Top Remedies for Hidradenitis Suppurativa

I'm 47 years old, decided to clean up my act put myself on all organic, all natural diet, take supplements & yes, I needed to lose about 60 lbs. So, when I bought yet another deodorant, that claimed to be all natural, I actually thought I'm doing something good for my body. About 6 hrs after applying this deodorant, I felt a discomfort under my left armpit only, it also smelled sweaty; but because I started a new work out routine, I just attributed it to the muscle soreness. Same night increased soreness woke me up from sleep. I found raised red bumps under my left armpit, with what felt like swollen lymph nodes, pain radiated to left side of left breast. Naturally I freaked a bit, started searching & found many sites, but the:

https://doctorrennie.wordpress.com/category/diseasesconditions/dermatology/page/2/

confirmed that it is Hidradenitis Suppurativa. This was 4 days ago. My armpit is pain-free and clear now. This is what I did:

1. I drank 1 Tbs of organic turmeric powder in 16 oz warm, (not hot), filtered water flavored with 1 oz of ACV, & 1 Tbs of Manuka raw organic honey -- all of this 3 times per each day.

2. Twice a day I cleansed my armpit with sensitive liquid soap, (used Dove) with a tsp of tea tree oil mixed into it; gently rubbing it with cotton puff if preferred, or just use fingers, absolutely no need to scrub, run warm water over as much as you can stand. It felt ridiculously painful when it first appeared, I could barely stand rinsing it with water.

3. after cleansing & gently patting it dry with toilet paper, I applied a mix of 1 oz of organic turmeric with 1 Tbs of same Manuka honey, making rather thick paste & then spread it on my entire armpit, it will run a bit, so wear black, as turmeric stains everything permanent yellow, but make sure no cloth is touching your pit, (or you will waste the paste you just made by having your clothing absorb it, just clamp your arm down & ace wrap it if neccessary.

4. Started taking 1 gram of Vit C, 300 mg Vit E with 50 mg Zinc, all 3 x day. This is in addition to my other supplements that I had been taking prior to this.

The swelling, redness & pain went away within 2 hrs of 1st application of the turmeric/manuka paste! I cried with joy, because the pain & swelling relief was so apparent.

I do not shave, just occasionally trim my armpit hair & have never had this happen to my entire armpit. When I used to shave I remember that I had one "pimple" pop out, which I quickly stopped with epsom salt soak, but cotton ball quickly became rough & it was painful, so I stopped shaving, had no problem until this deodorant application, or at least I think this did it.

Also, online, there is a rising consensus & a possibility that HS is an autoimmune disease. Now I already have rheumatoid arthritis, and HS is listed on many sites, as a "side-effect" of autoimmune disease. As much as I love my tomatoes & potatoes, eliminating all nightshade family plants from my diet helped greatly in controlling RA.

What were the names of the meds prescribed that cured you?

Thank God for this site and for your post, Michelle! After trying so many suggestions (Tumeric, baking soda, drawing salve, etc.) Burdock root tablets have succeeded in helping my HS! I have no angry red lesions for the first time in 3 years!

That said, this isn't a complete cure. You need to figure out if you have a food intolerance (mine are excess sugar and corn) and drastically reduce those/that food in your diet. Looking into leaky gut syndrome may also be helpful (I swear by acv, kefir, and probiotics. My stomach has never been this happy). Best of luck to everyone! So encouraged and thankful to have found this site!

Hello Everyone! I am 25 years old and my first flare up of Hidradenitis Suppurativa happened when I was 10 years old. Doctors were surprised it happened even before puberty. There is a number of family members with the same condition; however, every single one of them dealt with it privately and didn't offer help. Didn't help that we are all very distant from one another. This site has provided so much advice and natural remedies that I had not thought of. I wish I had some tricks up my sleeve as far as treatment but I do not.

The only thing I can share that helped me through high school was exercise; I had only one flare up from the age of 14 to 18 and I believe that's because I was crazy active in high school. That and my doctor recommended to not wear underwear at night- no bra and no panties, and that proved very helpful. Once I went to college and my activity level dropped, however, by sophomore year I had HS in my underarms. I am at a point where I have to change my lifestyle; I have graduated college and starting a great career. I have found a wonderful partner who knows about HS and is very supportive.

