Unsightly and uncomfortable, boils can seriously hinder many of your everyday activities. You can effectively treat boils at home with flaxseed oil and other natural remedies without the side effects of many traditional over-the-counter treatments. As with trying any home remedy, you should consult your physician first.
About Boils
The result of a bacterial infection, boils begin in a hair follicle. Your white blood cells gather at the area to help ward off the infection. Pus then accumulates from the bacteria and dead blood and skin cells. It is not until the boil bursts and the pus drains that the skin can begin the healing process. A carbuncle is a grouping of boils that cover an infected area under the skin. A healthy immune system typically takes about two weeks to eliminate a typical boil. Some may linger longer, typically in areas where they are aggravated because they are rubbed by your clothing or shoes.
Amish Home Remedy
Dr. Patrick Quillin notes that practitioners of Amish folk medicine recommend making a poultice from equal parts of linseed or flaxseed oil, turmeric, honey and flour. You can then apply the soft moist mass to the affected area 20 to 30 minutes up to four times a day. You can heat the poultice itself or apply a warm to hot compress over the poultice to speed the healing process. According to Dr. Schleicher of Prevention Health Magazine, the moist heat helps draw blood to the site, making the boil come to a head faster.
How It Works
Turmeric has natural antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that aid in cleansing the blood and can help cure resistant strains of MRSA infections. Cold-pressed flaxseed oil aids in your body's absorption of the turmeric. Because both flaxseed and flaxseed oil are rich in the essential fatty acid alpha-linolenic acid and are biological precursors to omega-3 fatty acids, they can help your body to rebuild its immune system in order to more efficiently fight the infection. One to 2 tbsp. of turmeric can be consumed orally two to three times a day to help fight the infection internally if desired. Consuming flaxseed oil in addition, will help your body to process and absorb the turmeric internally, just as it does externally.
Precautions
Typically, it is appropriate for you to care for a single boil at home, but you shouldn't attempt to pierce or squeeze it, as that may allow the infection to spread. You should contact your physician if a boil or carbuncle is exceptionally painful, lingers for longer than two weeks or is accompanied by a fever. According to MayoClinic.com, you should always wash your hands thoroughly after treating the affected area. You should also sterilize towels and dressings used to treat the boil, as the infection can cause contamination, especially if you are prone to boils or have had numerous recurrences.
Warnings
Do not consume linseed oil or use it topically. Although linseed oil and flaxseed oil were synonymous in history, modern linseed oil is specially treated and sold as a wood-finishing product. Consult your physician before attempting to self-treat with flaxseed oil or any other home remedy.
References
- "Amish Folk Medicine: Home Remedies Using Foods, Herbs and Vitamins"; Patrick Quillin, Ph.D., RD.; 1995
- MayoClinic.com; Boils and Carbuncles; October 19, 2010
- "High Speed Healing Rapid Action Remedies"; Multiple Editors of Prevention Magazine Health Books; 1991
- MayoClinic.com; Flaxseed and Flaxseed Oil (Linum usitatissimum); July 1, 2011
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