If you have a boil is it bad to pop it on your own?

Maybe...: Incision and drainage after local anesthesia and under sterile conditions would be a much better idea if felt appropriate by the doctor that examines it. In other words, leave it alone until a doctor examines and advises. Self manipulation may result in improvement but more likely in worsening.

Maybe,maybe not: Small boils may respond to local heat application and manual decompression after they begin to drain spontaneously. Significant ones will form a filmlike coating inside the expanding boil that must be disrupted or it will re-accumulate and continue to enlarge. Some are amenable to an office based procedure under a local, others could require an operating room for more extensive work.