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Ian (ON) on 03/26/2022:
Hi, I've recently started to scour the internet for lifestyle changes I could use to alleviate my flare ups. The turmeric paste is great and turmeric in general. I feel it has warded off the worst symptoms for me.
But I wanted to find causes rather than treatments. One cause that struck home with me was what I ate. It appears carbs, through bread, potatoes and some other vegetables can cause insulin spikes which tends to lead to insulin resistance. It's the resistance that causes inflammation in our body and has been linked to hs flareups. My plan is to quit unnecessary carbs, maybe all carbs temporarily, and lean toward a Mediterranean diet. These dietary changes are new to me and I hope they work for me. I love bread.
This helped. No bull. Gt yourself good quality TUMERIC - I used it as a paste and took it 2 x a day 400MG - I purchased a well known brand at Whole foods and is working. Knock on wood - let's hope it continues to work.
I am so incredibly grateful I found this site! Just last week I was told I had HS after developing my first boil in my underarm. It was the most painful thing I’ve ever experienced, I couldn’t work out, put away dishes or even get dressed without wincing in pain at its worst. I was given a topical antibiotic and an oral antibiotic 6 days later with no improvement whatsoever. I was searching for anything that could provide some relief. I made a turmeric paste with honey and left it on overnight. Woke up the next morning to find it had formed a head and began draining on its own.The pain was gone almost instantaneously. 48 hours later and it looks like it is almost back to normal!! Incredible!
Does anyone have any tips for making sure that it does not come back?
I do a similar paste: 1 teaSp Turmeric, 1/4 teaSp Borox, and some drops of Castor Oil (organic) to create the consistency desired for the paste. Apply am and pm. It works wonders. Make sure you press the paste very well into the area affected.
I have suffered from HS since I was about 11 or 12 years old and I am now 47. Back then, my mom thought I was allergic to deodorants because I would get these large cyst like boils on my armpits. If two or three cysts were close enough, they would combine into a mass. It was very painful and also embarrassing. Like others, they would eventually erupt and drain puss. Sometimes it would take a while for the open boil to close back up. It got so bad with one armpit, I had surgery to remove the sweat glands! That gave me relief for several years. Fast forward to my late 30s, I learned this condition had a name! I began getting the HS cysts in my pubic area and between my buttocks treated by dermatologist with prescription creams and for especially stubborn cysts, painful shots in this sensitive area. I was miserable. By age 40, I underwent surgery to remove a HS large cyst that would not heal on my panty line. Around age 45, I fell in love with a curry chicken salad recipe and began making it. Eventually, I noticed that when I ate curry, it seemed to calm the HS. I did some quick online research and learned that turmeric (which is in curry) is an anti inflammatory. I began taking it a few times a week and have been so happy to have found something natural to help with this. I only wish I knew sooner.
It is interesting to read so many of you here who are like me! I have suffered with HS for as long as I can remember(at least 12 y/o) and I'm now 41. My daughters both 19 and 17 experience breakouts as well so its safe to assume that it could be hereditary. I have taken turmeric for other concerns (fibroids) and never really made the connection that my flare-ups were not as bad when I was taking the turmeric supplement (only 1x day). Now hearing you all and the amazing stories that you have about less flare-ups with consistent use, I'm now going to be more consistent. I will be sure to come back and update. About me: I have the nickel size boils under one of my arms which does nothing but drain for the past year. I have multiple ones at my panty line which go from really intense stinging to intense itching depending on the day. I am vey excited to try the turmeric salve (turmeric, coconut oil, evoo, black pepper and tea-tree oil) at night and more dosages of the turmeric (at least 4x a day). I'll report back in about a month to let you all know the results!
It is interesting to read so many of you here who are like me! I have suffered with HS for as long as I can remember(at least 12 y/o) and I'm now 41. My daughters both 19 and 17 experience breakouts as well so its safe to assume that it could be hereditary. I have taken turmeric for other concerns (fibroids) and never really made the connection that my flare-ups were not as bad when I was taking the turmeric supplement (only 1x day). Now hearing you all and the amazing stories that you have about less flare-ups with consistent use, I'm now going to be more consistent. I will be sure to come back and update.
About me: I have the nickel size boils under one of my arms which does nothing but drain for the past year. I have multiple ones at my panty line which go from really intense stinging to intense itching depending on the day. I am vey excited to try the turmeric salve (turmeric, coconut oil, evoo, black pepper and tea-tree oil) at night and more dosages of the turmeric (at least 4x a day). I'll report back in about a month to let you all know the results!
