Recurring Boils: Why They Keep Coming Back and What Actually Helps

This page is general information, written by our founder. It is not medical advice or a plan of care.

What Is Recurrent Furunculosis?

A boil, which doctors call a furuncle, is a painful lump filled with pus that forms when bacteria infect a hair follicle. A cluster of boils joined under the skin is a carbuncle. Most boils are caused by a bacterium called Staphylococcus aureus, or staph (MayoClinic.org).

Boils usually come with symptoms such as warmth, swelling, and a yellow or white tip of pus. One boil is common and usually heals in a week or two. When boils return again and again, doctors call it recurrent furunculosis. Recurrent boils can be frustrating, but they usually have a reason, and that reason can often be found.

Boils, Folliculitis, or Something Else?

A shallower, milder infection of the follicles, often seen as small red bumps after shaving, is a related problem. Recurrent folliculitis and boils share many causes. A doctor can tell them apart and also look for a sign of a different skin condition, described below.

Could It Be Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS)?

If boil-like lumps keep forming in the armpits, groin, buttocks, or under the breasts, it may be HS rather than ordinary boils. HS is a long-term condition that needs a dermatologist. Its treatments differ from boil treatments, and early treatment can reduce flare-ups (AAD.org).

Is Your Body Lacking Something? Nutrition and Skin Health

The honest answer is: usually not. Boils are mainly a bacteria problem. But one nutrient has real evidence behind it.

Iron. The Demos review reports that low iron was a risk factor for recurrent boils even in people who were not anemic. When 16 people with low iron took iron for three to four weeks, all but one had no further boils (Demos et al.). It was a small study, but the test is simple. Please do not start iron on a guess, though, because too much causes its own problems.

Blood sugar is worth checking too. Diabetes is a well-documented risk factor, and repeated infections of the skin are sometimes the first clue that blood sugar is running high.

Sulfur has a long history in skin care, and a 1916 Los Angeles newspaper headline called it the very best cure for boils. We are not aware of any controlled study showing that taking sulfur, MSM, or potassium by mouth prevents or heals boils, so we do not claim that it does.

Self-Care for a Boil You Have Now

• Warm compresses. A clean, warm, wet washcloth held on the boil several times a day helps it come to a head and drain on its own. Once the pus drains, the pain usually eases quickly (American Academy of Dermatology).
• Do not squeeze it, cut it, or try to drain pus with a needle. That can push the infection deeper and lead to complications. A large or very painful boil may need medical treatment to drain it.
• Cover it once it drains, with a clean bandage, and wash your hands after touching it.

Lowering the Chance of the Next One

• Do not share towels, washcloths, razors, or bedding. Wash them in hot water.
• Ask about an antiseptic body wash. Washing with chlorhexidine soap can help prevent new boils (Merck Manual).
• Ask about decolonization. Doctors often prescribe an antibiotic ointment for the nose, twice a day for 5 to 10 days, with a daily antiseptic wash (Ibler and Kromann). Everyone in the household should take part at the same time (Queensland guideline).
• Reduce friction with loose, breathable clothing, and take care when shaving.
• Treat eczema or other skin problems first, because they make staph harder to clear.

What a Doctor Can Check

A primary care doctor can handle most of this. Bring your medical history, including anyone at home who gets boils.

• Staph: a swab of the nose or skin, which can also show whether it is MRSA.
• Iron: a blood test, including stored iron, not just a blood count.
• Blood sugar: an A1C test.
• Household: whether others need decolonization too.
• Pattern: whether the lumps might be HS or skin abscesses that need other treatments.

Oral antibiotics treat a bad infection, but they do not stop the next one on their own. Lowering staph on the skin is what changes the pattern, which is why medical guidelines focus on it.

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