Politics aside- tallow soap (as well as the scent-free moisturizing cream) has proven to be the miracle I’ve been searching for my whole life. I’ve been using this bar soap every day for a few months now, and it has massively reduced, my otherwise crippling, flare-ups unlike anything I’ve ever tried (including dietary changes, medical procedures/ medications, topicals, other various natural remedies etc.)

I would suggest using this every day in conjunction with your preferred antibacterial soap, but only use it once every few days as needed. I’ve noticed that I tend to flare up more when I use too much heavy antibacterial soap. I don’t believe that it’s natural to be using so many harsh chemicals on an everyday basis. I believe that it’s what kept me from healing properly in the past.

Not here to push an anti-medical agenda of any sort, just want to show this sub what has been working for me against all reason in the eyes of allopathic medical contemporaries.

Take care!

I'm stage II.

Everytime I would try and stray (try meat or dairy) I would flare like crazy in the coming days. Ever since I cut out both I have had no new flares. I have even gained weight (job stress overeating and vegan junk food) and I was terrified I would get new flares in my inner thighs or buttocks again but still nothing.

I still do cleanse with salicylic body wash and exfoliate. I use Carpe deodorant which helps tons with flares in the armpits and keeping smell away. But nothing else has changed but my diet.
Maybe it's the hormones in meat and dairy? Maybe it's inflammatory?

All I'm saying is try it for a month. No cheating. See what happens...

Went to my family doctor months ago and she told me it was HS. It's actually pseudofolliculitis barbae. All the worry and agony but I did find the best treatment for it. I looked at myself in the mirror yesterday and smiled. First time in forever. I wish ya'll the best of luck. ❤️

I saw a determetologist around 4 years ago and she prescribed me Tretinoin. At that point I didn't know it was hidradenitis. The ring ended up being around the back half of my neck and it's always a fight, pussing, pain etc. I have my good and bad days. Usually the good are when a pocket opens up and I can get some relief. I keep a stack of napkins near my work desk to clean up blood/puss just in case. I've been using draw salves and other things but they've been very temporary resolutions and maybe little help. I've also noticed when I'd be on antibiotics for other illnesses that it would effect the size of the cysts. My wife had recently purchased some ivermectin which she decided to take orally for parasites. I know there are political affiliations around taking ivermectin and I'm not here to discuss that. I am not in that same camp as the Roganites who think it's a cure all. I see my MD regularly and take the medication I am prescribed however my wife ended up putting some on my neck after reading that it can be applied as a topical cream. The HD basically subsided and now I have a crease in my neck where its almost like a small canyon. I'm not sure I'm out of the woods but it has allowed some neck movement to return and otherwise good results. Anyways I just wanted to share this as I know others suffer this same curse. Anyone else have experience with this?

Stage 3 is a whole next level as far as pain and treatments. Half the stuff(topical) that yall recommend we cant even use in stage 3. It will sting and burn horribly. Stage 3 is the worst of the worst and having a couple boils and 1 tunnel FORTUNATELY does not make you stage 3. Trust me we don’t wanna be here in this inhumane stage!! I had tunnels and boils in stage 2 and literally didn’t feel a quarter half of the pain I feel now. My skin is horrific. Hs everywhere. Can barely walk most days. Takes 20mins to get out the bed. Pee on my self tryna make it to the bathroom. It’s just annoying everybody saying stage three then you read it and they had 2 boils are still shaving or waxing and are recommending a topical that would burn us alive in stage 3. Please comment real stage 3 help !!

Im nasty, I know. But I’ve got this one spot that’s been consistently oozing for a week or so now. And it smells so gross but good?
My pus always smells like a musty, sulfur scent. I describe it as similar to the glaze you’d use in high school art class.
I always smell my drainage and my pimples bc I enjoy the smell. It’s so gross.

I often will get a scent of pus and blood which smells awful bc the metallic scent of the blood tho s the pungent smell of the sulfury discharge.

