Lancing Your Teenager’s Pimple

Sometimes it becomes time to pop that pimple. It's an ugly job but someone has to do it. However the secret is to do it without creating infection.
The secret when treating a big red cyst like pimple at home is to start the treatment process as soon as possible, preferably at the first sign of the boil developing.
At this point, there will be no white area in the middle as that develops later as your body starts to fight back, but it is at this point that you should start trying to treat the cyst on the basis that the sooner you can start, the quicker it will go away.
The first thing to know is that the application of heat to the affected area will draw out the pimple more quickly as the heat encourages your body to send the necessary white blood cells and antibodies to the boil area more effectively by improving your blood circulation. This is why at the first sign of a pimple developing; you should start to apply a hot compress to the affected area as soon as you possibly can.
One option for applying localized heat to the affected area is to buy commercially produced heat pads that generate the heat either through a chemical reaction or electricity. However, as it is extremely easy to make a highly effective hot compress at home, there really is no sensible reason why you should spend money on heat pads unless you have tried compresses before and found that they are not effective for you.
To make the compress, take a small tea towel or some other cloth and soak it with water that is as hot as you can stand.
Some people recommend adding salt or vinegar to this water as they find that this helps the process, so this may be something that you want to try, but the main thing is, applying a hot compress in this way will draw out the infection far more quickly. It is therefore something that you should do every few hours, not least because many people find that it helps to relieve the pain associated with pimples.
Keep the compress applied to the infected area until the heat has gone out of it, at which point you can either re-soak it in water or in your favored mixture, or you can heat in the microwave for 10 seconds or so, but make sure that if you do so, you don't burn yourself.
When the pimple is still red and the ‘head' (a noticeable white or off-white pustule at the top) has not yet developed, you should not be tempted to release the pressure by puncturing the boil even though it is extremely painful.
At this stage when it is still firm and relatively undeveloped, trying to drain the pus.
After a few days, the head will develop which means that the cyst is ready to be drained. By applying further hot compresses, you can often encourage the acne to burst so that the pus can start draining away without any further encouragement from you.
In this case, make sure that the infected area is completely clean afterwards by using antibacterial soap to wash your skin as a way of minimizing the risk of the infection spreading.

Do Your Kids Get Boils?

Children get boils on their body more often than they ever have in history. Would you believe it is because they spend so much time at computers. These are known as pilonidal cysts. Initially they were thought to be caused by ingrown hairs but doctors now have discovered it comes from sitting down in one position for too long every other.
This type of boil is called pilondal cysts and is caused by having to sit for long hours in uncomfortable positions. The condition was first discovered during World War II.
Another reason kids get boils is because they become infected with a staphylococcus bacteria. This bacteria can enter through any break in the skin. It can also invade through hair follicles. This is a highly virulent bacterium that cause a lot more serious medical conditions so you need to be very careful and keep an eye on those boils your kids develop. Another alarming thing is that it can mean that your kid is becoming less resistant to infections due to the overuse of antibiotics.
For example, if your immune system is somehow compromised, the chance of becoming someone who suffers from boils on a regular basis is significantly increased. Consequently, conditions such as kidney failure or diabetes which weaken your immune system are likely to make you more susceptible to an outbreak of boils.
In addition, lesser-known medical conditions such as hypogammaglobulinemia that reduce your body's ability to fight against infection as they weaken your immune system can also make you more prone to skin abscesses and other staphylococcus related problems.
Then there are certain types of medicines that also weaken your natural ability to fight back against infection successfully. These include drugs that are used in chemotherapy to treat cancer and cortisone-based drugs like prednisolone.
I have been known to get a boil or two myself. Surprise! These breakouts in adults are actually stress related! Who knew?
T here is some evidence to suggest that there is a connection between stress and hormonal changes (such as the onset or the menopause or the monthly cycle) that may cause the condition to flare up in women who had previously suffered only slightly or not at all.
So you see that boil could mean much more than just a simple 'pimple.' Be vigilante to make sure that it never develops into an infection.