Turmeric and Other Remedies for Painful Boils
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If you’ve ever had a boil anywhere on your body, you know how painful these suckers can be.
You can take antibiotics to get rid of the infection, but sometimes going the natural route is much more effective, especially when the bacteria has for some reason grown resistant to regular antibiotics (which is happening more and more often).
Turmeric is an extremely effective cure for boils and is found to work well when all other methods fail.
There are two ways to use turmeric to cure boils.
Method 1: Eat it, or drink it. Simple enough, but most of us might have trouble swallowing raw turmeric. So do what suits you.
Some suggestions include adding the turmeric to:
- water
- tea
- chocolate milk
If you’re able to cook, add it to some:
- broth
- vegetable/chicken/beef soup
Whatever method you choose to take the turmeric, the dose is 1-2 teaspoons of turmeric powder three times a day, and more if you can take it.
Combine turmeric with good fats and fresh ground black pepper. To increase turmeric absorption, combine it with any good cold-pressed oils or fats (such as almond oil, coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, flaxseed oil, sesame oil or grapeseed oil). Black pepper added to turmeric has also been proven to increase the bioavailability of turmeric. (Commenter Paul recommends combining turmeric with Ghee or the butter fat in creamer)
Method 2: Apply turmeric paste over the boil. You can either use water or milk to make the thick paste. Keep it covered with a bandage. (Be prepared to see a temporary yellow tinge on your skin from the turmeric, though! This will fade in a couple of weeks, and I think its a small price to pay for getting rid of the boil.)
Although there’s two popular methods here, I would recommend using both at the same time.
This way you’re attacking the infected boil internally, by cleaning your body and skin of infection, and even more importantly, preventing the boil from re-infecting the surrounding skin (one boil can sometimes spread to more, or recur after some time elsewhere).
And the turmeric that’s applied externally would hasten the drainage of the boil.
Why turmeric works: Turmeric contains curcumin, which has antitumor, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Curcumin is a remarkable substance that scientists have studied for its abilities to fight cancer. Turmeric’s powerful blood cleansing properties also helps it to successfully cure resistant MRSA infections when antibiotics have failed.
This page has received some useful information shared by generous commenters. To help you find this information easily, I’ve created a “linked list” of selected comments according to topic.
I will update this list periodically as more comments come in.
Thank You to all the commenters for sharing!
[TIP: For easy navigation, click on the link to read comment, followed by the Back button on your browser to return to the list.]
Alternative methods to curing boils submitted by commenters
- Turmeric and Honey
Henrietta successfully drained her boil with a honey and turmeric paste left on overnight.
She wrote, “It works: I had a strange boil for over 4 weeks, it kept getting bigger until I couldn’t take it anymore and decided to take action. I’m seeing my doctor Monday but on Friday I started applying Hydrocortisone cream…with no effect. Then, Saturday night, I made a topical paste of honey and turmeric, left it on overnight with gauze bandages…in the morning, I felt that the boil was smaller, and when I looked under the gauze–it was a miracle! The boil had started to drain! Definitely a very effective home remedy. Strongly recommended.”
- Boil Ease or Draw Out Salve (commercial product)
Nik used Boil Ease which made his boil recede in 3 days (it costs about $10 and can be bought over-the-counter at CVS, Rite Aid, Eckard in the First Aid section).
He wrote, “Anyone who is affected by LARGE, PAINFUL boils please try BOIL EASE or DRAW OUT SALVE. This is a true story. I am in no way affiliated to this company. Boils and their treatment have a special place in my heart because I have had many, many, many large and painful boils… too many to even count. I’ve visited 5 different doctors, have a lot of medical bills from them draining my boils at the hospital, thought I had MRSA… overall, very bad experience. Like everyone said about antibiotic abuse, my doctor would refill my antibiotic Rx without me even seeing her EVERY MONTH! that’s how often I got them. Long story short, a friend told me that her doctor recommended BOIL EASE, an over the counter ointment that can be bought at CVS, Rite Aid, Eckard… in the FIRST AID section (i couldn’t find it at first). I bought it, used it, my boil was HUGE and it did take a while but it went away in about a week and hasn’t returned. when i get boils now, as soon as i notice them, i put Boil Ease on and it goes away in 3 days. Def. try it! It’s only 10 dollars, they have the cheaper version DRAW OUT SALVE for like 7 dollars. Try it… from someone who has been suffering with this for almost 7 years, you WONT REGRET IT! I feel like I need to pass this information on because I didn’t know about it and now I wish I didn’t have scars from being operated on for NO REASON!! I wish i had known about this and I hope you all pass this information on as well.”