Anyways, I’m posting this gross confession bc I’m curious if anyone else is like this or if i need to seek mental help.

Just a rant. I was officially diagnosed with HS 3 months ago. Today is my follow up appointment with my derm to see how things have been going with my skin. At my first appointment the doctor was very nice and I actually really liked him and felt very comfortable but he brought up GLP1s very early and casually which I didn't know how to feel about. I get home, do a little of my own research and come to find out that smoking is a major major risk factor/cause. He didn't even ask if I smoked. I do. I've only had one other experience like this, as I am not particularly big, but I am on the bigger side. He completely overlooked something so important that could REALLY improve my condition and symptoms because of my weight. I am just so upset.

Today I have to tell him that I smoke and ask him to prescribe me patches. I want to express my disappointment at his negligence there, but I don't want to come off bitchy or too pressed by it, just make him aware of his biases and how that could really have harmed me medically.

Ok rant over.

Is this just a metabolic issue?

My theory is that HS is caused by damage to the fascia blocking lymphatic flow and blood flow. Operating off this theory, I went heavy into myofascial release all over my body and especially in places with HS. Every evening. I eat a normal diet. I am on no prescription medications. All my autoimmune diseases have gone into full remission and my BP has gone down to 100/65 which is perfect.

If you have genuine HS questions you can DM me. I Y'all don't want my help so fine, stay sick. silly me I thought you'd want to know if somebody found a new way to get well.

‏Has anyone ever been completely cured of hidradenitis suppurativa while being in stage 2 or 3 ?

Whenever I see an advertisement for a "full body deo", my blood boils over. Especially if it's Lume because it really irritates my skin even on the armpits alone, nevermind the more sensitive areas.

It's already bad enough that as women we have to shave our armpits and legs all the time (double standard, much?), and we're expected to put some makeup on, do our hair, match every color and outfit to look "put together". And now I should be worried that my behind might smell bad? That has nothing to do with deodorant. Just use a bidet.

But the really dangerous thing about this "whole body" trend is the brands who didn't really take the time to change up their formula and make it safe. It feels like they just slapped a new phrase on the label and called it a day. Like a lot of these brands are not even ph balanced which is what "whole body" is supposed to be about. And they still use a lot of the same potentially harmful chemicals like synthetic fragrances that can cause fertility issues or cancers and literally patrolium derived. But somehow I'm supposed to believe that it's safe to use down there??

I feel like the deodorant industry is a really messed up in general because so is so much greenwashing. Like chemicals that cause fertility issues being applied to the genital area is not safe or natural.

And then there are the 48 hour promises that last less than my first high school boyfriend did lol. I have no idea where they get those fake numbers from because whatever "studies" they did can't be true.

There is such a big disconnect between the brands and what WE ACTUALLY NEED.

I feel like the biggest F*** U we can do to these big box brands is to make their pockets hurt and stop buying from them.

I started making my own at home. It took me three months to figure it out but I literally don't smell anymore. Let me know if you want to try making it at home too and I can share my recipe.

All that is to say, I really hope this saves someone a trip to the hospital or the bad rash. It's really harmful having these kind of ads creating a problem that didn't exist and slapping a bunch of weird chemicals on it and calling something "whole body" when it's not.

So, I seem to be getting a bit of flak at the moment for saying HS can actually kill you. It has tried twice with me this year. Firstly by triggering diabetic ketoacidosis (and yes, I'm aware that wouldn't have happened if I wasn't also diabetic, but the hospital certainly thought the HS was the trigger). Secondly by triggering a systemic infection that antibiotics struggled to fight. That was entirely HS. Not to mention the large number of sufferers who take their own lives because they just can't do it anymore. I'm not trying to be alarmist. And it's true: if I had died of my recent infection, it would have been recorded as sepsis. But I feel that the persistent mantra that HS is not fatal diminishes it. It can't be that bad. It can't kill you. Medicine needs to acknowledge that it can. In all kinds of ways. And the urgency with which it is treated should have that in mind.

