Boils (pigsa): what a boil looks like, home care and when to see a doctor

A boil is a painful lump under the skin that fills with pus. In Tagalog it is called pigsa, and the medical name is furuncle. It is an infection of a hair follicle (the tiny pocket a hair grows from) and the skin around it.

A boil usually:

• starts as a tender, itchy or sore red spot
• grows quickly into a hard, painful lump, from the size of a pea up to a golf ball
• fills with pus, gets softer, and often shows a white or yellow head
• bursts and leaks pus, then the pain eases and it heals

Many boils burst and drain on their own, usually within about 2 weeks. Some need a doctor to open them. They are most common on the face, neck, armpits, buttocks and thighs. On brown skin the redness can be harder to see.

When several boils join, they form a bigger lump with more than one head, called a carbuncle. A boil or carbuncle can come with fever, tiredness or feeling unwell. A carbuncle needs a doctor's check.

• Kuliti (stye) is a small, painful lump on the edge of the eyelid, caused by bacteria in an eyelash follicle or eyelid gland. It is like a tiny boil and usually goes away within a week. Use a clean warm compress on the closed eye, never burst it, and skip eye make-up and contact lenses until it heals. A red, watery eye with no lump is more likely sore eyes (conjunctivitis).
• Skin abscess is a pocket of pus under the skin. A boil is one kind, but an abscess can also start from a cut or wound.
• Cellulitis is a spreading infection of the deeper skin. A wider area becomes painful, hot and swollen, and you may feel unwell. It needs antibiotics.
• Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a long-term condition that causes boil-like lumps again and again in the armpits, groin, buttocks or under the breasts, often with scars and tunnels that leak pus. HS is not infectious and not caused by poor hygiene. It needs a doctor's care.

See a doctor about any lump that keeps growing, a hard lump that does not move, or any lump in the breast. It may not be a boil.

Most boils are caused by bacteria called Staphylococcus aureus ("staph"). Many healthy people carry staph on their skin or in the nose. A boil starts when the bacteria get deeper into a hair follicle, often where the skin has been damaged, such as by a small cut or scratch.

You may be more likely to get boils if you:

• have diabetes, HIV or another condition that weakens the immune system
• take medicines such as steroids
• live with obesity, or are not eating enough (malnutrition)
• have a skin condition such as eczema
• have close contact with someone who has boils
• smoke

Boils are also more common in men.

About food and "dirty blood". Many Filipino families believe pigsa comes from eating eggs, chicken, shrimp or other "malansa" food, or from "dirty blood". The medical sources behind this guide list bacteria as the cause and do not name any food. You don't need to avoid these foods unless your doctor says so. Eating well helps, because poor nutrition makes boils more likely.

A single small boil, in someone otherwise well, can usually be cared for at home.

1. Use a warm compress. Soak a clean cloth in warm (not hot) water, wring it out, and hold it on the boil for about 10 minutes, several times a day. The warmth helps the boil drain by itself.
2. Keep going after it opens. Gently clean the area with soap and water, and keep using warm compresses until it heals.
3. Cover it with clean gauze once it drains, and change the dressing often.
4. Wash your hands before and after touching the boil.
5. Throw used dressings away in a tied plastic bag.
6. For pain, take paracetamol or ibuprofen as the label says. Ask a pharmacist first if you take other medicines or have a long-term illness.

Use your own towel, and wash towels, clothes and bedsheets in hot soapy water. Skip swimming pools and the gym until it heals, so you don't pass the infection on. Antibacterial creams do not help much once a boil has formed.

It is tempting to squeeze a pigsa or open it with a needle (karayom), a pin or a blade when you see the white head. Don't. This can spread the infection to the skin around it. Rarely, a boil infection spreads into the blood or other parts of the body. Have a boil on the face checked by a doctor. If a boil needs opening, a doctor can do it safely (see medical treatment).

Leaves and other home remedies. Some families put warmed leaves such as ikmo (betel leaf) on a pigsa. A University of the Philippines Manila lab study found that ikmo leaf extract can stop staph from growing in a dish. But it was not tested on people, so we don't know if a leaf on the skin helps. Toothpaste, kalamansi and oils are not treatments that medical sources recommend.