- Potato or Peach Tree Leaves
Sheila shared her father’s remedy of using a scraped potato or peach tree leaves.
She wrote, “When i was a kid my dad would scrape a potato and wrap it in a gauze and apply it to boils and stys to draw out the infection, it works and if in the right season peach tree leaves poltice is another good source.”
- Pepper leaf
Ruth Brown, a missionary in Nicaragua, said she had many problems with boils. She says, “the Nicaraguans taught me to put a pepper leaf on the boil that they picked off of their pepper tree. It worked better than anything I could have bought. Unfortunately, when I am in the States or elsewhere, I don’t have access to pepper trees or their leaves.”
- Tea Tree Oil and Spirits of Camphor
Sage mentions putting tea tree oil and camphor on boils.
She wrote, “Topically, I use Tea Tree Oil and Spirits of Camphor for boils and had great results also.”
- Salt Pork
Little Lee had good results treating a boil that was across an armpit with salt pork. The salt pork relieved the soreness immediately and led the boil to drain. His boil was cured after two days and has not recurred even after 6 months.
He wrote, “I had a boil that ran all the way across my armpit. It was so red and swollen I couldn’t lay on either side to sleep. Antibiotics and warm compresses didn’t help. I remembered an old remedy. I bought a slab of salt pork, cut off a hunk and stuck it on the boil. Immediately almost all the soreness was gone and in five minutes there was a horrid smell. The boil was draining! It took about two days but it is gone. Thank goodness! I haven’t tried anything else but I will keep it in mind.”
Little Lee also mentions that he is a diabetic in a 2nd comment that said, “By the way, I am diabetic also. The boil hasn’t come back and that was about 6 months ago. May not work for someone else but for me it was the cure!”
Salt pork poultice is an old remedy. The fat and salt content of salt pork help to bring boils to a head.
- Banana Peel
Ashley described her success at using banana peels on her boyfriend’s boil on another article (Banana Peels Works on Warts).
She wrote, “banana peels work great on boils. my boyfriend had a big nasty paintful boil on his butt and i put a banana peel on it for 10 minutes because it stung and itched right away. the next morning it was almost completely drained and totally pain free.”
Special Medical Conditions
- Kidney transplant patients
Vicky asked if turmeric is safe for kidney transplant patients such as herself.
She wrote, “I am a kidney transplant patient and have suffer from boil for quite sometimes. Is tumeric powder is safe for me to take?”
My answer was:
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Hi Vicky, turmeric seems to be okay and may even be beneficial for kidney transplant patients. However, its still best if you clear it with your doctor first.
Below are some extracts from the web. You can click on the links to read the original text in full.
From cancer.org
“One small study of curcumin (edit: curcumin is found in turmeric), along with another antioxidant called quercetin, was done in adults who received kidney transplants. Those who received the combination in high dosages had fewer transplant rejections than those who received lower doses or placebo. More studies are needed to find out if this holds true. Curcumin may also promote the emptying of the gallbladder, but again, more human studies are needed.”From drugdigest.com
“In addition to their anticancer effects, antioxidants in turmeric may protect the brain, kidneys, and liver from damage by alcohol, drugs, radiation, heavy metals such as lead, or chemicals such as dry cleaning fluid.”From tcwellness.com
“Studies on diabetes induced kidney disease show promising indications that cucurmin inhibited the progression of damage. Lesions of the kidneys were reduced and the kidneys continued functioning well with a .05 percent turmeric diet.”————–
- Turmeric for pregnant women
Catherine asked if turmeric is safe to eat during pregnancy.
She wrote, “my grandaughter has several under her arm she can not take script because of pregancy is this safe?”
My answer to her was this:
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Hi Catherine, I found contradicting views when checking on whether or not turmeric is safe for pregnant women.
On one hand, turmeric is used in so many Indian dishes that many Indians ingest turmeric everyday.
On the other hand, I also found a quote that mentions how turmeric cannot be recommended during pregnancy or breast-feeding in large amounts (greater than what is normally found in food) as turmeric may stimulate contractions of the uterus and may alter menstrual periods.
To give you an idea of how much is in “foods” – in most Indian dishes, very little turmeric is actually added (usually a pinch or half a teaspoon). But so little an amount may not have much of an effect to clear your daughter’s boils.
You can go to this page to read up more on using turmeric. There are many user accounts of it.
But I can’t tell you for sure whether or not it is safe for your daughter to take turmeric as I don’t know myself. Perhaps its better to err on the side of caution and at least wait until she has given birth and stopped breastfeeding?
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In summary, small amounts of turmeric like those used in cooking appear to be safe but larger amounts is not advisable as not much is known about the effects to the mother and infant.