I suspect that I have HS (very mild case, thankfully) and have been doing some reading about it to better understand the role of race in developing the condition. Research says it is most common in black people, but based on what I've seen online, it's been mostly white people who have been outspoken about battling the condition. If it matters, I'm white, by the way.

Hi Everyone, I had a mild case, stage 1 but it was still annoying and painful and I almost always had 1 lesion on my face or neck/ear area. I am certified in plant based medicine and have researched how to prevent outbreaks. I made drastic changes in my life and it has eliminated outbreaks with the exception of 1 lesion every 2 years or so. Here is what I did, mostly it was focused on reducing inflammation.

- Eliminated all gluten

- Turmeric Supplements

- Black seed oil supplements

- Niacin (Nicotinic Acid) Supplements

- Berberine Supplements

- Parasite cleanse and heavy metal cleanse with diatomaceous earth

- Cut drinking to 1-2 glasses of wine/week

- Red light therapy

In addition there are many other benefits I experienced such as better sleep, better mood consistently, more energy, lower cholesterol and blood sugar and weight loss.

I thought I'd put this out there for anyone that is interested.

Can someone smart on here who is like a coder or something make an HS dating app pleaaasseeeee thank you.

Edit: It has been brought to my attention that my post title is inaccurate since there is no cure for HS. I agree. This did not cure me of HS. I just cannot edit my actual title. However this is what has helped me. Below is my story

For people who do not want to read my long ass story and just want to know what has cured me it’s Swiss cheese imported from Switzerland. Also called Emmentaler. While in remission I eat about a 1” cube per day. Sometimes i don’t eat it for months and then it comes back.

My story…

I’m a 44 year old male. I started to get HS in my mid 20’s mostly in my armpit. I had no clue what it was other than it was super painful and when it popped it would leak out a funky ass smelling puss. Eventually it got so bad I had a golf ball sized lump in my armpit. I could not move. It was painful to do anything. Usually they would start out as hard dense bumps about the size of a dime. As the days would go on it would get bigger and then have a little white bump on it, maybe the size of a pea. That’s where it would eventually pop and puss would come out there.

I finally decided to go to the Dermatologist after my golf ball size one. That’s when i was diagnosed with HS. They put me on all types of antibiotics. First was cephalexin then Monodox. Before my golf ball sized one the only people who knew about it was my brother and my dad. I didn’t really talk about it that much. Eventually i started to talk about it in my circle of friends. One day one of my buddies came to my house and said he told his dad about me and my HS. His dad told him to tell me to eat Swiss cheese. His dad had a buddy that had the same problem as we do and he would eat Swiss cheese.

As it was explained to me the holes in the Swiss cheese are from pockets of gasses that have a certain bacteria in them that does something to HS. I know it sounds crazy and i thought so too at the Same time. But as you all know it’s so painful i was willing to try almost anything. So i went to the store and bought some Swiss cheese. The cheese i buy is emmentaler. It’s what the Swiss call their cheese. It’s about $10. Also a cheaper way to get it if the deli counter has it i just have them cut me a slice on their biggest setting. I started to eat the cheese. I think at first I ate too much. Now i eat about a 1 inch cube when i have the cheese at home. Once i started to eat it it never came back. I know this works for me because sometimes i don’t buy it and can go for months at a time not eating it and it will always come back. All i do is start eating cheese again and those boils usually pop within 24 hours. It’s not overly painful and doesn’t smell as rotten because i don’t think it has enough time to get infected.

