• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Furuncle

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Infection - hair follicle; Hair follicle infection; Boils

Symptoms:

The lesions themselves are the primary symptoms:

• Small firm tender red nodule in skin (early)
• Fluctuant nodule (later)
• Located with hair follicles
• Tender, mildly to moderately painful
• May be single or multiple
• Usually pea-sized, but may be as large as a golf ball
• Swollen
• Pink or red
• May grow rapidly
• May develop white or yellow centers ( pustules )
• May weep, ooze, crust
• May join together or spread to other skin areas
• Increasing pain as pus and dead tissue fills the area
• Decreasing pain as the area drains
• Skin redness or inflammation around the lesion

Less common symptoms include the following:

• Fever
• Fatigue
• General discomfort, uneasiness, or malaise

Note: Itching ( pruritus ) of the skin may occur before the lesion develops.

Signs and tests:

Diagnosis is primarily based on the appearance of the skin. Skin or mucosal biopsy culture may show staphylococcus or other bacteria.

• Review Date: 11/13/2006
• Reviewed By: Kevin Berman, MD, PhD, Associate, Atlanta Center for Dermatologic Disease, Atlanta, GA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.