I have flare ups at least once a month, I have scars and I can not wear tank tops anymore- or short shorts for that matter. I have been to the emergency room with a bump as big as a golf ball; I have tried medication that never helped; I have had surgery on the groin area at the age of 14. I sometimes do get bumps on my buttocks- that is a new development. I did experience loneliness and isolation to some degree. But I am so very happy to have found this community, to see how big this disease is and to know that I am not alone. I will be definitely trying the Turmeric pills and tea as well as a Paleo diet for starters and go from there. I just wanted to share my experiences in hopes that someone can relate and see that, well, there's nowhere else to go but forward.

Warm hugs to everyone reading.

Hi, I've suffered from HS for 15 years. I have tried turmeric and that has worked for me to a certain extent. But I wanted to share something that has worked for me and has transformed my life. If I ate my last meal of the day after 8pm you can guarantee that the next day I would have a flare up. And the later I ate the worse the flare up would be. Eating dinner/last meal of the day between 7-8pm has changed my life. Now for the last 3 years I have been ok, only having occasional flare ups when my body is extremely tired from overwork or I eat late when I don't have a choice. I hope this helps someone else too. Give it a try for a week and see if it helps. Good luck, I wish you well.

You can cure Hidradenitis Suppurativa, I did this :)

All you need to do is to apply apple vinegar using cotton to your affected area. Leave it there all night long . Do this for 1 week and you will start to see the results.

It is so simple but really effective.

I used a LED-UV light for 5 minutes and within 24 hours, the boil popped. I also used Ichthammol Ointment prior to using the LED-UV light (from an Auto-Leak-Detection Kit), and also am taking zinc and Turmeric. After the boil popped by itself I put Neosporin with a bandage on the boil.

Hi, I'm leaving this post as I think it's important that people realize, there is no "cure" for Hidradenitis. I believe it is auto-immune related, instead I would say there is however a right "balance".

Turmeric has worked fantastically for me. Had an indulgent weekend with family, upped the dosage and my lesions are still flat, which is unheard of for me.

However, I feel overall quite shitty. I drank crap, ate crap and now I will have a couple of weeks of really giving my body nutritious TLC before it is better. When my diet is good, I don't need that much Turmeric.

I would suggest an elimination diet to all sufferers, my triggers are all sugars (natural or otherwise) and all mammal meat/dairy. Cutting out the mammal meat and dairy products has been HUGE for me. It has allowed me to take a minimal dose of Turmeric. I no longer get bloated and eat a diet rich in fish and non starchy veggies. I allow myself some red rice, when I am being "extra" healthy because when I detox, if I don't eat adequate fibre I don't feel like the toxins cleanse well enough and as soon as I eat more fibre, the headaches go away and I feel great again.

In addition, I am not a super healthy person, always but the only way for me to keep this condition under control is to eat well as much as I can and drink water!

Turns out, my body needs a lot of water, I always thought I drank enough but when you get a bad flare, really look at how much you have been drinking (all of my previous terrible flares were at times when I was overheating and experiencing dehydration) and ensure to take Magnesium supplements. Sugars use up a lot of magnesium, it seems, so best to cut them out as much as you can.

In short, turmeric is by far the best herb I've tried for inflammation. Watch your diet as much as you can, drink lots of water and it makes this condition far more manageable. If you do binge, don't throw everything out the window, your body is not broken, it is trying to let you know something isn't quite right. Listen to it and be kind to yourself.

The idea is not original. I got it from the Internet and I forgot exactly where.

My son got his attack of Hidradenitis Supperativa on Friday. He took tumeric and zinc capsules/ pills, on Friday evening and on Saturday, morning & evening and Sunday, twice a day to the present. Saturday evening we used Ichthammol ointment on it (first with just tissue over it and the second time on Sunday, a bandage was used).On Sunday also a LED UV auto-leak-detection little 2 AAA battery flash light was place right on top of the boil for 5 minutes . This was done also for three minutes after the boil popped the next day (about 24 hours after the first flash light application.) We are continuing with the pills and are now using neosporin instead of Ichthammol ointment

I would like to get in touch with Hs/ai New Hampshire, 02/15/2014 to inform him of this.

