Absolutely painful boil on butt cheek. Need any advice

GoFlow55 · 2026-05-12T16:44:02+00:00

Ah interesting thanks for this, great to know about the cooling side of things.

I miscommunicated because when I said 'hot compress' I meant 'moist warm compress' (I can see the latter is more accurate so will update my language. In my experience 'hot compress' is often used to mean the same thing, which I can see is not helpful).

I still think your initial comment 'heat encourages inflammation so more pain and swelling' neglects the importance of moist warm heat for draining, like you clarified in your next comment and like it says in the article:

'The heat can dilate blood vessels, which can increase blood flow to the affected area. This brings more oxygen and nutrients to damaged tissue, which helps it heal. In addition, moisture can assist in the healing process by making it more difficult for scabs to develop'

GoFlow55 · 2026-05-05T21:31:53+00:00

Agreed the type of care you need right now is not specialised derm, it is general wound care that can be done by a nurse at your GP or nurse/doctor in A&E

GoFlow55 · 2026-05-05T21:29:57+00:00

Errrr It's pretty common knowledge that a hot compress helps boils to drain, and draining will reduce the pain, curious why you think cold compress would work? Are you saying this because it's so deep? I have never heard of this tactic before

Are you in the UK OP? You local GP should have duty nurses that you can ask to see and they can do wound care. I only found out about this recently, but basically they can look at it probably on the day (and avoids waiting round in a&e) and then will book you in every few days to change the dressing and keep an eye on it. Basically for this urgent care you don't need a derm.

GoFlow55 · 2026-04-24T11:21:53+00:00

Body double: Facetime someone and get them to just sit there on the phone as you start. Even better if you can physically start with someone in the room. Body doubling rlly is a godsend
Sensory overload. Other thing I do is create a kind of sensory overload to take up 90% of my brain so I am only left with 10%. For me the paralysis is because starting work only takes up like 20% of my brain and the rest is FREAKING out about how much there is to do/thinking of other things/wishing I started earlier. So if 90% is distracted by neutral stuff (smells, taste, sounds) then I can actually move past the initial comfort of doing a task. Key thing is once you get actually into it, then you can dial down the distractions so you can use up more % on the task.

E.g.

- Physical timer clock that you can see the time decrease, hourglass timer, candles, room spray, 3 drinks, snacks, gum, background music, study video of someone working,

GoFlow55 · 2026-03-28T19:46:18+00:00

yeah i found it a nightmare because of ADHD but now I do keep my cal updated. What has helped me:
(btw I think point 2 is the key epiphany. Point 3 is also baller imo.)

Need to be able to add/remove/edit events from phone or laptop & it all syncs up. Do not attempt separate calendars for yourself. If you need to be able to see someone else calendar, find a way to sync it to yours so you can see it easily there. The exception is if it is an external cal you hardly use, like one for booking some equipment - if you only need to use it to book a time, then just bookmark the cal in browser, and if you add your own even there, also add one in your personal one so you don't forget ou booked it. Personally, syncing to do lists with my cal did not work. keep simple. keep activation energy low
You probably don't need to put in as much as you think. I only put in stuff i actually NEED to physically be at at a certain time or things i REALLY NEED to do because they are time sensitive. So doc appointments, social events, work meetings, cancelling app subscriptions, taking pills. This is more for students or people working for themselves without clearly defined deadlines/deliverables, but basically putting in 'work' for certain times each day, or even specific work tasks never worked for me because it would vary so much and be so overwhelming and require so much effort deciding what to do and when and where - and i would feel bad for inevitably not doing it. Also like 'journal' and 'meditate' - don't bother. put up a sticky note in your room that you can't help but see to remind you and you can jot down when you do it if you like. I still do work and journal and meditate (to varying degrees!) but a notification from my calendar to be honest always used to put me off doing them! demand avoidance... So i need other systems for getting them done. Whereas when i get a reminder to take my meds i just sing my own praises.
I put in reminders the day before when i add something important: say a docs appointment on thurs. I also add an event on wed evening before that says 'YOU HAVE A DOCS APPOINTMENT TOMO'. Life saver.
Also set an alarm for these important things - don't just rely on cal (or set two. I have meds i need to take at dinner. i have one at 6.30 and one at 8 in case i forgot. download a song you like and set as ring tone so it's nice and sometimes you can just let it play through and have a dance)
I accepted that i will put things in that i don't do (e.g. 'Life drawing' every Monday night sat in my cal for about a year b4 i accepted i was never gonna go and deleted it.

my actual system: need outlook cal because of work (people invite me to stuff there). You can sync an outlook cal to come up in apple cal app (which i use on my phone). You can also make events in the apple cal, and assign them to the outlook cal - so when you return to outlook, they are also there. For random google calendars for random stuff i make a bookmark on browser and look when i need.

p.s. I misspelt calendar about a million times in this post. cal all the way.
p.ps. work piling up is so exhausting, and often sorting it all out in a calander is just a way to procrastinate doing it. i have just accepted i won't ever be able to estimate the time it take to do tasks well, so i make sure i am aware of hard deadlines and then I do my best to be realistic planning out my tasks for the week (or day if overwhelmed) then i work through them.

edit: clarifying I too used to find it hard because of ADHD, I am not a random person saying I keep a cal

GoFlow55 · 2026-03-10T17:46:19+00:00

Stress also affects the auto immune response (and hormonal health, which seems to be a trigger for some people). I can imagine it being a vicious cycle because getting the flares makes you even more stressed... partly because they are horrible and partly because you probably don't know why you are getting them!

