Eli5: Why does soaking an infected wound or toe in hot water draw out pus? How does it work, and how practical is this practice?

Question

Eli5: Why does soaking an infected wound or toe in hot water draw out pus? How does it work, and how practical is this practice?

In: Biology

Answer 1

I’m in no way an expert but I believe it probably works at least in two ways. First of all, heating the wound will increase the blood flow by dilating the vessels and thereby your body inceases its local repair activities.

Drawing out the pus is also partly done by water dissolving the proteins that cover the wound. Then osmosis takes care of the rest by dissolving the pus and pulling it out and the water forcing itself into the wound.

I’m not sure how it works if the infected area is no open wound. It might simply be the increased activation by heat. Thereby making the process go faster together with making the outer layer softer