Boils and carbuncles

ARTICLE SECTIONS

Definition

Boils and carbuncles are painful, pus-filled bumps that form under your skin when bacteria infect and inflame one or more of your hair follicles.

Boils usually start as red, tender lumps. The lumps quickly fill with pus, growing larger and more painful until they rupture and drain. Although some boils disappear a few days after they occur, most take about two weeks to heal.

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. Sometimes boils occur in clusters called carbuncles. Although anyone can develop boils and carbuncles, people who have diabetes, a suppressed immune system, or acne or other skin problems are at increased risk.

You can usually care for a single boil at home, but don't attempt to lance or squeeze it — that may spread the infection. Call your doctor if a boil or carbuncle is extremely painful, lasts longer than two weeks or occurs with a fever. In that case, you may need antibiotics or surgical drainage to clear the infection of boils and carbuncles.

Symptoms