HOME HEALTH GUIDE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 8, Issue 69, 1 May 1945, Page 3

HOME HEALTH GUIDE

TREATMENT OF BOILS

(By the Department of Health)

Boils conic from a common germ that lives everywhere, including on our skins. Should avc get below par, or not wash enough Ave let the germ multiplj' 011 our skin. Some germs get rubbed in round a hair follicle. Up comes a growth of pustules or a single hard boil. Common sites arc the buttocks under the arms the ? 'J back of the neck, or the scalp. Friction helps lo rub the germs into these favourite spots. If the boil is some days old before you treat it } simple fomenta- ! tions are indicated. But be careful not to allow the pus to drain on to the surrounding skin or a crop of little boils will result. Wipe the surrounding skin every now and then with an aitiseptic solution. Don't go squeezing a boil to get the core out —the less handling the better. And this gives, the clue to the best treatment. As soon as you realise you're getting a boil paint it with methylated, spirits and as soon as dry cover it with elastoplast or zinc plaster. Cut a circular piece a little bigger than the boil —usually about halfpenny - size—and stretch it to cover the boil. Next a bigger circle of plaster—say penny size—is. put. on ovor the top of the first. If the boil d ischarges out a small hole in the centre of the first plaster dhange as soiled. If there's 110 discharge leave the plaster on for 10 days or more. The pain is eased and the boil gets better. For recurrent crops of boils visit a doctor. Ask him to have a vaccine made from your own boil. This stops them. Take extra Vitamin B— such as yeast daily and feature dairy products lively green and yellow vegetables, and fruits in your diet.