I am 75 years old, no advertisement nor religious propaganda has been made and I just wish to thank everybody for their help.

Can you please send me info on the doctor

Hello Everyone, Seems there is a big club of "us". I have found it starts with food and to go further I read lots of info on a castor oil pack detox...especially to do with Edgar Cayce. It starts with our gut and the foods we put in. Doing a detox pack tomorrow..hopefully getting my gut detox and putting only Paleo friendly...watch nightshades..in my tummy. Drinking teas and only cut refined sugar and only using raw honey which seems to be doing something productive. Just started all of this 100% cause I love sugar and I smoke...a nighshade. Still learning and wish you all well...God bless us all. Amen!

Hi - I have had Hidradentis Suppurativa for years but recently (in the last year) under my breasts. Can you tell me what cream your doctor diagnosed? I feel like my other areas are well managed but not this!

Several years ago I was diagnoised with Hidradentis Suppurativa by two doctors. Recently I went to specialist in the disease, she examined my armpits (without gloves) by rubbing and looking for scar tissues and marks left from previous outbreaks. She saw no scars or marks under my arms, and said "she did not think I had the disease."

She told me to go home and try her solution for my problem, and if that did not work come and see her again. All smiles---it worked. She had me take a bath every other day for 7 days only, and to put a little clorox in the water (1/4) cup. In addition, she had me take my previous prescribed oral antibiotic for "7 days only" (this stuff I had been taken for 3 years), and to put the previous cream prescribed for my scars/bumps into my nostrils for 7 days, several times a day.

So basically this new doctor's advice cleared me up in 7 days for a disease I was told I had for the past 3 years. My old doctor (dermatologist) had me take oral antibiotic pills everyday for years, and I had to see him monthly---go figure.

It has been 4 months (summer 2014) and I have not had any outbreaks, smell or drama associated with that disease. The bumps under my breasts, which I thought "was not" associated with the disease was entirely something else--- a problem that quite a few big breasted women have. The new doctor prescribed a cream to put under my breasts and I have not broken out since. However, I do wear cotton in my bra on hot, humid days.

Needless to say, I am so happy that I am no longer having the problems I have had for the past three years. I do think that moving to this hot and humid state 4 years ago contributed to this problem. I must say I feel very uncomfortable in this weather, and try not to go out on extremely hot, humid days.

Good luck and I hope this helps somewhat.

Hey there. After having my hormonal birth control....the devil's mirena...i started to get Hidradenitis Suppurativa. I take hot baths daily. I run a bath and add tea tree oil...then empty the tub and use a sulfur based soap *it says to let it dry* then I run the bath again as hot as I can stand and add bleach *probably too much bleach* but my skin has cleared up so much its incredible. I don't drink sweet drinks. Water only and coffee occasionally. I went from having 10-20 boils and lesions to just little specks that I'm guessing are scarring. I know it sounds like a lot but I was fed up. I also apply a sulfur cream, and tea tree oil directly to the spot. It's all super cheap. I spend less than $10 for all of it and it lasts a month. I only bathe like this 2 times a week...but I use tea tree oil and sulfur every day. Hope this helps :) oh...and I stay naked unless I absolutely need clothes...to keep dry...but I live in arizona...so it ain't no thang. LOL! Good luck!

I have been suffering from HS for the past 10 years. I have tried antibiotic, surgery, tea tree oil, antibacterial soap and it just keeps coming back worse and worse. I noticed that if I am sexually active and experience an orgasm, the very next day I will flear up. I wait few days until I feel better and again experience an orgasm and the lump comes up again the very next day. It never fails. It is very frustrating to know that I can be sexually active without having a break out. Is there any relationship between HS and sex? Any one has any information about this.

