Painful underarm boil

I got one of these under each arm years ago and ended up having to take an antibiotic. Might be best to go to doc.

My mother used to put kaolin poultices on the ones I used to get on my btm. Not warm but boiling hot.

Just looked on Amazon and kaolin poultices are now used for horses rather than people.

Kaolin poultice's did the trick though. Hot compresses are the only thing to use to bring it to a head.

You must be run down or it's a hair that has decided to grow the wrong way.

You need to eat marmite! Hope it gets better soon.

Yes my daughter use to get them and under her breasts. Turned out it was due to blocked sweat glands. Kaolin poultice did the trick but be careful when it pops it like Mount Etna going off full blast and there is always a chance of the infection spreading when this happens. Need to keep a close eye on when it starts to weep and try to stop it going onto other parts. Also you could go to your Dr or chemist for advice.

I would put a hot (ish) flannel on it then squeeze the bugger

Armpits are beds for abcess's too. I'd go to A&E if it gets unbearable.

If you’re anywhere near the Sussex coast my sister-in-law would love to squeeze it for you! Yuk!

Get some Magnesium Sulphate paste from your pharmacy. Put it onto a dressing and change every day. It will help draw it too a head quickly. Promise it works. From a fellow sufferer.

I second the suggestion of magnesium sulphate paste. I used it in my O-level year when I got a series of boils. Long time ago now but it worked then so try it now. I've never had any since so I don't know what all that was about!

The other thing that helped draw the boils was hot compresses—wring out a flannel in the hottest water you can stand and hold that against the boil a few times.

Magnesium sulphate did nothing for me sadly - my boils are obviously made of stern stuff <- not envy. Antibiotics were the only thing that shifted them.

I think it's possibly infected apocrine glands. I had that once. Your apocrine glands are in armpits and groin mostly I think. Some people call them 'blind boils' because they don't come to a head like ordinary boils. Anyway. See your GP.

are you sure it is a boil? if it is something else, hot, red, spreading, very painful, it could be a serious infection, in which case it will need urgent medical attention.
not trying to worry you, but I have seen this kind of thing, and it can get very serious very quickly.
suggest you ring 111 for advice.
take care and good luck.

Why not have a word with the doc?

I remember having a boil on my bum when I was about 4. I was staying with my gran at the time and have the most vivid memory of lying face down on the bed while she applied Lion Ointment to the vital area - bot did it smell!!

Sorry....should read boy did it smell - or maybe not??

a smelly bot.

My daughter went through a period of getting these, the doctor said it was caused by ingrown hairs from shaving her underarms.

She had to stop shaving and now waxes and has not had one since .

I had a horrible sebaceous cyst that got infected in my armpit a few years ago. Antibiotics wouldn't touch it. I had it drained, it had been the size of a golf ball, but the doc hadn't realised. The smell!

Instant relief after draining though.

Thanks for all your tips. I found a small tub of magnesium sulphate and smeared that over it.

Will let you know if it does the trick. I've tried anti-biotic cream, but it didn't help.

Should see the GP because people prone to boils could have other problems which predispose to boils.

Wish I’d noticed this earlier ☹️
There is a condition that causes boils and abscesses under the arms, in the groins, under the breasts. It’s called Hidradentis Suppuritiva and it’s a genetic condition that affects more women than men.

It often begins in puberty or after childbirth and can have a pattern which fits the monthly hormonal cycle. Some people are affected by diet triggers.

You should NEVER apply pressure or squeeze these abcesses- doing so can cause the formation of tunnels under the skin and they are very hard to heal without surgery. Blocked sweat glands and ingrowing hairs are NOT the cause - if your GP says this they need upskilling! The condition is active in areas with a high concentration of sweat glands and hairs.

There are treatments licensed to help with this disease but you need referring to a dermatologist. The Hidradenitis Suppurative Trust has lots of information on their website.

Sadly there are still doctors who don’t recognise the symptoms despite between 1 and 4% of the population having the disease. This is largely because girls and women in the past have home treated and never received a diagnosis. Tragic because untreated it can progress and become disabling. Modern specialist treatment is available on the NHS.

How do I know? I am involved in changing the way HS, as it’s called, is treated in hospitals and in training GPS and community nurses to help diagnose it. I have spoken at medical conferences in the uk and abroad and I have the condition.

If you have recurrent boils and lumps you may have it - please check out ((www.hstrust.org)) and talk to your GP.

? to all who have HS

I was diagnosed with Hidradenitis Suppurativa about 15 years ago. I was 45 then.

The lumps used to come up UNDER the skin, in my armpits and groin, sometimes as big as a satsuma (incredibly painful) but no head like with a boil.

Over the years before a correct diagnosis, my GP had tried various antibiotic tablets, creams and ointments. I'd also been advised to not shave my armpits, not use deodorant, and to add Dettol to my bath water, and wash with Hibiscrub(the pink soap solution that medical people use).

None of those things worked. The ONLY thing that worked was TRIMOVATE cream on prescription.

I used to also feel unwell, and my lymph nodes used to be enlarged and painful.

Get a proper diagnosis, and get the correct treatment.

I haven't had my particular problem for a few years now, but I know that if/when it flares up, I'll get the cream I need.

Salsa Trimovate is a useful cream if you have the under the skin type of HS. My sister and one of my daughters has that type too. One of the things that confuses doctors is the way the disease presents in so many different ways.

I think everyone who is troubled by recurrent lumps or boils has probably got the condition and should push for a referral to get a diagnosis. It worries me that so many people are routinely given antibiotics for it - and repeatedly - because very often there’s no infection. The inflammation comes from the over active immune system of the sufferer.

I won’t badger you all again about this but if anyone wants more information about HS and do PM me and I’ll try to point you to sources of real help.