Contents:
- Medical Video: Tops Pops of All Time - Dr. Gilmore Treats Large Pus-Filled Cysts (Procedures, Under Pressure)
- What is a boil?
- What is acne?
- Then, what is the difference between boils and zits?
- Appearance
- Location
- Care
Medical Video: Tops Pops of All Time - Dr. Gilmore Treats Large Pus-Filled Cysts (Procedures, Under Pressure)
Acne and boils can look very similar. Especially, if both of them don't have "eyes", the white part is visible on it. Both of them look red and the lump feels painful. Though acne and boils are different causes and treatments. If at first it's difficult to distinguish between the two, you might choose the wrong treatment. Well before handling it, first make sure the difference in boils and zits below.
What is a boil?
Boils are also called furuncles that arise due to a part of infected hair follicles. Often, this infection is caused by staphylococcus bacteria. This bacterium will trigger painful swelling. Slowly the boil will fill with pus so that the size of the boil enlarges.
Some boils can also grow to form a growth and enlargement called carbunkel. This karbunkel is a severe infection that develops from a boil.
Karbunkel is more painful than boils and can leave a permanent scar. Karbunkel also sometimes causes flu-like symptoms, such as fever, chills, and fatigue.
What is acne?
Acne is a condition in which the pores of the skin are blocked. Pores are small holes that channel oil out to keep the skin moist.
This blockage is often caused by excess oil production by oil glands in the skin and the accumulation of dead skin cells. Sometimes, the presence of the bacterium Propionyl bacterium acnes enters the skin and makes pimples reddish, sore and irritated.
People often experience a lot of acne during puberty, which is when the body makes more hormones that can increase oil production to excess.
Acne can appear in various forms, starting from whiteheads, blackheadand papules. Some pimples also contain pus so they look very similar to boils that also cause pain.
Then, what is the difference between boils and zits?
Appearance
The difference between boils and zits, especially when they are just beginning to form, actually looks very similar. Both boils and zits will look red and lumpy. However, over time, the growth of boils will be much larger than zits.
Boils will arise from a small size like the size of an eraser attached to a pencil, and then will grow to large. If your pimples are very large, chances are that it is a boil not a pimple.
Even though both look like lumps, the difference in boils and other pimples is that some boils often look like swelling while zits are not.
Location
Acne often appears on the face, chest, or back. Because, these locations are where the oil glands are very active and can clog the pores.
Whereas, often boils arise in areas where you often sweat or in areas of the body that often rub against clothes. For example in the armpits, groin, buttocks, or thighs. But both of them can appear on the neck or in the nose and around the nose.
Care
The cause is different, then boils and zits have different treatments.
Reported on the Medical News Today page, boils can be treated by placing warm compresses on it so they can help reduce pain and can encourage boils to dry out quickly.
Non-prescription painkillers such as acetaminophen (paracetamol) or ibuprofen can also help reduce pain from painful ulcers.
If treated with a doctor, doctors usually give antibiotic ointments designed to fight bacteria in boils. Or maybe prescribed oral antibiotics to prevent the infection from spreading to the bloodstream.
While different from the treatment for acne. Treatments for acne include:
- Wash your face twice a day with clean water and a facial cleanser that fits on the skin.
- Use products that contain benzoyl peroxide or salicylic acid, to reduce oil and build up dead skin cells in the pores.
- Apply moisturizer to moisturize dry skin caused by the treatment of acne that is being used.
- Exfoliate the skin 1-2 times a week with a soft scrub to scrape away dead skin cells.
- Avoid squeezing zits because they can cause scarring on the skin.
