It can be dangerous to squeeze a boil around your lips or nose because the infection can be carried to the brain. Other danger zones are the armpits, groin, and the breast of a nursing woman. M.D. If there are any red lines radiating from it, or if you feel any general body symptoms like fever and chills or swelling of lymph nodes, he adds, see a doctor because the infection may have spread. Diabetics are especially prone to such dangerous boils, Adrian Connolly, M.D., says, and may need a course of antibiotics. Sometimes recurrent boils can be symptoms of more serious diseases.
Boils are painful and unsightly.
Sometimes they leave scars. Occasionally they can even be dangerous. But for the most part, you can treat most of them safely at home. Bring things to a head. It will come to a head, drain, and heal a lot faster.