What Is a Furuncle?
4. How Is a Furuncle Diagnosed?
You may not need to see a doctor to diagnose a furuncle. If you are familiar with the symptoms, you may recognize a boil on your own. In such cases, you can either wait for the boil to drain on its own or use self-care measures to help it along. However, if your symptoms are more serious, if they last more than two weeks, or they keep coming back, it may be necessary for you to see your doctor to have it evaluated.
Your doctor can typically diagnose a boil on the basis of visual examination alone. It may also be appropriate to take a small sample of the fluid from inside the boil and have it tested in a lab. This can be helpful to determine the bacteria that is causing the infection, which may have a bearing on treatment options. However, it is usually not necessary unless the infection hasn’t responded to the standard treatment.
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