If you still use a leaf, wash it and your hands well, don't put it on a boil that has opened, and stop if the redness spreads (a reason to see a doctor). A clean, warm, wet cloth gives the same warmth with less risk.

A doctor can usually tell a boil by looking at it, and may swab the pus for a culture (a lab test that shows the germ and which antibiotics work).

Draining (incision and drainage). For a large or deep boil, the doctor numbs the skin and makes a small cut to let the pus out. A hard boil is usually not opened until it softens. The pain usually eases once the pus is out.

Antibiotics. Many boils heal without antibiotics once the pus drains. A doctor may prescribe them if there are several boils or a carbuncle, you have a fever, the redness is spreading, or the boil is on the face. They are also often needed for babies, elderly people, people with diabetes or a weak immune system, a boil that does not get better after draining, and boils that keep coming back. Studies have not found one antibiotic clearly better than others.

• Antibiotics need a prescription in the Philippines under the Pharmacy Law (Republic Act 10918). Don't buy them without one, share them, or use leftover ones.
• Take them exactly as prescribed, until they are finished.
• Go back if you are not better 2 to 3 days after starting them, or sooner if you feel worse.

Not sure if your boil needs a doctor? Ask our free AI symptom guide or book a call with a nurse.

Most people get one or two boils and never again. Boils are called recurring when they come back 3 or more times in a year. They can also pass between people in one household.

Common reasons:

• Staph living in your nose or skin folds, such as behind the ears, under the breasts or in the groin
• A family member who carries staph or has boils
• Diabetes, sometimes not yet diagnosed
• Anemia (low red blood cells), obesity, or eczema

Get your blood sugar checked. Doctors often check for diabetes with a blood sugar test, such as fasting blood sugar (FBS) or HbA1c, and may order a complete blood count (CBC). Other signs of diabetes are strong thirst, peeing more than usual, tiredness, weight loss without trying, blurred vision, and cuts that heal slowly. Many people have no signs. Our annual check-up guide explains these tests.

The doctor may also swab your nose, and your family's. If staph keeps causing boils, they may prescribe a nose ointment and an antiseptic body wash, sometimes for the whole family.

Lumps that keep coming back in the armpits or groin may be hidradenitis suppurativa (see look-alikes).

Start at your barangay health station, rural health unit (RHU) or city health center. Find a health center near you.

PhilHealth YAKAP (the expanded Konsulta program) covers primary care at the YAKAP clinic you registered with:

• Check-ups are free. Under the 2025 rules, a private YAKAP clinic may ask for a co-payment, but no more than ₱900 for the whole calendar year.
• Lab tests your YAKAP doctor orders are covered, and the list includes CBC, fasting blood sugar and HbA1c.
• Medicines your YAKAP doctor prescribes are free through PhilHealth GAMOT. As of 2026 the limit is ₱20,000 a year for each member and each dependent. Some are given at the clinic, the rest at accredited GAMOT pharmacies (bring the prescription and a government ID). The GAMOT list includes several antibiotics, such as cloxacillin and clindamycin, plus paracetamol and ibuprofen.

GAMOT pharmacies are still being added, so ask your clinic where to claim them. To register, see our PhilHealth YAKAP guide.

Draining a boil. PhilHealth's list of procedure case rates (December 2024 update) includes incision and drainage of a boil, carbuncle or skin abscess at ₱7,098, which covers both the facility fee and the doctor's fee in an accredited facility. Ask the facility first whether it applies to you. Case rates are explained in our guide to what PhilHealth covers.

• Bathe every day. Staph likes warm, moist skin folds, so wash and dry them well, especially in hot weather.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, or use an alcohol hand rub.
• Don't share towels, razors, clothes or bedsheets.
• Wash towels and bedding at least once a week, in hot water if you can.
• Clean and cover cuts until they heal.
• Clean shared surfaces such as counters, door knobs, bath tubs and toilet seats when someone at home has boils.
• Treat eczema, and don't scratch itchy bites.
• If you have diabetes, keep your blood sugar under control. Reaching a healthy weight also helps.

If several people at home keep getting boils, tell your doctor.