Is this a boil?! Help!

[Reesewithafork]

This appeared as a tiny spot after doing a quick shave. I suspect now the razor may have been blunt.
it just keeps getting bigger and more painful and now the area around it is swollen and red too.

I’ve tried magnesium sulphate paste today - is it supposed to make it bigger before it dries it out?

I’ve had little spots before but nothing like this. Is it a boil? Do I try to burst it? I think I might pass out with pain if I try. It looks worse than it is in the picture and I’m desperate to get rid!

HELP

Just keep using mag sulph paste and bathe with warm salty water 3x a day.

It seems to have become huge since using the paste today.. is this part of the process? I itching to pop the bloody thing although it feels quite firm not like a bubble

Yes,that's what it does, draws it all out from under the surface. Wait until tomorrow,it'll be even bigger!!

Oh Christ.
thanks for preparing me 😂

i guess a big fat no to taking a needle to
it then!

I didn’t expect it to be so bloody painful

Yep definitely getting bigger! The plaster seems to have angered it somewhat also
so I’m going to use gauze and tape overnight instead. I dread to think how big it’s going to be by morning and by Christ the throbbing pain is hideous. Hoping ibuprofen will help! how long do these things usually last?! It’s been three days

Have you tried a hot compress? I'd use a flannel with water as hot as you can stand (obviously be careful not to burn yourself!). You might find that bursts it.

If still bad in the morning it might be worth sending a picture to your gp in case it needs antibiotics.

Hope it's better soon!

Op that's coming along nicely in that last pic.

Mag sulphate overnight and you may find it bursts itself, or it will be a very easy job for you to.

Carbuncle

I’ve had mag sulphate on overnight and it hasn’t burst but has got bigger again! I’m hoping it will burst today.
if not I’ll call the GP, I’m now a bit scared to burst it myself as it hurts so much!

Hot compresses today OP and it will burst. You can ask a pharmacist to have a look, they can advise if the GP is needed. **

Definitely don’t burst it yourself; that can push the infection back into your body and cause all sorts of problems.

Hot, hot as you stand! And a call to your gp!

Not sure about this - it can introduce new bacteria from dirty fingers etc but the infection is already IN your body.

Hot compresses , salty water and keeping going with the paste. It's obviously doing its job.

Beautiful!! Keep us updated with photos please!

Here you go!
its still throbbing away and growing in size. I’ve been given a week’s course of antibiotics but am desperate for it to burst. Been doing a lot of hot compresses but so far they don’t seem to have made much of a difference.

The Beast, as I have named it, is working to its own schedule.

Exactly. There's a reason that these things come to the surface, they need to be let out.

Surely it can’t get much bigger now?!
its the most painful it’s been so far as well so I’m really hoping this is the peak before it bursts!

🫣oh my god that looks horrific. You poor thing it must be so painful. I hope it bursts for you today (and it isn’t one of those annoying ones that seem to silently and secretly deflate) and that you feel much better afterwards.

You have great resolve, I would have forced a pop by now!

Maybe cysts are different @MrsPelligrinoPetrichor? I burst one a few months ago and ended up with a horrendous lymph node infection: the dr I saw said it was because you should never burst a boil or cyst because some of the infection can be pushed further into the body: it doesn’t all come out.

Just pop it

the pain is likely from the swelling

pop it and it’ll instantly feel better

id have popped it from your second picture

Did the Gp say it will burst or go down? It looks so painful op. Hope it clears up soon x

You can in theory spread infection by squeezing. If pus and gunk is contained in a sac/follicle/membrane etc and you can squeeze it up and outward without any pressure downward and it all comes out lovely that's one thing, but if you apply pressure and instead in kind of bursts through the base then infection can enter other layers of the skin/underlying anatomy.
Up and out not down and in!!!
Good luck OP

Ive had several of these the size of a pea and they were super painful that must be excruciating to have anything touch it .

It's huge. Well done fore bearing up OP.