Sarah Simpson (Brighton, UK) on 11/04/2008:

I have suffered with HS for a long time and had to have an operation on my armpit 8 years ago but was not actually diagnosed until much later. Once I knew what I was dealing with I started to use tea tree oil and echinacea. But to be honest, particularly when I was stressed, the painful sores would still emerge. Finally a dear friend read on the net that coffee can have a massive effect on sufferers. So I gave up coffee (was on 3 or 4 large expresso's a day). And it worked. I'd occasionally get the odd little murmur of an outbreak but was able to control it with a dab or Tea Tree and up until this weekend, I'd been clear of any real offending sores.

Unfortunately I realise that I've been gradually reintroducing coffee into my diet over the last year (hubby got a coffee machine for Christmas) and I am now suffering for it. Safe to say, I'm off coffee again and will try the Turmeric and the other suggestions to deal with my current and extremely uncomfortable sore. I've also changed my deodorant and now use crystal spray which has been great. What a wonderful site. Thank you all for sharing and making me feel less of an outsider.