I wanted to drop by and share my experience with anyone who is suffering with HS as I have for 30 years. I've tried just about every one of these treatments, all of which may have given me some relief, but I was still losing the battle. I consulted a friend of mine who has researched skin treatments thoroughly and he told me to go out and get Lysine. It's an amino acid and can be found at any good health food store. By his recommendations, I took 1000 mg twice a day for the first month. I could not believe the difference in just the first week. At the end of the month, I cut back to 500 mg twice a day and I only increase it if I feel like one is coming on. My friend told me that it had to do with two amino acids that need to be balanced in the body. I really don't care how it works, what I am ecstatic about is that it works! I wanted to share this with this group in hopes of helping as many who suffer from this condition as I know how painful and embarrassing it is. I'm not saying that this is a cure for anything, just that it was something that I tried that had amazing results for me. I hope it works for you!

Look for GAPS diet on you tube (Natasha Campbell). Your friend needs to improve his immune system. He needs a liver detox -look into Dandelion root tea. Apply either smashed garlic, Manuka honey, charcoal or Propolis on the boils.

This is my testimony on dealing with a partner who is suffering from HS. Very long but I just needed to write this. I hope someone will find it useful.

My boyfriend and I started dating 1 year ago, we actually did not date but met and started living together almost right away, it was love at first sight and we haven't been apart ever since. Once we first started, as with every relationship, hands all over the place, sex 5-6 times a day, it was crazy, we both work from home, so we spent pretty much every minute of every day together. He always told me how he loved my flawless skin and how amazed he was because of it, I never quite understood that, he also never took his shirt off, not even when the lights were off... I never made a big deal out of it, I just found it strange. Three months into the relationship we stopped having sex, completely, all of the sudden, I could feel he wanting but not trying to. Though I am a very communicative person, at first I never felt like asking him the reason why we stopped having sex, I just questioned myself all day all night, fell rejected, undesired, some days I thought I was being cheated on, some other days after visiting stupid internet forums thinking he was gay. This led to a lot of pain and anguish from my side, sleeping everyday with someone who kisses, caress and loves me, but has not intention of having sex. After three months I finally asked him what was going on and he told me he had a boil on his groin, alright I said, bought him medicines, stupid me trying to cure him. The boil went away, and although I didn't pressure him, the sex wasn't coming back. Six months after that, I told him I couldn't keep on and didn't want to be in a sexless relationship (lots of internet research led me to that conclusion, again with the stupid housewives forums), I wasn't in a rush, nor I was mad or desperate, I was just bored, I told him he could take the time to search for a new place. About a week after that I noticed a boil on his neck, he told me he was getting this boils since he was 17, he is 38 now.

When he first started getting them his parents took him everywhere, the conclusion was always severe acne, and the remedies all kinds of antibiotics or anti-acne treatments, he never got better so they told him he'd just have to live with that. When we met he was on remission (and had been for about a year) 3 months after that he got a boil, and then another, an then another, and then two at a time, and so on. I started reading about his symptoms and came across with the name Hidradenitis Suppurativa on a British Council document, I translated it and read it to him and he could relate 100% with it, I told him to go back to another dermatologist and asked for another diagnosis, he went and again they told him severe acne, and 7 months of accutane, which he has already taken before with nothing but bad side effects and no remission. I was mad, and sad, and started doing my own research, I found this forum, and after reading every single comment on HS Ailments I did my own treatment plan and asked him to give me a month for results.

We live in South America, so there is no such thing as a Food Allergy Test as far as I'm concerned. I am a very enthusiastic amateur baker, and I used to make him a 1 pound cake a week, he is a very enthusiastic amateur barista so he drinks about 3 or 4 cups coffee a day. He is about 150 pounds, not overweight at all, but I could see how our food intake might be affecting his condition.

We stopped eating wheat, sugar and coffee about a week ago, we also lower significantly our consumption of carbs such as potatoes, rice.

He started taking:

Turmeric - internal, one teaspoon a day with warm olive oil

Zinc - internal, one tablet a day

Calendula - internal, infused

Omega 3 - internal, one tablet a day

And using:

Tea tree oil - external

Hypoallergenic soap

We still can't tell if he is getting any results from what we are doing, I just hope he is, it is worth a try. If his life is better mine is a hundred times better. I don't want to see him living in pain, more so if he is trying to hide it from me. There are three more weeks to go, we'll see. He has being living with this disease for 20 years and as much as a part of him the condition is, I want to be with the man I met without it, in remission, enjoying physically and emotionally every second he spent with me.

