FURUNCULOSIS Treatment

Recurrent boils can be a symptom of deranged metabolism such as diabetes mellitus, and they call for thorough medical examination. They may also complicate scabies. The staphylococci which cause the lesions are harboured in the nose, throat, peri-anal skin or other focus, from which they are disseminated over the general surface of the skin. The skin should be washed daily in a bath using hexachlorophene, special attention being paid to the possible primary foci. An appropriate antibiotic cream (determined by sensitivity tests) should be applied to the boils and to the skin immediately surrounding them, and also to the nostrils. In a severe case the patient should take sulphafurazole tablets by mouth, 0-5 g. three times daily for the first month, twice daily for the second and once daily for the third month.