Hi, I know you may not be knowing me but I need your help badly. I do suffer from HS since last 5 year. I am just 17 and my mental condition you can understand well. I have them on both of my armpits, they are big lumps, one open wound is there which has not closed since last 4 years. Always puss is coming from both the arms, it do smells bad. I was diagnosed for HS 1 year back. I ate a lot of antibiotics but none of them work. Now I am applying turmeric paste on it, eating turmeric balls. I started doing this since last 3 days. But there is not a single stage of healing. I need some tips some suggestions. Please please please please........
I've had HS for 7 years. It appeared when I was 14 and has been going through flare ups and remissions ever since. From what I have read, I have a mild case; one reoccurring boil on the groin area, which has slowly created tracks under the skin. I have had surgery twice, both times have failed to prevent it from reforming, and the scar tissue is pretty ugly. Nothing has cleared up the boil like turmeric has. I am currently recovering from a flare up that lasted months. The boil would be draining constantly and it made it very hard to even walk to classes. I went on this website and read about taking turmeric and immediately fixed myself a glass of warm water with 1/4 teaspoon of the stuff. I added agave and it went down alright. I also mixed some into a paste and applied it topically for the day and put down a panty liner to keep it from staining my clothes. To be honest, it burned like hell. I tried to do the same thing the following day but the smell and taste of it nearly made me gag and I couldn't make it through the whole glass I prepared. I went to a local health food grocery store and bought some turmeric capsules instead and have been taking them for 6 days now along with my daily dosage of 40 mg of zinc which I have found helps a bit too. The boil has completely healed. The swelling and pain are gone and it's almost the same color as the surrounding skin now. There's only a bit of itching from the healing now but even that has gone down over the course of the day.
It's true! No hoax or scam! I was diagnosed with HS (Hidradenitis Suppurativa) in March and was immediately put on antibiotics to treat the condition. The symptoms would go away while I was on the treatment but would come back as soon as the antibiotics ran out. Between March and June, I was on 4 different types of antibiotics but the painful bumps still kept coming back on my underarms and tummy. Before my follow up doctor visit (to get a new prescription),
I came across this site and tried the tumeric treatment the very next day. I mixed turmeric with water to form a paste and used it topically before bed. I also drank a half teaspoon of tumeric in warm water as others on the site suggested.
It has been just under 2 weeks that I've been doing the tumeric treatments and I now have no bumps left. I have no plans of going back to the dermatologist because tumeric is super effective for me. Thank you very much for sharing and helping out others who suffered with HS. You guys are the real MVP's!
Hey guys, I want to just say thank you so much!!!!
I hope that everybody with HS can find this site, when you cross the doctor you will find only no hope!! So sad...
I used two spoons of curcuma per day in warm water, just drink it, not tasty but after two three month your problems are gone! Sun is shining and you have a smile on your face!
I usually try to take a 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric in some orange juice or other juice 2x a day when I have an HS outbreak. My HS is located in my pelvic region and I've been dealing with it for roughly 14 years. I began making a turmeric mask that I found for my face in hopes of lightening the dark marks that I have from facial acne.
The mask consists of:
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon lemon juice
and enough yogurt to make a paste.
These are just guidelines and the amounts can be adjusted as you see fit, and flour may be substituted for yogurt. My HS hadn't been as bad lately and I only had 3 lesions that were about a dime size each that seemed to be connected.
I decided to apply the mask to my bikini area to try and lighten the darkness of the scarring I had obtained over the years from HS (I had an upcoming vacation). I left the mask on for an hour and then washed it off in the shower. I noticed that the lesions were not as irritated and painful. I left the area open over night and the next day when I got in the shower the lesions began to drain and were half the size! I let them air dry again and repeated the process later that day (this WILL sting for a bit on the open lesion, but I have a high tolerance and wanted to test it again so I didn't mind).
I let it air dry again overnight and the next day they were completely flat and the skin started to heal. I repeated the masks daily for a week and the skin healed up quite beautifully and the scarring didn't seem as bad.
I'm not sure if you will have the same results as I did, but it is worth a try if you are in pain or the lesions are quite large.
