| 5 star (15) | 68% | |
| 4 star (7) | 32% |
Jc (Omaha, Ne) on 07/11/2012
I have had HS for 16 years. I have had medical doctors ignore my pleas for help and only prescribe antibiotics - which incindentally, made the issue worse.
I have tried apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, antibacterial soaps, no soap... I can't even remember all of the things I've tried. Nothing worked. For years, I had no hope. The breakouts had gotten worse and the scars kept me in sleeves even in the summertime.
Then I found that HS is an autoimmune condition... Just like my Hypothyroidism, back and joint pain, etc. The puzzle pieces started coming together.
The best/easiest/cheapest treatment I've found is to change your diet to a paleo diet: meats, seafood, lots of veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds and quality fats. Since starting the paleo diet over a year ago I have not only lost 30 pounds effortlessly and kept it off, but I rarely get an HS breakout. If I do, it's generally very minimal and Turmeric, 2-3 times a day, in pill form usually clears it up in a day or two! Gluten tends to be the biggest trigger for a breakout, so I try to make sure my diet is completely gluten-free.
I honestly never thought I would be HS free! I thought I would live with this forever. But now, after just one year, my scars are starting to fade and I even have a couple of sleeveless tops that I like to wear!
There are so many people who have nearly erradicated their breakouts (including myself) by eliminating all grains, sugar, legumes and dairy from their diets - only to find other health benefits as well.
I'm so happy to be able to share this information with you all as I know what it's like to have lost hope for a treatment, let alone a cure! I urge you to do the research and give the diet/lifestyle a try for just 1 month and if you don't feel any better or notice a change (I bet you will, tho) then you've lost nothing.
It's feels so wonderful and amazing to have made it to the other side of this painful and embarrassing condition! Good luck to you all.
Dave (Los Angeles, Us) on 11/02/2011
I thought I'd share my story in hopes that my experience will help others.
I've been suffering from this horrible condition since I was 18 - I am 36. I went through the vicious cycle of antibiotics (many different kinds) and lancings with little success. My aliens were all in the groin area. At first, this process did help with flare ups. I would go for several months and somtimes over a year without serious flare-ups - the condition was manageable, minimal discomfort and pain that would heal quickly. it stopped being manageable about 8 years ago.
During this period I was partying often (drinking, smoking, etc. ), not sleeping much, eating very poorly (I have never been overweight, a bit underweight... just eating a lot of fast and processed foods) and not exercising much if at all.
Several years back it got really bad (constant pain and discomfort, it was painful getting out of bed). I had sores that constantly drained, never healing. I did some serious googling on remedies and ran into this site among other sites that provided information that I was looking for.
I tried remedies looking for a quick fix still maintaining the lifestyle drinking, smoking, poor sleep, bad food, etc. without any improvement. Acv, turmeric, vitamins, tea tree oil, epsom salt baths, etc were all in the mix. I was pretty down as there was minimal improvement. I did this for a few months.
I then read posts about detoxing with raw organic foods. So I gave it a try. I went 100% raw for about a week and continued at about 90% for a month - I also added probiotics to the regimen and ate some cooked foods, but removed processed foods almost completely. I was also continued the other remedies. I was still smoking but drinking much less with my sleep slightly improving. I don't exactly remember the progress or when everything clicked, but I remember waking up one morning and noticed the pain and the draining coming to a complete stop. Everything flattened out! I continued the strict diet for a few more months with zero flare-ups. I then began adding bad foods back into the diet and increasing the partying forgetting how horrible things were. The aliens did reappear but would go away quickly, nothing like it used to be. Zero medication during this period.
Thinking I was in the clear, I discontinued the strict diet completely. I was eating poorly , but still taking the probitics and other remedies mentioned. At this point I quit smoking but continued to drink. I was good for about a year. flare-ups did occur but they healed quickly with minimal discomfort - more like zits instead of cysts.
About 2 months ago an angry alien came to visit and has not left. It is in a new area and has been very painful. It grew and continued to drain. I've been back on the strict diet (95% raw, daily green juices, no processed foods, etc) for about a week now as I've been rudely reminded of this horrible condition I have and will likely always have. I've also quit smoking and have limited the drinking. I'm also trying to rest as much as possible. The alien has, today, stopped hurting and is flattening out with minimal drainage. From previous experience, I'm confident the sore will heal as long as I continue the lifestyle change.
Your body does a good job of telling you when something is wrong and I believe, from experience, what we ingest plays the biggest role is HS. All the processed foods we ingest, I believe, act like poisons to our system. From my research, medical conditions have increased dramatically since processed foods were introduced. These foods do not have any nutrients and not having the balance by consuming nutrient rich, raw, living foods results in our bodies breaking down. if you really think about it, it makes sense and I suggest all of you to do your own research.
A dramatic change in food required a huge lifestyle change for me and I think it will be for most of you, but it's so worth it. As I've found and as many of you already know, there isn't a cure or a simple fix for HS, but I believe there is a long term solution that will keep me symptom free. This is my experiece for those suffering. I tried most everything and I feel that I've found what works for me and I hope this helps with many of you suffering.
Taj (Coppell, Texas) on 04/24/2011
Linda (Glendale, CA) on 11/14/2008
No more caffeine for me.
I am trying the tumeric remedy now for the current boil as I detox from caffeine again.
Also, laser hair removal in areas like the armpits has been advised, the theory being eliminate the hair follicle, reduce the likelihood of a boil from an ingrown hair. I will be trying this.
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.