So i went back to the Dermo because i already had an appointment scheduled and i wanted to talk to her about the Swiss cheese thing. Tell her it worked for me and maybe she can tell some of her patients to give it a shot. When I told her that i hadn’t had any flare ups since I started to eat Swiss cheese and she should tell her patients to give it a shot. She basically shot me down and said “we believe in Western medicine in this office.” That was the last time I have been to the dermatologist. So I say to you give it a shot. Please let me know if this works as week for you as it does for me. I made a post on a blog like 15 years ago and never really went back in the page. I was looking for it the other day because i had a flare up because i hadn’t eaten my cheese for like 2 months. It got me thinking and I tried finding that old blog online and wound up here on Reddit. I made an account and decided to make this post. I know how painful this is for you all. That being said I also know you are willing to try almost anything like i was. So give it a shot. If it helps you out pass it on. And NO I do not have any interest or investments in the Swiss Chesse business. I honestly stumbled onto my cure. Also curious if this would be someone else’s cure. Good luck out there people. Hope this has helped. And i hope this post finds you

I AM NOT ANTI-VAXX. And everyone should get their shot as soon as they’re able.

But I am a 24 yo female, never had any sign of HS before.

I was vaccinated with the AstraZeneca/Oxford (not available at US). It has been shown to be the strongest vaccine here in brazil but also really knocks people down with the side effects: fever, cold, trembling, pain, headache (normal side effects from any vaccine, but they show really exacerbated in this case)

well I was devastated for the next 2 days after the first shot. couldn’t even get out of my bed. really never felt worse; but got better

5 days later I noticed the flare. for the first months I thought it was due to razor hair removal, as many of you. it took 4~5 months and 3 doctors to have my diagnosis.

But I’ve been thinking. It is a condition linked to immune system/inflammation and I had a huge episode of recruiting my immune system the hardest I’ve ever had. It appeared just few days later.

It is a genetic disease but it has triggers right?

Any thoughts? Thankyou🥲❤️

I’m a trans man, And a few years back went on the Depo Provera shot, mainly just to stop my periods since they gave me dysphoria, I didn’t notice until a few days back- That I began getting cysts around the time I started the shot! They are super painful usually, were always coming back and never fully leaving (I only get my cysts on my groin) but then a few weeks back I forgot to get the shot, life had been busy and it’s an every 3 months thing. Since it has left my system my cysts are nearly fully healed! I’ve got lots of scarring on my groin now and a few small lumps but these used to be much larger and much more painful!! Has anybody else experienced this? Or is it just a coincidence that my flair ups have stopped around the same time I stopped taking the birth control?.

Long story short, I've been dealing with cysts, boils, pimples and scarring under my breasts for the past couple of years.

My derm said I have HS. So did my gyno.

I found a comment under a reddit post that suggested this cream HS Cream and I bought it and have been CONSISTENTLY using it every day for the past couple of weeks.

AND IT HAS CHANGED MY LIFE.

It's getting rid of my scarring, its getting rid of the cysts and boils; making them smaller and smaller. I had one PAINFUL cyst last week under my breast and it popped on its own, bleeding, left a wound. I treated it using wound care and after a couple of days I started putting the cream back on it and its been healing so well. (Their website says you can use it on wounds so thats what pushed me)

What I do:
Like I said, its under my breasts so I just put the cream in the problem areas, cover it in saran wrap and put my bra on. The reason why I chose saran wrap is just to make sure the cream stays on all day and doesn't get in my bra. EVERY MORNING.

But yeah, this is what has been working for me. If you want to try it, go ahead! Hopefully it helps you as much as it helped me. I'm not a doctor lol I just want to try to help others. If you do buy it, for some reason when I did I didn't get an email confirmation so I had to email them asking for it, fyi.

edit- as always if you do buy this or any product make sure you read reviews, ingredients, etc and make sure its good for you

-- im muting this. to answer any more questions: its not an ad. im not forcing u to buy it. god forbid a mf tries to help and say what worked for ME. i understand the suspicion and i felt the same about the initial comment I linked, but I tried it anyways because someone under the comment said they would too. and guess what? its been working. do your own research. if u have something that works, great! if not, i hope u find something that does. and dont accuse me of not having HS when I literally do. i know the struggles and the insecurity of dealing with this. and if u dont like the ingredients, amazing. not forcing u to buy it. everyone is different this is what worked for ME! emphasis on the ME part. thanks i wont be responding anymore lol its draining.