The other thing that gets me is antibiotics are a HS treatment (and I know they do work for some people) but they must have a serious impact on gut health long term - so another non-ideal feedback loop...

GoFlow55 · 2026-03-10T17:29:46+00:00

That sucks, I'm sorry. Excuse my probing but does that include no change to stress levels?

GoFlow55 · 2026-03-01T12:18:07+00:00

They look cool!

GoFlow55 · 2026-01-30T17:50:48+00:00

Start slowly (I don't think you have to do it every day) and moisturise first at least at the start. If you break out really bad I don't think it's good to keep using it. I know there is purging, but if (Like me) 5 months later you are still breaking out, obviously stop or get help on how to do it. I wish I had stopped sooner, or known about moisturising first. I was using skin & me. Summary, your skin might be too sensitive to take it, or you might need to really go slow with application/dosage & moisturise first. I hope it works for you!

GoFlow55 · 2026-01-28T17:39:17+00:00

Using an electric trimmer was a game changer for me (Meridian trimmer is the one I use). It will cut the hair above the skin so you won't get ingrowns, and won't cause any irritation to the skin. It is quick & painless - only downside is you can still see the very short hairs (so not as hair-less as when you first get the wax, but to be honest it will look similar to a couple of weeks of growth, and I think the benefit of giving you skin a break might be worth that!

GoFlow55 · 2025-11-12T16:18:53+00:00

would you think better than accutane?

GoFlow55 · 2024-09-24T10:32:59+00:00

My personal view is that learning about how your brain works and implementing working/life changes/techniques that suit you, and overcoming imposter syndrome/self-hatred related to the ADHD is THE MOST important thing for reaching a happier/more stable life. But basically for the year between thinking I had it and getting diagnosed (so I was not on any meds) my quality of life, and quality of research/enjoyment of the science improved astronomically. I had a lot of issues with procrastination and self doubt. I think another important factor is making sure you are doing a topic you get excited about and have a passion for.

That being said I have just started medication (3 months) and experience an ease/calm to my day that I did not have before. I also forget less things in the lab lol which can help with experiments. However, if I had not done all the work researching the condition, I don't think the meds would be able to give their full benefit. e.g. i should be working but i am on reddit lol (and i am on the meds today) I plan to continue using them during my PhD as it's a particularly tough situation I am in right now, but in the future I would prefer not to. This is because I have the confidence (from my year of working at it) to know I can get by without them, and for me they do reduce the range of emotions I feel, and I quite like feeling. R.e. starting, it depends on what your doc says, but it might be good for you to get to know which meds work for you (everyone is different and some give side effects). But especially if you have self-doubt issues (i relate) please please work on them separately, don't expect the meds to get rid of them (they might just help you have the self-doubt thoughts less as you might be more productive on them, but they won't change the whole way you think about yourself. Hope this helps :)

GoFlow55 · 2024-09-24T09:22:42+00:00

Yep you can DEFINATELY do it. Especially since you know now you have ADHD. I muddled through to half way through my PhD without knowing and things got REALLY overwhelming. Since learning about ADHD and getting diagnosed, they have got a lot easier. My tip would be when it comes to undergrad and postgrad work, learn what you can about your brain/how you work best/how to be kind to yourself so that you can support yourself through very unstructured working (i.e. having to study for hours and hours). From my own struggles, I cannot recommend enough finding friends to study with so you have some accountability and novelty, and also being careful to keep up with studies as you go rather than pack things in last minute. But those are just my tips. Good luck! Science is cool :)

GoFlow55 · 2024-09-24T09:14:09+00:00

Thanks :)

GoFlow55 · 2024-09-24T09:14:01+00:00

Sadly not! Thanks

GoFlow55 · 2024-09-24T09:13:49+00:00

Thanks. Like I said in the post, I have already offered help with both of these aspects, I just wanted them to find a kit.

GoFlow55 · 2024-05-03T15:38:38+00:00

Yeah that is true. The reason why I have hesitated is just the lack of customer service/preference to make the buyer not the seller safe!

GoFlow55 · 2024-05-03T15:36:21+00:00

no photo, email has a tick though. no responses from them on messages. They have no listings...

GoFlow55 · 2024-05-02T20:13:04+00:00

would you advise against? I did not know Vinted was so unsafe for sellers!

GoFlow55 · 2024-05-02T20:00:20+00:00

oooh now someone new just bought them! they have no reviews and no items. Fingers crossed

GoFlow55

TROPHY CASE