More information about turmeric and pregnancy can be found on external sites: here and here (the second is a forum where some Indian ladies share their experiences with pregnancy and eating turmeric)
Other comments
- Diet can affect the incidence of boils
Sage wrote, “I must agree with Henrietta’s statement about the importance of changing and improving your diet. Most of my issues with boils have occurred after consuming candy, cake and other sugary sweet baked goods. Dealing with abscesses too was unbearable until I totally removed soda pop from my diet, thus eliminating the abscesses. I also use turmeric (thanks to Earthclinic.com) and Black Seed Oil with plain yogurt when I have a problem. In the past I drank Turmeric with tea, but constipation sometimes resulted. So now, I mix 1 tsp of Turmeric, 1/2 tsp of Black Seed Oil with a half cup of yogurt and it has worked wonders. In addition to turmeric, I also drink Burdock and Echinacea with Goldenseal teas to help strengthen my immune system. Topically, I use Tea Tree Oil and Spirits of Camphor for boils and had great results also.”
hi, i have 3 abscess. one near by butt, one on my thigh, and one right behind my back. I’ve been following the tumeric treatment here for a day and it seems like the abscess is finally coming to a head. May i know if i should try squeezing it out (use a needle or something like that?) or should i just leave it? please advise, thanks a lot.
If you can wait, the boil will burst naturally. If you can’t wait (eg if you’re afraid it might burst while you’re outside), you can pop it with a sterile needle. However, you’d need to be careful to avoid infection, and keep the area clean and covered as it heals. Use a good antiseptic like iodine.
I have been plagued with butt boils for last 4years !!! No more pills!! I am taking a natual approach to the problem. Great suggestions guys!! Let you know my results. Will past it on!!!!
I have 2 boils on my groin and its been here for over 2 years.. I don’t know what to do anymore, i’ve tried anything and i am too embarassed to go to the doctor or tell my family about it, because of the area its in. Im not sexually active JUST because of those 2 boils. Its ruining my whole self esteem. I need helpp. :/
Hey,
i been having boils since i was a teenager..now it still does.. Last time i seen my doctor was he said i need to go for surgical and that was only solution. I used went for surgical but my boils just getting worsen. its been 12 years i been struggling with my boils, at times i was embarrassed with the smell. On my worst week, when i started my period, its just become bigger, it makes me ill. Can my period can cause this too?? i don’t know.. Im a excessive sweat person. And what about food like eggs etc? Should i avoid them? And please help me how to avoid me for having pain.. Im tired for having this sickness.. and avoid me for goin another major surgical
your advise will be great help to me.. But i will try to use whatever some people post in here..
Thank you
Mollie! Yes your period will definitely effect your skin. I think it is possible you are very sensitive and may have allergies. I know this is bad news but it might be a good idea to do an elimination diet. Meaning eliminate dairy eggs wheat sugar and chocolate. You need to stick it out for at least a month then slowly add things back to see if it causes a reaction. Also look at what products you use on your skin. I would recommend cetephil to clean your face and a plain glycerin soap for your body. Maybe skip moisturizer for a while. Never use products with mineral oils. To ease your pain you can take hot Epsom salt baths. And finally I hear taking a good quality zinc supplement will help. I’m so sorry about your boils. Everything I recommended is cheap, but it might be a good investment to find a naturopathic doctor. I hope this helps and I’ll be thinking of you.