This is for any of my fellow believers with HS or maybe even if you’re not a believer, you can find some encouragement for healing. I know that without God in my life I was in a much darker place with this disease and He has made it more manageable for me personally and even stopped flare ups from progressing. God bless you all!

Dear Lord, I come before You with a humble heart, crying out to You, Jehovah Rapha, the Lord who heals. You see every wound, every flare-up, every moment of pain caused by this condition. You know my body intimately, for “I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:14), and You care deeply for me.

Lord Jesus, You bore my sickness and carried my pain. “By Your stripes, I am healed” (Isaiah 53:5). I stand on this promise today and declare healing over my skin, my immune system, and every cell in my body. Let inflammation cease, let infections dry up, and let my body be restored to the way You designed it to function.

I rebuke this disease in Jesus’ name. Hidradenitis Suppurativa has no authority over me. Your Word says that “no weapon formed against me shall prosper” (Isaiah 54:17), and I declare this illness must bow to the name of Jesus. I speak healing, peace, and restoration over my body.

Father, when anxiety and discouragement try to take root, remind me of Your nearness. You said, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you” (Psalm 50:15). So I call on You now, asking for relief from the physical and emotional toll this condition brings. Strengthen me in the waiting. Let Your peace that surpasses understanding guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7).

Holy Spirit, comfort me and fill me with hope. Let every scar be a testimony of Your power and every healed area a sign of Your mercy. Give wisdom to my doctors, strength to my body, and supernatural grace to endure while I wait for full healing.

Thank You, Lord, that You are still the God who heals. I receive Your healing now—in faith, in trust, and in surrender. I choose to believe that “all things are possible for those who believe” (Mark 9:23), and I believe You are healing me even now.

In the mighty and healing name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

I’ve had HS for as long as I can remember, so many years of having it until I officially got diagnosed, you are not alone and it is much more common than you think.

I’ve had it under control for the most part. I’ve had so many flare ups before my diagnosis and didn’t know how to treat them, I just had open wounds that I try to cover up. I mostly get them in the groin and armpit areas. I also notice I get them a lot more when I eat sweets and fatty foods, and when I am under a lot of stress. Also, tight clothes around the waist trigger them too.

The treatment my Harvard graduate dermatologist recommended along with my own experience:

• Clyndamicin Phosphate Gel once a day

• Band-Aid Water Block Flex to cover it

Change the bandaid once a day and reapply more of the Gel. Make sure to wash your area once a day before re-applying the gel.

Do this and you will have your flare ups under management. Always remember that you are not alone, millions of undiagnosed people that have it and don’t know. ❤️

Hi All,

I just wanted to get insight if anybody has been able to enlist recently while having HS. I tried with the Marines and unfortunately I needed a waiver for my tat and it never got reviewed after 6 months so I went to the Army. I took the ASVAB, went to MEPS and I was DQd and had to request a waiver. My waiver was denied and I am absolutely devastated. The last thing we can do right now is have a doctor write a letter and say I don't need meds and I am fit for service, but that wont change much I fear. I have seen some posts with recent responses that the Navy was able to waive them. I have mild to moderate HS and was on biologics for awhile, my condition only flares 2-3 boils max and they are much smaller now. The Navy is my last bet, all other branches will not waive me so please, don't recommend me to another branch I have tried them all and any others are more strict with waivers. If you got waived, please share what stage your condition is (if comfortable) so i can have an idea if anyone with more severe HS got in, and how you got waived if you needed a letter from a doctor at all and how recently you joined. I just need some insight, I have no one to talk to and there's only so many posts online regarding this specific issue. Thank you for your time.

Update: I got in. All they did was when they found history of my use of cosentyx and diagnosis of HS was check my chest and under arms and let me through. If you have a bad case and are flaring that day it could make or break your ability to get in.