Boyle?

[mross4]

my 7 yr old has what i believe to be a boyle on the upper portion of his left rear-end cheek; it started friday when he wore boxers and jeans that got wet in the yard. they wore a sore spot that broke the skin on both sides. i used polysporin to treat it (thats all i had) and the sore healed, but now it is about an inch (or so) in diameter with redness extending about 1/4 inch around the center spot, which is hard and painful to touch. i have no insurance and cannot afford unnecessary dr. visits; please help! do i need to have him treated with antibiotics or will it go away? thanks, m.ross

[mkh9]

Yes I agree that you should take him to the doctor if it is draining pus.
take care,
mkh9

[mross4]

Well, now I am worried quite abit about this thing. It is draining little by little, but the drainage is white and ***** and he says it really hurts now. I think I will take him to the doctor afterall; thanks so much and I cannot believe that didn't occur to me because I just took a microbiology course. It's so hard to know what to do when it involves your kids.

[mross4]

Thank you so much for your help; Prid was all I could find at walmart but cvs also carries an ointment called icthamal (probably spelled wrong, sorry) that is easier to apply being more ointment-like and less pasty. I used bacitracin because it also contains lidocaine 4% and allowed him to relax a bit while i cleaned and cared for the wound. It's just so pitiful; the poor little guy can't even sit normally, and he's getting tired of sleeping in his stomach:). Thank you, and good luck in the future with yours, as well

[mkh9]

Yes a hot compress is good. It could be MRSA. Was he at school when it got worse or day care?  I would reapply the tripleantibiotic ointment as directed and see if that makes it go away again. Staph is easy to spread. Boils are caused by Staph aureus. Usually, you can get them to go away but since this one came back make sure any clothes and anything that touches the area including clothers, towels, wash rags hands of course, etc. gets washed in hot soapy water. If it continues and doesn't go away or gets worse after the antibiotic ointment then I would see a doctor.
mkh9

[bery120]

put hot compresses on it 3 or 4 times a da as hot as he can stand that will bring it to a head but let it pop on its own may want to put bandaid on it so his underwear doesnt rub they also make a black salve in a small orange container u could buy some of that put it on thick with bandaid 2 times a day after u wash the area hope this helps

[SiouxSioux]

I've dealt with boils for over 20 years and they do hurt really badly. I used to go in and have surgery to have them drained and I would be put on a strong course of antibiotics. For the last 10 years or so tho I've been self treating and it's worked pretty good for the most part. I use a black nasty tar type ointment that's called Prid. It's a drawing salve in a small flat round metal container.  Once the boil comes to a head you should be able to lance and drain it at home. Also, you can go pick up Tumeric for him which is a natural herbal antibiotic and should clear the infection up. As far as the pain there's not much you can do for him other than give him some Ibuprofen and let him stay home so he's not sitting on the hard seats at school and the Prid should draw it to the surface within a day or two.  I hope this is a one time thing for him and it doesn't become recurrent. It's not an easy thing to deal with and dermatologists don't seem to be able to help much other than surgery and antibiotics.