I have had HS (self diagnosed) for a few years in the groin area, on the knicker line. The latest boil with tunneling was about 4 inches long and painful and seeped pus and/or blood daily, and I guess I've had it for about 5 months, with it being worse around my period. I started taking turmeric 9 days ago - 2 X400 mg tabs at breakfast and 2 X 400mg with evening meal along with one tab of zinc. I also have been using drops of tea tree oil topically. I have to say, the swelling has gone down by at least 50% and there's little seeping or pain. I also have started using other supplements (at same time) to lose weight so can't rule out dietary influence. Whatever it is, it seems to be working so far! It's not gone completely but going to carry on and see how I go!!
Where do I begin? I have had Hidradenitis Suppurativa FOR THE LAST 3 years ... It had devastated my life until I found the magical medicine right in my cabinet which was overlooked for years .. Never too late .. I read posts here and started drinking turmeric water 2 times a day... Results: IT WORKS.. I just wished I had used it earlier on.. I have stage 1.. I tried everything under the sun.. Diet, topical application and birth control pill etc.. It does work temporarily but if you discontinue and if you are not religious about it returns ..
What I did for my HS is I just took 3/4 - 1 Tablespoon of turmeric and added t to 5-7 oz of warm water and just drank it (gulp it, better that way) for 2 times a day. I continue to do so. I couldn't believe the inflammation is gone, literally flattened, and as others have said here it acts fast and all am left with is scars which I plan to clear out through bio oil and coconut oil ? I have never felt this confident in years. Try it out today. I used organic home grown and home ground turmeric. Good luck.
YEA turmeric for Hidradenitis Suppurativa! ! I have been using the 2 tablespoons with 1/2 cup of water everyday. Noticeable improvement. I have been diagnosed and have been on antibiotics for years. I stopped taking them because they didn't work. Dermatologist even looked at it once and said it looks like it hurts. What a jerk. I'm very grateful for this site. Life changing. Thank you!
Apple2012 from Bejing - Yes, definitely linked to my cycles!! Absolutely. I can't imagine life without turmeric. It's kept my HS essentially under control. I experiment with my use of turmeric. I at at least 1/8 teaspoon with black pepper to soup each time I eat it. Top ramen works for me- simple but true! & easy in a pinch. Warm milk with turmeric, black pepper, cinamon, cayenne, & honey is tasty & effective. I sprinkle it on eggs & avocados & experiment with anything I think it might blend with. I prefer eating turmeric with food rather than using capsules, personal preference, & it works well for me! Good Organic turmeric (I get mine in bulk spice section). If you try one brand that doesn't seem to do well don't give up, try another. Good luck!
Suffer from Hidradenitis.. I started taking turmeric about a month ago. GREAT results. My multiple boils all began to weep dramatically and then nothing. I have applied tea tree oil to them and finally after 6 months of having open sores under my arms they are closing!!! Felt a boil under my arm yesterday and today it was so painful. Opened a turmeric capsule and made a paste with some water about 10am... Its now 12:50pm... just noticed that it is pain free and draining under my bandage.
I am a 23 year old male, about 35 pounds over my ideal weight. I have had HS for over 5 years now. I used to have it on the area above my penis and the doctor diagnosed it as carbuncles and gave me antibiotics. The antibiotics took a week to show signs and I only got mediocre results. A month or 2 after the antibiotics, the sores returned. The lesions migrated around my crotch and buttocks for awhile before finally coming to rest between my legs. During a flare, my crotch looked like a war zone, not to mention the pain and oozing and bleeding. When I wasn't flaring, it still looked bad down there. This has played a huge role in my sex life, or should I say lack of. Its hard explaining to friends and family why I dont ever have a girlfriend, or even try to meet girls. It made me depressed, I became sedentary and smoked a bunch of marijuana (to medicate the depression), played video games, ate and gained weight. This WAS my life.
I started taking turmeric about 2 weeks ago for Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Only hours after taking the first dose (2 tbl spoons in 1/2 cup of water) I noticed about 50% improvement! I was astonished, and was extremely encouraged to take successive doses. I have taken it twice a day for over a week now at a lower dose of 2 teaspoons per 1/2 cup warm water. I would say that now I am 90% better looking down there, with the last few stubborn lesions shrinking and on their way out. Today I picked up the turmeric capsules ($12 for 60) and will be taking them (500 mg/day) from now on.
I am also now taking ACV for weight loss, to raise my pH, and to lower my blood pressure. I highly recommend looking into ACV for the aforementioned ailments. I noticed a drop in my blood pressure after 1 day, I just felt so much healthier.
This site has changed my life, I feel like a completely new person and am forever greatful to this site and its contributors. In a month or so I will be in better financial health so I plan to make a donation to the site. Thank you so much!
