Boils on the thigh

DEFINITION

A boil on the thigh is defined as a bacterial inflammation of a hair follicle in the thigh area. The thigh is a typical, preferred location for the development of a boil. In technical jargon, this is referred to as a predilection site.

A boil can be felt as a heated, reddened, painful knot on the thigh. Often the neighboring tissue is also affected. If several boils on the thigh lie next to each other and merge with each other, it is called a carbuncle. If such a furuncle on the thigh develops again and again, medical terminology refers to it as a furunculosis, the cause of which should definitely be clarified by a doctor.

Causes of a furuncle on the thigh

The causes of a furuncle on the thigh can be manifold. A condition for the development are injuries to the hairy skin of the thigh. Bacteria can penetrate both through visible skin damage and through inconspicuous injuries.

This can be caused by various bacteria. As a rule, they are so-called staphylococci. Often it is Staphylococcus aureus.

Most staphylococci belong to the healthy, normal skin flora and have no general disease value. Only under certain conditions do they multiply increasingly and cause bacterial inflammation. This can result in such a boil.

The bacteria penetrate, along a hair follicle, into the injured skin. Within a few hours or days, a deep, inflammatory infiltration develops. An uncomplicated boil bursts open independently after about a week.

After that, the pus empties, which relieves the boil and allows it to heal. At the end of the healing process there is usually a small scar left. The development of the small injuries on the thigh and thus the development of the entry ports for the bacteria can be favored by friction, increased sweating, tight-fitting or abrasive pants. In addition, the risk of developing a bacterial inflammation is higher in persons with a weakened immune system, for example in the case of diabetes mellitus.