Bacterial Skin Diseases- BOILS AND CARBUNCLES
BOILS AND CARBUNCLES (furuncles)
An inflamed, infected lump on and under the skin, boils and carbuncles are results of infection from the ever-present staph germ, which lies in wait on the skin to take advantage of lowered resistance and weakness.
A boil is a local skin infection based in a hair root, usually found in the neck but also on the face, armpits, back, and buttocks. A carbuncle is a close collection of boils filled with pus, with the communicating channels several inches across.
The Danger: Carbuncles can be dangerous to life by infecting the bloodstream with staph germs and their toxins; they can also cause infection of the bone (osteomyelitis). Diabetic and debilitated people seem to be more prone and are far more seriously affected. Boils inside the nose or in the central facial area are particularly hazardous, since they can cause meningitis as well as blood poisoning.
Symptoms: The inflamed area is hard, dark red, swollen, hot, tender, and quite painful. Eventually, if unassisted, the carbuncle will come to a head and break, exuding pus. Additional symptoms are a high fever and occasionally prostration from toxicity in the blood.
Treatment: The staph germ must be identified in a lab so that the resistant germ can be destroyed with a very specific antibiotic. All carbuncles must be treated by a physician. This is no disease to ignore or self-treat.
A single boil can be treated by intermittent moist heat and antibiotic ointment. But when it is in the nose or on the face it will also require systemic antibiotic pills as well as very careful direct treatment.
Usually the physician will incise the carbuncle to hasten the drainage of staph pus, but the incision must be carefully and shallowly made to prevent the infection from going deeper into the tissues. The carbuncle and the area around it should be washed with an antibacterial soap and then rubbed with a 70 percent solution of alcohol to kill off any remaining bacteria, thus preventing new outbreaks from forming nearby.
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