Hopefully I would post a reply with positive feedback in a few days. Good night and good luck to all of you.

I have posted previously on this topic and I have been suffering from HS for 12 years. It has increasingly gotten worse as I have gotten older. It go to the point where I had two spots on my inner thighs that were almost constantly abscessed. It was so painful and really got in the way of my normal life activities.

I have tried almost every remedy on this site with little results, aside from turmeric, which really only slowed the rapid growth of the massive infections.

I hit my limit one day and went to a natural foods store with a very long list of things I was going to try from this site. I ended up speaking to the owner of the store who asked what I was dealing with. I reluctantly told him, because as you know, it is very embarrassing. He immediately said it sounded like a Ph issue and recommended organic sulfur (MSM).

I started taking 1 tsp in water morning and night. I felt the pain had started to go away the first night. By the third day I could lightly pinch the abscess, which was quite large, with almost no pain. I would have been excruciating before. By the end of the week it was shrinking and COMPLETELY gone by two weeks. It is nothing short of amazing. I can have a normal life again.

It has been almost a year and I have had only one issue, only because I quit taking it regularly. I felt a little Pain on my inner thigh and felt a hard lump under the skin about the size of a pencil eraser. I didn't immediately panic and get upset. I started taking the organic sulfur again and in two days I can't feel it anymore.

It was very expensive in the store, but I found 4xs the amount on Amazon for half the price. My fiance and I have been taking it regularly, for the most part and have seen our allergy symptoms dramatically decrease, he has started regrowing hair, and reduce sinus infections.

It is recommended to buy the powder, not capsules, because anti-caking agents inhibit its results. Don't eat or drink anything for about 10 minutes after and don't mix it with anything but water. It is kind of bitter and doesn't taste very good. I noticed it tastes much better if I mix it in hot or very warm water and it dissolves right away.

Please try it and let everyone know how it works for you. I went to the doctor many times over the years and NOTHING helped. I have had many abscesses lanced and packed and it is awful. I didn't want to post to early as not to raise anyone's hopes. But I am more than sure now.

The extra vigin coconut oil, has been a great stopper for boils.The one that had started to develop just turned into a zit after about five days of application.The stuff just slowly goes into the whole area and kills the bug...well worth a try! .I use it to stop jock rash by applying it once every other day.

Hi Eliza, Grind epsom salts fine in a coffee grinder then add glycerine so that it is a paste & put the paste on the hole, it might burn a bit but it draws the junk out.

Eliza, read up on turmeric for boils.

Dear Eliza,

I would try a charcoal poultice over the area. It should help with the pain and also draw out any lingering infection, as well as helping the skin to heal. You will find, "How to Make a Charcoal Poultice" in the index of the Activated Charcoal page her at Earth Clinic. You can use one poultice for overnight and change it a few times during the day.

You can also take turmeric internally. 1 teaspoon twice a day. You can mix it into milk (dairy, almond, rice etc.) or take 4 capsules.

I hope you find relief soon. Please keep us posted on your progress!

~Mama to Many~

Hello there...

I had a recent outbreak in my genital area (bikini line) from my HS. I was successful in bringing the boil to a head by covering it with a cloth soaked in ACV and it broke the skin on its own (I did not punture or squeeze out the infection/pus). However, after the skin broke and it appeared to have healed over, the boil returned. Again I did the ACV-soaked cloth and it erupted. But this time it left an open sore or "hole" where it initially broke the skin. Now there is a stinging feeling and it seeps a little with yellow pus and slight blood. I am concerned the hole will not heal or close and that it is still leaking slightly and the pain/stingin is off and on. Please help!! The only thing that seems to put my mind at ease is cleaning the area with hydrogen peroxide and covering the area with sterile gauze. What else should I be doing???

