Boils: Causes, Treatment & Prevention - A Comprehensive Guide

Question
I am 26 yearts old male. I have a boil half an inch abocve my belly button. About 2 weeks ago I had a boil 2 inches to the right of my pirivate parts. I grew pretty big and oozed with puss discharge. That boil;I washed it daily and tried not to squeeze it. Then it became just a little itchy. It was there for above 2 weeks until it decided to pop. Blood and puss oozed out of a good size hole that now appeared. The swelling decreased but the discharge continued for about 2 days. Now there still is a small harden dot that feels like a marble under the skin. It doesnt hurt itch but I dont feel comfortable with it being there. PRESENT BOIL---- I recently discovered a zit looking dot above my belly button. I did pop it first. Later, I looked at it and it looked bigger and more red. In time it grew to what the one looked like by my private parts. It is now about 1 inch in diameter with a yellow looking dot towards the center. It did become itchy a litte but like the other one it hurt more. I guess its on a part of the body where there is alot of movement. Today(03/31/04) It was working on something the caused the boil to pop. But it only oozewd very little. I didnt sqeeze it I took a hot shower and let the water hit it. It usaully feels better it hot water but, yet it seems to get bigger. MY QUESTION-- Is there anything that I can do to not cause the boil to come back-Is there any tricks that you may know on how to get rid of the boil. I do take showers and am very clean.-Is the little marble look thing that replaced the other boil something to worry about.--- And last question what can I do now to this boil above my belly button....  Please notify me asap.. It is really uncomfortable and I dont like to take of my shirt because of the exposer to peoples eyes.  

Answer
Hi Jeff,
Are you by chance overweight such that the abdominal fold overlaps the belly button. Do you wear tight pants at the waist and a tight belt in this area? Do you wear jockey shorts instead of boxers? If you are overweight, have you been tested for diabetes? These are all things that can contribute to the formation of boils.
The hard Knots are the cysts themselves that will scar down and remain after the drainage is complete. They may refill and cause this to go through the same process again. As for prevention, a lot depends on the answers to the questions I posed above. Aside from scrupulous cleansing there isn't much more you can do.