Has Anyone Dealt with Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Topical natural remedies won't touch an internal HS infection. There are things you can do for pain management and discomfort (Like Neosporin + pain relief cream) but she will still need the antibiotics. She is likely to need surgery to remove severe areas if it is reoccurring.

Diet can make a huge difference for some people with HS. You need to work closely with a doctor on that to monitor the situation.

Make sure she is seeing an experienced dermatologist, not just a pediatrician or GP.

I had one VERY severe tunnel/infected chain of sweat glands, aka HS. After 4 ER visits(mine was in my bikini line and would flare up suddenly and streak a red line 8-10" up my abdomen, always on a Saturday night), I ended up having that particular tunnel surgically removed about 3 months ago and so far so good. Has your daughter seen a really good board certified dermatologist? That'd be my first recommendation. And while antibiotics are certainly not ideal, neither is chronic infection - it can be more than uncomfortable or embarrassing, it can be downright dangerous. I hope she can see a specialist that can get it under control and then the continued lifestyle changes keep it that way. So so sorry she's dealing with that!

Edited to add: totally forgot to mention this... but when I first was diagnosed, I did a lot of reading. Turns out a lot of HS sufferers do laser hair removal and have a lot of success with that decreasing the severity, so that may be something else to look into.

I was on antibiotics long term for a dermatological condition (not HS) and while not ideal boy did it beat the pain and suffering from the condition itself.

I just Googled HS and there was a laundry list of solutions from antibiotics to bleach baths (only if approved by your dermatologist) to biotic treatments, injections and/or surgery, laser treatments...the list just went on and on...so it seems like there are a lot of treatments to choose from that your dermatologist can choose from or help you choose from to help your daughter.

First off for home treatment I would suggest a healthy diet with no processed sugar...none at all...sugar feeds all sorts of bad bugs from bacteria to fungus etc etc....cutting all processed sugars out for say 6 weeks to see if it is helping and then looking into cutting out dairy as well could really be a game changer as far as her break outs go...

I would also consider a long term treatment of antibiotics because if they can get it under control then you can keep it under control with diet and other lifestyle changes. (While she is on the antibiotics make sure she is on a really really good probiotic to help her gut biome stay healthy and eat plenty of fermented foods, sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha, fermented lemonade, etc etc).

The biggest lifestyle change is always your diet as we are what we eat...and if she is overweight which one of the articles I read said is a contributing factor to the condition helping her clean up her eating will help her lose weight and in turn help stop the breakouts.

Good luck!!

I just looked it up. I am unsure why you would not treat this very painful condition. It sounds like your daughter’s condition has already progressed to an advanced stage. Follow her doctor’s recommendation or fina a new doctor that you trust.

Getting treatment for HS is important. Early diagnosis and treatment can prevent HS from worsening.

If HS worsens, the pimple-like bumps can grow deep into the skin and become painful. They can rupture, leaking bloodstained pus onto clothing. This fluid often has a foul odor.

As the deep bumps heal, scars can form. Some people develop tunnel-like tracts under their skin. As the skin continues to heal and scar, the scars thicken. When thick scars form in the underarm, moving the arm can be difficult. Thick scars in the groin area can make walking difficult.

Because HS can look lot like acne, folliculitis, or boils, it is best to see a dermatologist for a diagnosis. To a dermatologist’s trained eye, the differences between HS and other skin diseases are subtle but obvious. Proper treatment depends on an accurate diagnosis.

Hi! Oh boy I feel so bad for your daughter! My daughter had a similar condition under both arm pits looked like dark patches of elephant skin. She plays basketball and has to wear a tee shirt under her tank jersey. Can be painful too. Doc got her on a steroid cream and it did clear up fairly quickly as long as she kept arm pits dry and faithfully put the steroid cream on. I hope it clears up soon. Best of luck!!

I will tell you what my mom did for my sister. She had these in her groin area. It was really awful. SO bad that the doctors surgically removed a few of them. They kept coming. So she felt like she HAD to do something to prevent it. The doctors didn't seem to have an answer.

She took all sugar and processed foods out of my sister's diet. No processed flour - no white bread. No hot dogs, processed meats, or red meat. It worked. My mom did this for years for her. It made all of the difference. You have to try SOMETHING. Try this. It might be hard for her changing her eating habits, but it's worth it. I hope you sincerely try this.

I think you should see a doctor (a dermatologist) and follow their directions. If they say antibiotics are the way to go then I think you should do it. Sometimes doctors are right and once something like this gets to a certain stage it'll be best to just take the antibiotics. I just had to take very strong antibiotics for an infection. I am not a fan, but wow, it helped quickly. Have her take a probiotic and a probiotic supplement daily while on antibiotics and for a few weeks afterwards. A nurse friend strongly recommended Florastor (daily probiotic supplement) and Advanced Probiotics with 50 billion CFU and 11 strains. I took both of these each day and it helped a ton...and made me feel good about keeping my gut healthy and not getting C-diff. PS - It was only 1 week of antibiotics.

It seems there is no cure and it will be something she has to deal with her whole life.
If she's in so much pain - I'd do what ever her dermatologist recommends.
While using antibiotics all the time isn't great - it seems in this case it's better than doing without.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hidradenit...