Dietary Changes for Hidradenitis Suppurativa

I can't say that I am happy to hear that others suffer from this annoying and embarrassing condition, but it is good to know that I'm not alone. I have suffered from Hidradenitis Suppurativa since I was 21 for 3 years now and no doctor has found what it was until today when I decided to go to another doctor. He told me I had hs and told me more than I had found out in prior reading.

I have had 5 surgical removals and they still came back sometimes in the same spot, sometimes indifferent spots. They usually came up when I had mayonnaise which I found out I'm allergic to, they appeared less when I avoided mayonnaise. I later found out that I was allergic to dairy and tried to avoid it as best as possible, but when I completely took dairy from my diet they happened even less. I am not sure the cause of this last breakou.t I think it may have been an artificial drink that I had (I don't usually drink artificially drinks especially those with too much sugars) or a spike in flour in my diet. I know it wasn't caused by wheat because since I got rid of milk there's no need for cereals. I will be trying a lot of the tips I have read here and I will definitely track my progress. I'm also considering laser hair removal (if that has worked to help alleviate the frequency of breakouts please let me know).

i don't know for other people with hs but for me the worst part of this is having doctors constantly tell you that this is caused by bad hygienic practices and then making it look like you are a nasty person (My new doctor said that based on my current practices the only way I could be any cleaner is maybe if I locked myself in a sanitized bubble.)

Good luck to all and wish me luck please.

Hey everyone.

I am a 21 yr old who has been suffering from HS since I was 14. For the past five months, I have been trying to buy as much organic, non-additive, and non-preservative foods as I can afford. Although I haven't been able to cut all processed foods out of my diet, I have noticed a change in the frequency and degree of flare-ups. I also have been using Tend Skin liquid topically after I shower and I really think it helps. It is intended for prevention of razor burn after shaving but seems to work against HS flare-ups as well. I definitely recommend trying it.

Since I began reading this post, I have now decided to cut dairy out of my diet and begin taking turmeric pills. I shall see how this works out for me. Hoping I don't have to cut gluten out of my diet!

I suffered from mild HS every month just before my cycle. I say mild because never any open lesions but always a couple large painful swellings. Imagine my delight when I gave up gluten (for other reasons) and found that my HS diminished dramatically.

Since that discovery two years ago, I have been eating modified Paleo and grateful for the many health benefits, including not worrying about painful HS swellings each month. The only other thing I had previously tried was a supplement that worked for my HS but unfortunately gave me a rash of tiny bumps on my forehead.

Just recently received a gift of fresh heirloom tomatoes from a friend's garden. Have eaten those for years with abandon but this time had the worst HS experience of my life, textbook photos of lesions, etc. just horrendous so I guess I can safely say this nightshade has been crossed off my list.

I love this site, but I must take issue with the intial description of this disease and the heading of this page. HD is NOT (in my case) clogged glands, and as for the discharge, it can range from white to green and frequently mixed with blood. This is extremely painful, depressing, and a torment. Constant washing and cleaning of clothing and bedding is essential. Oddly, this ailment (again, in MY case) has proven itself to not be contagious, amazingly enough.

The reason I am posting here is because I have managed to control, and very possibly kick this hellacious nightmare.

If you believe in the medical industry and big pharma, or are a professional victim, -move on, you won't like my post. If you have HAD it w/inept, moneygrubbing prescription writers who treat you as an R&D experiment, read on.

I have only gotten clues about this ugly, depressing illness after searching several alternative remedy sites. NO where have I seen positive results, cures, or relief from sufferers who have succumbed to western medicine treatments, therapies, surgeries, antibiotics or other products of big pharma. Also I would caution you to BEWARE of miracle products and cures. Do a google search on third party reviews concerning whichever remedy you are tempted to try. Remember to CONSIDER THE SOURCE.

The first thing you need to do is lose weight and alter your diet. If you're already fit, look at your diet.

Have you any abcesses or dental problems? Did this condition appear after a dental procedure? Likely the toxins are attacking your lymph nodes to exit your body. Don't expect this diagnosis from doctors. They prefer to give a reluctant prognosis years & thousands of dollars later, from what I've seen.

You MUST become knowledgable about EACH and EVERY thing you consume and ingest if you are truly serious about kicking this. If you scour the alternative remedy sites you will find different therapies you can try that won't break the bank. You must systematically eliminate poisons, fats, and probable allergens. You MUST be patient, as the results will reveal themselves SLOWLY.

Try to find an acupuncturist/chinese herb doctor, but question them about their familarity on this ailment. If they hedge, or forward you to a regular MD, they are of poor quality. It's probable one of them will be able to help you, but they are not infallible, and doctors ARE only human; THEY ARE NOT GODS. If they cannot be bothered to review or comment on what information you consider important, they will waste your time AND money.

There seem to be a number of causes for this illness, as individuals do not all share common successful therapies. Many things can cause your immune system to dump toxins. Your physiology is attempting to save your life!

I surmise no serious treatment is forthcoming for this disease because it gives the medical industry a nice nice fat arena in which to jerk around exhausted, ravaged sufferers while they clean out our bank accounts. Just like with cancer.

