Some of the effective home remedies to treat boils in children includes application of onion or garlic juice, turmeric milk, use of tea tree oil, bitter gourd juice, betel leaves, corn, bacon, warm compress, to name a few.
What is a boil?
A boil or skin abscess is a skin infection. A boil is a large-sized and hard pus-filled pimple. It forms when the skin becomes red and tender. Soon, protein, white blood cells and bacteria fill up in the middle of the boil and create pus, making it painful and difficult to touch. They could end up being cystic acne, a carbuncle, fur-uncle or pilonidal cyst. You can find a boil on any part of your child’s body, primarily his face, head, scalp, back, underarms and buttocks. They are very contagious.
Read More: 11 Tips For Taking Care Of Your Kids Skin
Symptoms of Boil in Kids
The appearance of a boil depends on the child’s skin conditions and the food he eats. Boils can appear anywhere in the body but they mostly appear on the face, eyelids, back of the neck, upper back and buttocks. They specially favor places where clothing rubs such as the area on the collar line. Boils occurring around the eyes and nose are especially serious because their poison can spread to the brain.
Here’s how to spot a boil:
- There’s a red nodule on any part of his body.
- As time passes, it enlarges.
- It becomes pus-filled and white in appearance.
- The skin surrounding the boil is hard and painful and sometimes itchy too.
- There could be just one boil or several in a cluster.
- Fever may sometimes accompany the boil
11 Natural Remedies to Treat Boils or Abscess in Kids
Boils on your child’s body can be very disconcerting, but there are several home remedies for this. Here are the top 11 natural remedies to get rid of your child’s boils:
1. Onion and garlic
Onion’s antimicrobial and antiseptic properties are instrumental in treating boils. Either you can apply onion or garlic juice directly on the boil and wait for it to ripen and break naturally or you can cut a thick slice of onion and place it on the boil. Wrap it up with cloth so that the onion’s heat enters the skin. Do this for your child three times a day and let the boil drain out naturally.
2. Turmeric
This natural blood purifier is anti-inflammatory in nature, so it helps treat boils. It can be added to warm milk and given to your child to drink three times a day. Alternatively, a paste of ginger and turmeric can be made and applied on the boil. Turmeric powder applied to the boil also expedites the healing process.
Read More: Turmeric Milk for Children: Benefits
3. Tea tree oil
A safe antiseptic, tea tree oil can be used for healing boils. To use tea tree oil, apply a drop of it directly on the boil. To heal the boil, apply one drop of tea tree oil directly on the boil.
Read More: 21 Benefits of Tea Tree Oil for Children
4. Bitter gourd (karela)
Bitter gourd is another effective home remedy for boils. Half a cup of fresh juice of this vegetable, mixed with half a teaspoon of lime juice, should be taken, sip by sip, on an empty stomach daily for few days in treating this condition.
5. Milk
Here’s an age old remedy for boils. Heat a cup of milk and add three teaspoons of salt to it and stir it well. Add bread crumbs or flour to thicken the mixture and apply it on the boil. Repeat this a few times each day till the boil bursts. You can also add a teaspoon of milk cream to turmeric powder and vinegar and make a mixture of it. Apply it gently on the boil and watch out for good results.
6. Garlic
Garlic works well to get rid of boils in kids. To use garlic for this purpose, make a paste of fresh garlic and apply it directly on the boil. Else, heat a garlic clove and apply it to the boil and leave it on for about 15-20 minutes. Repeat this a few times in the day for best results. Children can also be given a couple of cloves of garlic to swallow to get rid of boils.
Read More: Is garlic healthy for my toddler?
7. Betel leaves
A few applications of betel leaves on the affected area brings great relief. To use these leaves, warm them till they soften and coat them with a little castor oil. Place this leaf on your child’s boil and replace it every few hours. Within a few applications, the boil will burst and the pus will be released. This will bring down the child’s pain and suffering. This application can be kept on overnight and removed every morning.
8. Corn meal
Being a naturally good absorbent, corn meal absorbs the tenderness of the boil and helps heal it well. Put a little corn meal in half a cup of boiling water and make a thick paste. Apply this paste directly on the boil and cover it with a clean cloth. Repeat this process several times a day until the boil bursts and the pus completely drains out.
9. Bacon
Roll some bacon in salt and place two pieces of cloth on either side of it. Now, put this cloth pack on the boil. If you do it a few times a day, it will help to drain out the pus from the boil.
10. Cumin seeds (jeera)
Cumin seeds are capable of drying out boils and draining out the pus from inside it. They also lowers pain, swelling, redness and inflammation that come with boils and makes the area tender. They also prevent boils from recurring. To get the best of cumin seeds for treating boils, crush 50 grams this spice and make a paste of it with water. Cover the boils with this paste and allow it to dry naturally. Until the boils go away completely, repeat this process every day.
Read More: Health Benefits of Cumin for Kids
11. Warm compresses
One of the most effective home remedies for boils is to put a hot water compress on the boil. This soothes and relaxes the inflamed and painful boil by softening the skin’s upper layer and finally bursts the boil. Due to the warmth of the compress, the pain reduces and the pus oozes out of the boil.
If you add salt to the compress, the boil will heal faster. This is the best treatment for boils that’s both natural and safe. In fact, it has no side-effects. Do this repeatedly until the boil actually bursts and the pus oozes out.
Precautions : Caring for your child with boil
- Foods to avoid: Children should avoid consuming tea, coffee, white bread, cakes, sweets, pastries, chocolates and white bread, and pickles, sauces and condiments.
- Practise good hygienic to make sure the boil doesn’t spread.
- Don’t squeeze the boil as it can cause infection.
- If you see more boils appearing, take your child to the doctor.
- Give your child paracetamol, if needed, to help with the soreness. Consult your doctor or follow the instructions on the bottle before giving the medicine to the child.
- Boils can be transmitted from one person to another, so you need to be extremely careful.
Conclusion
While your child is still shocked by the pain and appearance of a boil, you can teach him to follow preventive measures like always washing his hands so that bacteria don’t infect his skin and using antibacterial soap for bathing.
