What is the prognosis (outcome) for a boil?

The majority of boils in healthy people resolve on their own with home care (described above). The prognosis is also excellent for boils that are treated in the health care setting by opening or lancing. Antibiotics may or may not be required after a boil has been lanced by a health care professional. Complications of a boil are rare and are more likely to occur in people with suppressed immune systems. Complications include a worsening or spreading to adjacent areas of skin or soft tissue and very rarely, spread of the infection through the bloodstream to sites elsewhere in the body. Recurrence of the infection is another possible complication, which is more likely in certain types of boils. Recurrence is most common in hidradenitis suppurativa and may also occur in situations in which the cause of the boil or abscess is persistent, such as the clogging of oil ducts seen in cystic acne.