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Cold compresses. These help to alleviate some of the pain when a boil is extremely swollen, red and sore. I've even used ice packs, wrapped in a thin terry cloth towel. Hot compresses. Obviously the opposite of above, but sometimes I've had some luck with hot compresses helping to bring the boil to a head. It's just frustrating to decide which to use sometimes. :) Boil-Ease (a commercial product). My life became a lot less painful once I found this product. It helps to bring the boil to a head and help it rupture. Usually, I squirt some on a clean gauze pad and then rub it around a little on the boil, and then tape down the gauze pad. More often than not, the boil will burst within 24 hours. It's a *must* to keep checking to see if it's burst, so that you can get it all cleaned up. Zinc oxide sometimes helps to bring the boils (as well as other skin blemishes, like acne) to a head, as well. It also tends to relieve the pain a little, I've found - though I'm not sure why. Anti-bacterial soap. I can't tell you how much this has helped, since I started using it. It's definitely not a curative for boils (because, as many of the links on this page will tell you, recurrent boils aren't necessarily a skin problem, but possibly a blood or internal problem), but it helps in a number of ways. First of all, I use it all the time for showering, every time I touch a boil, and always for washing my hands in general. And of course, I use it when anytime I'm cleaning up the problem areas (which is quite often). It also really helps with the odor that is caused from the pus and blood when a boil ruptures. A good supply of gauze, tape, and bandaids. I buy my gauze in bulk, 100-200 pads at a time. They're much cheaper that way. I suggest 8 or 12 ply, 3 X 3 inch gauze pads/sponges. If you can't get them that way from your drugstore, try a medical supply store. The tape I use is a "porous" type, for sensitive skin - it's almost like cloth and isn't as sticky as some tapes. And I use bandaids for small boils that aren't causing a lot of problems. Loose clothing is a MUST. I've found more often than not when I'm wearing tight, constricting clothing, my boils get much worse. And, of course, wearing tight clothing when you have active boils can be quite painful. Cotton clothing is great, because it lets air get through to your skin better. The biggest problem I find is bras - which are always tight. I tend to go braless around the house, and if I had a choice, I'd do it all the time. :) Don't use deodorant/anti-perspirant if you get boils in your armpits. I know this is tough, especially in the summer and such, but I have personally found that deodorants and anti-perspirants have only exacerbated the problems. And of course, I'm sure using them doesn't promote healing at all if there are already active boils in the area.

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