterial soap and now I'm going to start having him spray our shower with a disinfectant after each use. I never occurred to me until now that he may be re-infecting himself repeatedly so perhaps some extra disinfecting is in order. Again thanks guys both for the ideas and thoughts and being a great sounding board to get me thinking of new ideas.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

after talking to a friend that is a rn she said to make sure that he is getting the core out of them. if they are still coming back in the same place then the core is still there. and to drain them. hope this helps out

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Other than the ones that don't actually head (he has had 2 like that, one in his leg muscle that turned into a serious infection. He had to have it treated surgically and then be on daily intravenous antibiotics for a month) he doesn't have them returning in the exact spot but they are coming up in only certain areas, for example is along the belt line or on his thighs. I'll mention to him tho to try to be sure they are each drained and the core gone before he lets them heal over.

 

[Ellen]

The salve Bevann metioned works wonders. It will bring it to a head. Ther is another salve you can get in the Health food store called Golden Salve that will help the area where it was heal over nicely.

 

[user 488]

Has the boil been cultured? There is a possibility that the bacteria may be MRSA. It can be contracted from any where. Needs a special antibiotic and close monitoring by a Dr. Please ask him to ask about MRSA!!! It can look like a boil!!!!Robin

I was thinking the same thing. A friend of mine got bit by a mosquito and it raised a boil on her elbow. From there she started getting them on her face. It was a staph infection and she was hospitalized for a few days until they found a drug that worked. She was also allergic to penicillin which complicated things. I would certainly have it cultured. Staph is nothing to mess around with.

Carol

 

[bonloubri]

I just received an email with old time remedies. This was one of the ideas. I have no idea if it works but might be worth a try.

Hunt's Tomato Paste boil cure... cover the boil with Hunt's Tomato Paste as a compress. The acids from the tomatoes soothe the pain and bring the boil to a head.

 

[shadowpaints]

hi ya! i thought i would throw another suggestion in here... i get boiles from time to time and we found out mine is caused from a type of yeast. im a very clean person but for some reason i get them every month or so! but we have found, that when you start to notice one, put some monistat creame on it and rub it in like lotion. that helps me a lot, they go away without ever having to be lanced! also using a antibacterial bar soap seems to help also!!

 

[Reignmaker Miniatures]

Thanks for the continued input everyone. A quick update: We went to the doctor (I went along since he often complains the doctor is in to big a hurry to talk about things and he has never made ME feel rushed - I think its a guy thing ) yesterday and I asked straight if it was MRSA, the answer was , NO. I asked why it didn't respond to the FOUR courses of antibiotics in 6 months and he scratched his head and said "Well, it won't resist this!" and wrote out a prescription for a month on a entirely different antibiotic. Hopefully it will work but in the mean time he is changing a few things. He is using an antibacterial liquid soap for showering/hand washing, spraying the shower stall with bleach and water after each use (altho, if the bacteria was staying there its likely I'd have gotten it too) and actively working at loosing weight (I've been concerned that the extra weight was causing an increased blood sugar level which might be 'feeding' the problem) so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed this time it clears up for good.

On a side note his diet has helped ME drop 5 pounds already