I have HS and have been boil-free since November after changing my diet. Nothing that the doctors did to help me were effective. I took out all grains and dairy along with sugar at first (basically a paleo diet) and took warm baths with tea tree oil. I wouldn't use the crystal deoderant down yonder. The tea tree oil bathes helped with drainage and the smell - maybe you could try that instead?

Dear Jazz, Have you tried any of the things on Earth Clinics page on this particular problem? I would definitely try the turmeric that is written about. Taken internally, I have seen it do wonders for skin problems.

Hope you find a solution, soon!

~Mama to Many~

Hi, I had severe hidradenitis suppurative (hs) and now I am just trying to clear the rest of it up. For me my mother by the grace of God found a clinical trial and they put me on a high dosage of antibiotics which calmed my condition then I recieved laser treament which I am currently doing. I consider myself almsot cured because I dont get any new boils I just have ones that are already open still leakin. But anyways my question was about the vaginal area I have gotten to the point where I feel almost not like a woman because its so disgusting to me and often times I get depressed. But if I were to apply this deodorant on the vaginal area would it also take away the unwanted smell and also help clear up the hs?

Colloidal Oatmeal as a symptomatic treatment for managing HS: Hi there, I am a 31 year old woman who has been suffering from HS for 17 years. I almost died from a drug resistant abscess on my right lung 21 years ago, I only survived because a lucky surgeon ripped my back open and removed the infected part of my lung. I am convinced that this lung abscess is connected to my HS. Anyway, you may want to try colloidal oatmeal as a symptomatic treatment. It's very effective at treating inflammation & has a soothing effect. You can either buy medical grade colloidal oatmeal (very expensive) or you can make your own by processing raw oats in your food processor (you need to get it to powder form, the finer the better). Put it in your bath or make a paste with purified water and apply as a skin masque or compress. As a bonus, it's also very effective against rosacea.

Like many, I suffered from HS since puberty (so now about 10 years). I only went to the doctor once as a teen, this was quite traumatic as she simply told me I wasn't keeping myself clean. After that I started showering multiple times a day which caused the infections to get so bad I couldn't even walk. Now I know I'm extremely allergic to synthetic parfum and sulfates (also suspecting benzoates). I can't have it in anything, even if I wear clothes that've been washed with a 'wrong' detergent I'll break out within the hour. However, when I avoid bad soaps I'm 100% healthy (skinwise). Dietwise I eat mostly organic with much fruits and veggies and no porc, little sugar etc.. So I'm not sure if I would have infections again if I'd eat unhealthy. BUT I do smoke, drink coffee and alchohol, which doesn't seem to have any (negative) influence whatsoever.

WARNING!

I am trying the Turmeric for the first time and will try to post my results. I have had HS for about 10 years. For those who try to pop the cysts.... Don't. It will make it worse and spread. You can have your doctor lance it and pack it which will be temporary. One thing that gave me temporary relief is a combination of Doxycylcline, Rifampin and Clydamycin lotion. Of course these are not natural, but it will give you relief for long periods of time, while you try the homeopathic remedies. See a good dermatologist to get them. The clyndamycin lotion applied at least twice a day will relieve that infernal itch. You can use it whenever you need to though. Advil at night help me to get the swelling down. I am praying that the turmeric will help me to eliminate the medications. Thanks for all the great postings here!

You can get a lancer with most diabetes glucose meters. I have a glucose meter - am not diabetic - and mine came with a lancer and 10 (disposable) sterile lancets. Lancet refills are available at most drugstores/pharmacies and can be used in numerous homeo-pathic ways. In my view, this is one of the few useful things they have left at the drugstore/chemist :-)

I have excema and Dermatitis From a Cayenne Pepper Cream from my Dr. It had an ALCOHOL BASE in it???? I soaked in an Epsom Salt Bath 1 cup as hot as I could stand, in a bath tub and in 2 days it cleared!!! I submerged my head and body for 20 mins. It also cleared up a problem I had with the skin between my Anus, and Vagina splitting as well. I also used Suedocreamon the split skin. It works every time. If you start to feel tired, or your limbs feel heavy, GET OUT THE BATH!!! Or use half a cup of Epsom Salts.