Though it is miserable and difficult, try to perservere, and know that I too suffered horribly from this hellish illness. The difference is, I do not trust these quacks and butchers after seeing the results of their handiwork on those who entrusted themselves to their "care". To witness the exact same results endlessly and expect different for yourself is just stupid.

Horrific pain and constant, protracted dealing with this living hell had me at my wit's end for months, but I DIDN'T stop seeking remedies or therapies THAT WORKED. I continued working my job and honoring my commitiments and responsibilites this entire time. No sooner would I get thru my door than I collapsed in exhaustion from the pain. I am not affluent by ANY stretch of the imagination.

If you have no discipline, then you are damned to years of this. It is hard, but if you do not surrender, you can kick this! Perservere!

As a follow-up to my previous msg - I had really bad HS (very ugly) all over my groin, buttocks, and chest. It has almost completely healed.

I would recommend to everyone with HS - go to a naturopath and get a food allergy test. I found out I was allergic to dairy, and have been avoiding dairy, and eating healthy in general, and from a horrible situation, I am actually getting close to living a normal life, thank God... There is a natural way to fight off HS, to make it a minor issue in your life (rather than it taking over your life)...

I want to start off by saying that I've been suffering from H.S. since I was five.... At least that is when I had my first boil in my groin. I believe that I've had it my whole life and the boil was really just my first symptom, rather than the start of the disease. I grew up eating highly processed foods, high fructose corn syrup, and very little fruits and veggies. I believe now that because H.S. is really a reaction to a poor immune system, that my body was trying to rid itself of toxins in the way it knew how.... Through the skin. Having developed stage II H.S. in middle school and going through the extensive western treatments, ie; antibiotics, antibiotics, and more antibiotics, sitz baths, compresses, antibacterial soap, and even accutane, I tried everything, to no avail and eventually just learned to accept H.S. that is until now. At age 33, I progressed into stage III, where half of my buttock was inflamed with a baseball size "boil" painfully making it difficult to sit, walk, or even lay down. I went to my doctor, hoping it could be lanced. After much pain and torture, she gave up, gave me a list for a surgeon and said I have to have it removed through surgery. After hearing all you out there with horror stories, I said to myself, "No way am I doing that! "

I've truly believed for some time now that food can be either a medicine or a poison. Although I've known this intuitively, I've never really tried to eat to the standards I knew I needed. I thought "now or never, ya gotta do it Susan! " So after two days of using the antibiotics (it just got worse anyway, which I knew would happen) I decided to cleanse out my system and give my body what it needed.

Here is what I did:

1. ) having read everyones praise about turmeric, I started take 1/4 tbs 3x day. (I've taken it before without much improvement, but have considered the fact that it might not be all I needed to do)

2. ) I only ate vegetables, mostly greens such as swiss chard, kale, spinach, and mixed salad greens. I sometimes would juice these to get more in one setting.
3. ) I drank distilled water with lemon added (roughly 84 ounces each day.
4. ) I took vitamin D and a multivitamin.
5. ) I avoided sugar, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, meat, dairy and gluten.
6. ) I saw a naturopathic doctor who agreed that gluten-free dairy free was the way to go if you have H.S. She is currently looking into my blood work to see how we can adjust my diet to be more appropriate. Additionally, she has several H.S. patients that are in remission! A doctor who actually has positive feedback!!!

So the results: After two days of this my boil came to a head and started draining. After one week it shrunk to the size of a pea! Additionally, the rest of my smaller symptoms of H.S. are dried up and gone, my skin overall is smoother, my hair shinier, face glows more, and I have energy like never before! I'm not 100% yet, as I have days where I cheat (I'm only human ;) but I strive to eat well at least 90% of the time. My final conclusion is that our bodies are actually totally amazing at healing once we nurture ourselves. Disease is Dis-Ease. Sickness is our bodies being out of balance and striving to re-balance themselves. When a condition is acute (such as my baseball size boil on my buttock) I nurtured myself completely. Got plenty of sleep, flushed my system with clean water, and gave my body the vitamins, minerals and nutrients it has been craving for years and years.

I would say the turmeric is also essential with this as after I would take it initially, the pain would stop altogether. I wanted to share this story because, like I said, I've tried the turmeric in the past with not much in the way of results, but I was really looking for a quick solution rather than a total revamp to how I treat my body. Once I gave my body what it needs to heal, the turmeric had a friendly playground so to speak to clean up all the junk! The good new is that there really are a bunch of healthy options for food out there now days, especially if you have a whole foods or trader joes near by. Luckily, even grocery stores are coming around with organic throughout. (Oh, that being said, try to eat as much organic and clean food as possible). The initial period of switching your diet will be difficult, but the results are worth it! The longer you eat clean food, the more you like it and the less you want all the junk/processed foods that you used to think tasted good. Good luck to all my brothers and sisters out there who deal with this dis-ease. Love yourself and give your body what it needs!

I have just stumbled across this site and am so happy to read all these cures i have yet to try, but for these 4 years i have realized that some things that i eat also affect the site that i got on my neck, for instance deep fried products, white flour products and anything that has hydrogenated oils and sometimes some red meat that i have eaten and many others that i do not realize. I found that cutting these foods out of my diet has greatly decreased the severity of HS but will not cure. But now hopefully i can try some of these remedies that might work and hope that they will work for everyone because none of us need to have these red spots on us.