Come summer in India and we all eagerly look forward to wolfing down mangoes. There are almost endless varieties available and thanks to different fruiting times, the season extends from early March well into July. But along with Nature’s bounty come up ‘Heat Boils’!! To the sufferers, especially children, they are extremely frustrating and mostly a nuisance, but they do have a potential to become more serious.

So what is a boil?

A boil is a layman’s term for a furuncle, and usually denotes a small, reddish, inflamed and tender lump on the skin. They are usually multiple but can occur singly too.  Boils most commonly occur on the face, neck, armpits, shoulders, and buttocks.

Why does one get a boil?

A boil is an infection of the hair follicle that can be caused by various organisms. Basically, there are trillions of germs that lie on the skin of our body. Most of them are quite harmless and even help in keeping the more dangerous ones out. The skin and the body is quite effective in keeping the dangerous ones out.
Sometimes either the count of the dangerous types increases significantly, or if the body defense mechanisms become weak for any reason, dangerous germs can enter the body and one of the most common sites are the sweat pores and the hair follicles. The body fights these germs and tries to keep the infection limited as superficially as possible. Boils that you see are the battlefield of this fight.

My child is complaining of a lot of pain? What are the other symptoms of boils?

Well, firstly the child will complain of a painful and tender swelling at the site. The swelling may be red, violet, or may even look yellow (if pus has formed).
It is small initially, but can rapidly become significantly big in size. This swelling may even burst discharging pus initially and then fluid and blood.

Doctor, my child seems to be prone to getting these boils! He gets them every year at this time.

Most children who develop boils are completely healthy, otherwise.
There are a few conditions that cause reduced immunity and could predispose to recurrent boils, and your child may require evaluation for the same:

• Diabetes (yes! even children can have diabetes)
• Poor hygiene and cracks in the skin (most common cause is scratching in response to heat and sweating)
• Any other condition that makes the child scratch like eczema
• Anemia or iron deficiency is quite common in our country and that is why we advise some sort of oral iron supplementation. The anemia causes a general decrease in immunity and increases the chances of skin and other infections.
• Rarely other diseases that can reduce immunity – these are relatively rare.
• Exposure to other children who are suffering from boils.
• If your child or somebody in the family is a carrier for a special germ called MRSA.

How can I help my child with boils?

The good news is that in most cases, you will do fine on your own. If the boils are not large or the child is not suffering from fever, then do try the following:

• Keep the area very clean, by washing with mild soap and water every few hours.
• Practice general hygiene measures to prevent spread of the infection to others.
• You can give some pain-killers like paracetamol. Please do not ever give aspirin to your child when s/he has fever.
• Apply warm compresses. Take a soft cloth, dip it in warm water and apply on to the boil. When the cloth cools, dip it again in warm water and repeat. Continue this for 10-15 minutes every 6-8 hours. The idea is to have the boil burst open spontaneously and for the pus to drain out. Healing can only take place after the pus drains out.
• It may take many weeks for the area affected by the boil to look normal.
• Do not squeeze or try to pop the boil. This can cause the infection to spread and once it forms an abscess, it may even require surgical drainage.

How can I prevent boils in my child?

• Please wash your child’s hands and face several times in a day, using mild soap and water. In summers especially, make sure that your child bathes at least twice a day.
• General measures to boost immunity – Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Make sure that your child gets enough iron and folic acid. If your diet is predominantly vegetarian give spinach and other green leafy vegetables, beets. Anemia is not usually a problem when the diet is non-vegetarian.
• Do not send your child to school when s/he has boils in the acute stages. This should apply to all children.
• Wash your hands well if you yourself have a boil or sore, before handling your child or children’s clothing.

When should I show my child to his pediatrician?

• The boil becomes very painful or gets much larger.
• If the boil gets better, but then comes back.
• The boil is on the face or spine.
• Fever: your child may develop fever, especially if it is more than 100° F.
• If your child has diabetes or some other immunological problem that does not allow him to fight the infection effectively and there is possibility of rapid spread of infection.

Other treatment modalities that should only be followed on the advice of your doctor

• Antibiotics: This can be in the form of local antibiotic cream or medications given orally. Most children do not need antibiotics. They are the most misused of drugs with terrible long term consequences.
• Minor surgical procedure called Incision & Drainage Of Abscess  – This is performed by the pediatric surgeon and may require anesthesia for the same.

And now for the million dollar question – Do mangoes cause heat boils?

This is an old granny’s tale that gets passed on from generation to generation. Unless your child suffers from allergy to mangoes or from diabetes (the increase in blood sugar due to excessive consumption of the sweet mango may contribute), there is no connection between mangoes and boils.

It just happens that the season for mangoes and the season for boils coincide. We humans are always looking for a correlation and find one even if there is no evidence for it!

Boils are just one of the annoyances of a hot Indian summer! Your child can also suffer from prickly heat or dehydration

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If you have any of your own home remedies that you feel has helped your own child, please feel free to share them in the comments section below.