Brief Answer: Eradicate carrier state Detailed Answer: Hello and welcome to healthcaremagic I am Dr. Kakkar. I have gone through your concern and I have understood it. Boils or furuncle are actually bacterial infection of/ about the hair follicles often associated with surrounding cellulitis. Staph aureus is the bacterium which is most commonly responsible for recurrent skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) Recurrent boils can happen in people who are carriers of staph aureus. About 30% of people in the general population are carriers of staph aureus. Staph aureus can colonize the nasal as well as cutaneous flora. Therefore apart from giving antibiotics for furuncles/boils it is also important to eradicate the carrier state so as to prevent future boils. If I was the treating doctor I would have advised an oral antibiotic for a week for boils (My empirical choice of oral antibiotic would have been Amoxycillin in combination with clavulanic acid, thrice daily for a week). An OTC topical antibacterial e.g 2% Mupirocin twice daily can be applied over the boil. Along with oral antibiotics, it would hasten the resolution of infection. An OTC pain killer e.g Ibuprofen (bruffen tablets) twice or thrice daily, would provide symptomatic relief from pain and swelling. Eradication of carrier state can be done by applying mupirocin ointment, twice daily for 5 days just inside the external nares/nasal vestibule. Oral rifampin is an effective agent for the eradication of S. aureus carriage. It is usually given along with penicillin group of drugs to prevent development of resistance. Oral rifampin + oral minocycline is also effective for eradication of staph aureus carriage Apart from that utmost attention to personal hygiene, repeated hand washing, testing for blood sugar (to rule out diabetes) and pus culture/sensitivity testing from the boil should also be done. Pus culture and sensitivity testing will identify the causative bacteria and will guide future antibiotic therapy as well. Since your son has received multiple courses of antibiotics in the past, pus culture/ sensitivity testing is therefore indicated, because he might have developed resistance to some of the oral antibiotics. I would advice that you see dermatologist for a prescription. I hope this answers your query. regards

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