You can actually apply the turmeric directly to the open sores and they will heal faster. It may burn at first, but it is dramatic how quickly they heal up when it is applied topically! I usually wet my finger, wet the boil with my finger, rewet my finger, and dip it in turmeric, and press firmly into the sore to make it stick, and then try to leave it alone.
I wanted to thank the creators of this site and its contributors so much for all the helpful information I found on here. I've had HS for years and always felt as if I was the only person who had this. It was actually just last year when I found out this was HS and not some mystery disease. Unfortunately there is no cure. I've seen different doctors who just didn't know how to go about dealing with this disease. I didn't want to go in for another round of antibiotics, or expensive injections at an expensive dermatologist, so I decided to go the home/organic remedy route. I'm so thankful to have found this site.
I had a really bad flare up last night, a very large and painful boil. It was very difficult for my to walk or sit, and I could only lay on one side of my body in bed, to keep pressure from building on the boil. I drank a mug full of hot water with 1/2 teaspoon turmeric and crushed black pepper. When I woke up this morning the first thing I drank was half cup of hot water with black onion seeds. Then I drank the turmeric and black pepper in hot water again this morning at 6 and 11:30, and the swelling and pain have gone down considerably. It's nasty but it works! I will drink it again at 4 pm and 10 pm. My mother has been telling me about drinking milk or water with turneric for a long time now, I don't know why I never listened! Mother really does know best!
I've noticed that sugar and coffee is the only main thing that causes these boils for me. I need to lose weight as well. It may not be everyone, but I've been doing my own research on this disease and have seen that a lot of people dealing with HS are overweight or obese.
hello everyone ive had HS sense I was 12 as well im 21 now I was scared cause I was molested and I thought it was an STD but thank god I got over that and went to a doctor and I was dignosed but ever sense then it has changed my life and I felt like so not normal...!! But ive been looking into natural remedies cause all the anitbiotics docs perscribed none of them worked and I dont want surgery!!!!
So I looked at this website!! Saw that tumeric was working for people!! So I tried it and it works but breakouts come and go!! Because of stress and weight gain or eating unhealthy!!! But it dose work in pill form or just as a paste or in a tea!!! As well keeping clean and dry... My boyfirned is alright with it but sometimes I dont feel pretty but keep your head up try all the natural remedies you can im sure one will work!!! Dont be afriad to talk about HS it dosent make who you. Just goes to prove were strong and we can make it better for us and our friends who have it!!!
Gavin (Manganui, Northland, New Zealand) on 08/15/2011:
Just as a positive indication for tumeric.. I thought just to test.. I'd drop the tumeric from my daily routine. So I just took the ginger and cayenne.. Within a week I was feeling slight twinges nothing to bad... As soon as I started the tumeric they went. Adding that the MSN has done away with all back discomfort. This definiatly works.
I have had HS since I was 10 it started on my lower back and has grown to my armpits, breasts and very rarely the groin. I am now 25 and I have been using Turmeric capsules for about 2 weeks now and the results have been amazing!!! My doctor recommended I stay on them as they are the most natural ones out there! It's not a 100% cure but not it is about 95% more bearable and looks about 95% better as well. My mother has about as severe of case as you can get and while the effects of Turmeric on her have been minimal she too is staying on them as little relief is better than no relief.
I've gotta agree. I can't believe after all this time I finally know what the cause is. After reading this and going through pages of comments as well as staying up till 6am LOL I went straight out to the nearest 24/7 CVS and picked up a few things. Turmeric was hard to find and I ended up finding Turmeric Powder at my local Kroger.
I hope that along with the change in lifestyle I'm already implementing will at least ease the symptoms.
I can report that before I fell asleep I took my first "dose" of Turmeric and I woke up about 40 minutes ago. There's nearly no pain where there was terrible pain last night. Coincidence? Maybe... but I like to believe that the turmeric is having some positive effect.
Justsayin (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 05/22/2011:
Courtney from San Francisco, what I do is take 1tbls of turmeric with 1/4 cup of warm water. Taking turmeric for the first time - seemed like torture. I quit turmeric and swore I would never go back. After living with my pain and hiding my HS from everyone I went back on EC and read all the great results people were having with turmeric. So I tried again and this time I put the 1tbls of turmeric in yogurt and just swallowed it. When you put turmeric in yogurt it goes down without tasting anything - I do have my nose plugged just in case =P
Sara from The Beach, Canada had a great idea with using the straw, you could try that as well.
