Where There Is No Doctor 2011 203
Treatment:
♦ Put hot compresses over the boil several times a day (see p. 195).
♦ Let the boil break open by itself. After it opens, keep using hot compresses.
Allow the pus to drain, but never press or squeeze the boil, since this can
cause the infection to spread to other parts of the body.
♦ If the abscess is very painful and does not open after 2 or 3 days of hot soaks,
it may help to have it cut open so the pus can drain out. This will quickly
reduce the pain. If possible, get medical help.
♦ If the boil causes swollen nodes or fever, take penicillin tablets (p. 351) or
erythromycin (p. 354) or dicloxicillin (p. 350), take 500 mg by mouth, 4 times a
day for 7 days.
ITCHING RASH, WELTS, OR HIVES
(ALLERGIC REACTIONS IN THE SKIN)
Touching, eating, injecting, or breathing certain things can cause an
itching rash or hives in allergic persons. For more details, see Allergic
Reactions, p. 166.
Hives are thick, raised spots or patches that look like bee stings and itch like
mad. They may come and go rapidly or move from one spot to another.
Be on the watch for any reaction caused by certain medicines, especially
injections of penicillin and antivenoms or antitoxins made from horse serum. A rash
or hives may appear from a few minutes up to 10 days after the medicine has been
injected.
If you get an itching rash, hives, or any other allergic reaction after taking
or being injected with any medicine, stop using it and never use that
medicine again in your life!
This is very important to prevent the danger of ALLERGIC SHOCK (see p. 70).
Medicines used by people with HIV may cause a rash, especially cotrimoxazole
(p. 357) and nevirapine (p. 397). Sometimes the rash can be avoided by starting
with a small amount of medicine and slowly increasing the amount to the full dose.
Treatment of itching:
♦ Bathe in cool water or use cool compresses—cloths soaked in cold water or
ice water.
♦ Compresses of cool oatmeal water also calm itching. Boil the oatmeal in water,
strain it, and use the water when cool. (Starch can be used instead of oats.)
♦ If itching is severe, take an antihistamine like chlorpheniramine (p. 386).
♦ To protect a baby from scratching himself, cut his
fingernails very short, or put gloves or socks over
his hands.