Boils Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Frederick B Gaupp, MD

Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

View Full Profile

When to Seek Medical Care

• You have a boil and start running a fever.



• The skin around the boil turns red or red streaks appear.



• The pain becomes severe.



• The boil does not drain.



• A second boil appears.



• You have a heart murmur, diabetes, any problem with your immune system, or are taking medications that suppress the immune system (for example, corticosteroids or chemotherapy for cancer) and you develop a boil.



• Boils usually do not require immediate emergency attention. If you are in poor health and you develop high fever and chills along with the infection, a trip to a hospital's emergency department is needed.