You've diagnosed yourself with a carbuncle after looking up your symptoms online. Do you really need to go to a medical clinic for treatment? Actually, you should. You may need antibiotics to heal this painful infection, and getting proper medical care can prevent further problems.
How Did You Get a Carbuncle?
You have developed a group of hair follicle infections, which are also known as boils. The cluster of boils is called a carbuncle. This type of infection is usually due to Staphylococcus bacteria, which you've probably heard referred to as "staph." The bacteria normally live on top of skin and don't cause problems, but they can move inside skin if you get a scratch, insect bite or puncture. Unfortunately, they can even enter skin through a hair follicle.
Why Do You Need Medical Treatment?
The sooner you resolve the problem, the better. First of all, the infection doesn't just affect your skin, as you may have discovered. Carbuncles can also cause fatigue, lymph node swelling and a fever.
Second, a carbuncle is contagious. You can spread the bacteria to other people if you have skin-to-skin contact or if you share a bed or towels with someone else. You can even spread the infection to other parts of your body and develop more boils.
Third, left untreated, the infection can spread to the bloodstream and cause serious illness.
Carbuncle Therapies
Taking prescription antibiotics is a prompt and effective way of killing the bacteria causing the infection.
In addition to prescribing oral antibiotics, your health care practitioner may excise and drain the carbuncle at the clinic, depending on the severity of the condition. The practitioner wants to prevent the infection from spreading and also to prevent scarring, since carbuncles can leave a crater-like ulcer after the pus drains.
If the carbuncle is relatively mild, you will likely receive instructions on healing the condition at home. Applying heat is an effective strategy to encourage the carbuncle to completely expel all the pus and dead tissue inside and begin healing. You may apply heat with a hot water bottle or a warm cloth several times a day; the strategy can take a few days to a week to work.
Caution
It's essential not to attempt cutting and draining a carbuncle at home. That can cause the infection to spread. Even if this does not happen, you're likely to cause a noticeable scar.
Concluding Thoughts
Don't hesitate any longer to seek medical treatment for the infection at a clinic like Summit View Clinic. Soon you'll no longer have this painful condition and you'll also avoid any more serious complications.
Share7 January 2015
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