Be rigorous with the turmeric regime and your sister will see results fast. Use it twice a day and you can play around with how you want to take it, EC has lost of recipes that people use and have great results with.
Just know that there are also empty capsules you can buy at your local health food store that you can fill with turmeric - but there don't absorb nearly as much as drinking the turmeric straight up. The regular capsules that people having been talking about filling on this site don't realize that those capsules don't have a enteric coating - meaning the turmeric won't even reach the digestive system where you get healing effect.
That's so sweet that your looking out for your sister, and you relationship where she can tell you anything. HS is something that popped out of now where for me, and after having it for only a few months, I'm so glad that EC has helped me stop it thus far.
Margaret (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) on 05/10/2011:
TURMERIC REALLY WORKS!!!
I drink it dissolved in warm water once a day when I have an outbreak - and the boil literally shrinks within hours - it's amazing. 1/2 tsp in 1/4 cup of warm water, but you can play with the dose.
I also no longer sit in a chair at work - I sit on an exercise ball which constricts my groin area less - which has made a HUGE difference - my exercise ball deflated and I sat in a chair for a month and they came back - I bought a new ball, they were gone in a week.
PhisoHex also works if you use it consistently but you shouldn;t use it longterm.
I notice when I eat a lot of sugar, it makes it worse. Good luck.
My daughter was diagnosed with Hidradenitis Suppurativa a year ago when she was 13. The only place she got HS was in the crease of her breasts. It was very bad. Open, seeping wounds with holes that you could stick the end of a Q-tip into (did not try, the MD did this) and very bad tunneling. It was raw, red and very very sore; about 8 inches long and 5 inches wide. The MD said it was because her breasts are so large (34-F). The MD really didn't know what to do for her, at first she said we had to go to a plastic surgeon to have the skin between her breasts removed and new skin graphed in and a reduction. The surgeon said he would not touch her (thankfully) they finally put her on antibiotics, which they concluded she was allergic to, and they did not work.
She then started Acutane and was on it for 6 months. It was the worst 6 months, for both of us ever. The MD finally said that she wanted my daughter to start Humira, told us the side effects (which scared the heck out of me) and said she would need to be on it for the rest of her life. I finally told the doctor that we were going to try a natural cure first.
I found this site and put my daughter on 2 Azo yeast pills a day and 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric dissolved in hot water and a tea bag (to make it taste better). She has been doing this for 2 months and the doctor recently released her from care. She is healing up more and more each day. Turmeric is a life saver for my daughter. The tunneling stopped, the holes closed up, there is no more seeping, and only one small red spot; everything is clearing up. It has been a year and half since her diagnoses and we are so happy that she is doing better.
I have been using the turmeric for less than 1 week, it has made an amazing difference. Thank you all for posting about this. It has been a miracle for me.
I was on anti-biotics for a period of almost 3 months, but HS was not getting healed. I rather started having terrible side effects of anti-biotics.. As I was away from home, I couldnt even see a doctor.. I am really grateful to this website to help me out of pain. I tried out turmeric theory (i have turmeric with milk twice a day and also apply turmeric paste on the affected part at night before sleeping) HS has been under control, though not cured yet, but the pain has reduced a lot and size has decreased considerably.. Thanks a lot..
Suffered with HS for about 15yrs now; As anyone who has this knows.... You will try just about anything to ease the pain of it. So I've been taking one tsp turmeric powder in milk and honey for almost 2 weeks now... And truth be told... The first day I was knocking this stuff back hoping it wasn't a practical joke. You do get kinda used to the taste... I've had far worse medications prescribed!! IT IS AWESOME!!!!!!!! SEVEN golf ball size boils on inner thighs, bikini area and under boobs have all come to a head and drained!!!!! I've had this batch of boils for at least 4 months; doctor useless. Told me to loose a bit of weight. I cant go from standing to sitting or even walk without wincing in serious agony. So how do I exercise the weight off?? Ridiculous!! But yesterday, I walked for miles, up and down cliffs and hills and no pain... At all!!!! Not cleared completely yet but continuing to improve. I really wish I had known about this years ago so I wouldnt be so badly scarred. Can't recommend enough... Yes Yes Yes
(1) 
I usually try to take a 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric in some orange juice or other juice 2x a day when I have an HS outbreak. My HS is located in my pelvic region and I've been dealing with it for roughly 14 years. I began making a turmeric mask that I found for my face in hopes of lightening the dark marks that I have from facial acne.