Thank you for the above knowledge
Currently im using traditional medicine, well so far it went great 
But i will try on the above especially on the soap, is it okay to use baby johnson? just wondering…
Mollie–I had and still do have recurring boils for about 5-6 years now. I recently had some surgery and the doctor noticed my boils and scars from the boils. He diagnosed me with hidradenitis suppurativa. It is possible that you may have this condition too. If you google hidradenitis suppurativa, you will find some good information about this condition. I like the website hs usa because it tells you the different stages of HS. I am researching and reading post to see what other people have tried and I am going to start trying some of their methods. Good Luck! Sandy
I have suffered from boils for many years and have had no luck making the issue better. The typical issues I would face is getting between 5-8 boils at a time all over my body. It seemed as though there was never a time I didn’t have a boil on my body. I have suffered much pain and self esteem issues because of this. However, I came across a discussion board and decided to try what this one person suggested. Hand sanitizer or wet wipes! This kills the bacteria on your skin and helps prevent the bacteria on the skin from creating boils. This person said they would wipe their boil areas with wet wipes a few times a day and that prevented them from getting boils. So, I decided to try hand sanitizer. I must say, out of some things I have tried, it works. After I shower, I used to use body lotion all over my body but it seemed to create moisture and cause more boils. Now after I take my shower, I still use body lotion in the areas I don’t get boils in. For the areas I usually get boils in, I have a seperate product for that. I mix hand sanitizer with any type of body lotion I’m using at the time. I make sure both hand sanitizer and cream are mixed in a bottle so it makes it kind of a loose but creamy texture. I apply it to the areas that I usually get boils and let it dry before putting on my clothes. I tried using just hand sanitizer but I noticed it didn’t work as well alone and caused my skin to be dry. I notice the best concoction is hand saniitizer with shea butter cream/lotion but any type of lotion works for me. I have been doing this for the past few months and can honestly say this has been what finally has helped me. Yes, I do get a boil every once and awhile but it is nowhere near as severe as how I used to suffer from these. My scars are clearing up and the areas are no longer looking purple-ish scarred and I usually go quite awhile without getting a boil outbreak. Anyone who suffers from boils, please try this. I hope it will work as good for you as it has for me. I never imagined I would be able to find a home remedy to deal with this issue but finally after many years of suffering from boils, the issue no longer plagues me and my mind, as much as it used to. I’m also considering trying to add raisins to my diet as I heard eating raisins completely got rid of some peoples boil issues. I don’t know if this will work for everyone who may want to try this, but I was a pretty severe case and now I only get 1 boil every once in awhile. I just felt compelled to pass along this home remedy in hopes that it may be able to help someone else decrease the amount of boils they suffer from. It has been a long time since I have had to use bandaids and now I can finally work on decreasing the appearance of my scars as my skin has cleared up much more since I have added this routine into my daily life. Please give it a try, maybe it will work for you!
When you use hand sanitizer, doesn’t it hurt? coz im scared using hand sanitizer.. and is it the same as antiseptic?
Hi Mollie!
Well what I can remember is that when I did have some boils and put the hand sanitizer on, it did sting a bit, but I have a pretty good pain tolerance so after the stinging happens for a few seconds, it felt better. Since hand sanitizer does have alcohol in it, it does create a little sting. But after the first few times I got used to it. Now, when I apply it, I don’t feel nothing. It’s hard for me to remember the exact feeling of first applying it as it has been quite some time since I had a break out of boils. If you’re too scared to try it and have a very low pain tolerance, then maybe you should pass up on it. But if you are willing to feel a bit of a stinging for a bit, then it may be well worth it for you. It is amazing what hand sanitizer mixed with body lotion/cream has done for me. I find it easy for me to do daily rather than whip up messy pastes and put it on the boils. Like I have mentioned, I used to get anywhere from 5-8 boils per break out. Now, I currently have no boils on me. I do eat raisins once and awhile randomly so maybe you can try eating some raisins as frequent as possible, as I have head quite a lot of success stories linked to eating raisins. Good luck Mollie, I know how awful boils can be and while I don’t know if I’m completely cured I do know that I no longer have boils always lingering on my body and I haven’t felt the pain of a boil in a few months now.
Hello–I have been getting (what I thought) were boils for 5-6 years now. I had surgery recently and the doctor diagnosed me with hidradenitis suppurativa. Unfortunately, antibotoics don’t help. But I have been reading posts and have been taking turmeric. This week I am going to cut out my diet soda to see if that helps with this disease I have. Google hidrdenitis suppurative and you may discover that you have this disease too. Thanks
Valuable info. Lucky me I discovered your web site accidentally, and I’m surprised why this accident did not took place earlier! I bookmarked it.
I started eating a square of strong cocoa once a day for I thought health benefits. I now have a second boil on my back. Going to stop with the cocoa.
I have that Hidradenitis Suppurativa and have had for 13 years..It is very embarrassing and hard to cope with at times let alone the pain and everything that goes with it..I read on here where some one recommended Boil Ease..And I am here to tell you it does work,,,I also have took baking soda and made a paste with it and that helps draw out the infection I finally broke down after hiding this for so long and decided to go to a dermatologist..I hope that I can get some relief at this point I am ready for surgery or what ever means necessary I hope that Everyone suffering from this doesn’t get as self conscious as I do I have even had doctors who in the past wasn’t aware that this was a disease make terrible remarks to me…Good luck to all of you…I will keep you posted on what I find out from the specialist…God Bless and keep smiling…
Ive had massive out break boil problems for about a year now and one of the best way ive had mine drained is get an aloe leaf cut it down the middle heat vituperates and then wrap it on the boil with gauze in a few min it should he drained and haveno pain ky great grandmother taught. Me that
I have a painful boil on my (R) sideby my breast and it won’t go away…….. What should I do…….