Does Antibacterial Soap Really Work for Treating HS?

Hi, i have been dealing with HS since I was nine years old, I am now 33. I have went to doctors after doctors, and I have had my sweat glands removed from my left arm pit and my left breast in which I have not had an outbreak in those areas since, but the cyst, boils, or legions have gotten worse in the right breast and arm pit and there now coming in my buttock area. I think my case is the worse because I have dealt with the disease for 24 years, and did not have a clue about what I had until about five years ago, and I have tried everything under the sun. After my surgery the doctor told me to use dail soap (antibacterial only) and hibiclens which is an antiseptic/antimicrobial skin cleanser that you can purchase from Walgreens. It cuts down of the spread of bateria in the infected area. I can honestly say prayer and hibiclens has made it more managable for me. Another helpful hint is when using hibiclens the order is not noticable.

My question is for Wossta from Jackson, MS. I have your same exact problem but I have yet to find the right doctor here in Jackson. I have had HS since I was about 11yrs. old although it was no diagnosed until I was 21! Now over the past 5 yrs. my condition has gotten so much worse that I have lost my ability to function in my everyday life. Please email me the names of any doctors that you have been to that were able to help you. Also, any medicines that have had a positive effect on your condition. I need any and all help from anyone. Doctors seem to minimize the effect this has on my life and the server pain I experience daily with no relief. Just one abscess after the next all in different areas.

I have used the crystal before and it works great, however there are two forms I have come across one in a more classic shape and the other in a ball, I recomend the actuall deorderant and not the ball as the ball can become rigid and very painfull to inflamed skin.

I've had Hidradenitis Suppurativa most of my life. However, I have NEVER had body odor, even though I do NOT use deoderant. When I had my sweat glands under my arms removed as a teenager, I began using baby powder to absorb the sweat and it worked very well. Now I use a body powder that you can get at any drugstore and I have no problem with body odor even though I go to the gym and workout.

Please describe the surgery. My new Dr has booked it and I am so freaked out, no clue how long I will be off work, I've been off a total of 4 weeks now.

To: Cherie from Brocton, MA
Hello, I was so glad I found your post; you live very close to me. I live in Rhode Island and I also suffer from the emotional and psychical symptoms of HS. I have been to countless doctors and bounced from one specialist to the next as my symptoms just keep getting worst. I would be very thankful for any information you would be willing to share with me regarding your personal struggles and medical experiences with this condition: diagnosis, doctors, medicines you have tried and if the weather affects your HS? I wish you the best.

Just a tip. Powdering the area does help significantly but most powders contain talc, which is highly carcinogenic. So I bought a bag of rice powder from the grocery store. Works just as well and it's 100% natural!

I have had severe problems with HS and a couple of years ago required surgery to mend the lesions in my arm pits. I have since gotten onto using an antibacterial soap along with an antiseptic tea tree oil cream and had very few problems since. This has usually been when I have not kept up this routine. This indicates that it must be working. It is better by far than the countless antibiotics I was having prior.

At times I feel I smell of eucalyptus leaves (an Australian plant favoured by koalas) but it is well worth it and it smells much better than the putrid smell of a HS wound.

Tea tree oil has been a godsend. I used to use the straight oil but managed to find a cream from the supermarket, Tea Tree Ointment works for keeping it under control. I use tea tree deo daily but use the ointment when I have an itch or a breakout and between these two it keeps the attacks down to a few times a year. Still hasn't totally eliminated the stinky left pit smell but I can live with that trade off to not being in pain and full of painful cysts. Check out various Tea Tree oil stuff, it's good.

They call the crystal deodorant as TAWaS.. it is a filipino deodorant.

Antibacterial soap: Liquid vs. bar. I am so thankful I read this! I have been so frustrated lately, as things have gotten worse. After reading this, I am wondering if it is not just a coincidence that things started getting worse at the same time that I started using Dial liquid soap! I am getting the bar tomorrow!

Thank you for having this up there. I realized after about a month of using dial soap on and off that it has made my HS worst as well. I began to get more than one break out under my arm. I am going back to my regular soap and going to use colloidal silver to make it better.

I use Cetaphil Antibacterial soap. It is a bit more expensive than the Dial, but it works well for me. My issue is that washing twice a day makes my skin uncomfortably dry and itchy. Is it safe to use moisturizer on the affected areas? I have Cetaphil moisturizer - it is supposed to be pretty basic with no added perfumes or such. I just started taking Zinc Gluconate and Vitamin E to see what that will do to help. I have had success with taking Yaz birth control - the affected area is still spreading and infected, but I have not had any huge lesions in a long time and very few that break open and leak. I am also going to start taking Turmeric to see how that helps.

Brandy, Have you seen any info on YAZ birth control and complications it causes. Check this out.

Paula

Tired of seeing the derm doctor for H.S. so I tried the dial soap (gold bar) and tea tree oil. Incredibly, within a couple of days, the lesions had decreased in size and pain. I also tried hot baths in epsom salts. A week and a half later, I feel like myself which I had not felt like in at least a year. Thank you all for your wonderful information. I am so thankful!

Hi Brian, I read your story here and many others I have had this problem since the age of 15. I am now 33 and still used to keep getting these cysts in my underarms and tail bone. When I read remedies on earth clinic I right away started with Dial Soap and Turmeric Pills. few days later I noticed that the boils did come back but much smaller and less painful. Now i have stopped using Dial soap but still take Turmeric Pills 2 X 1 daily as a routine. Being from India we always believed that Turmeric has antiseptic properties and I know now for sure it does.

...Just 2 capsules 2 times a day for a months and then 2 just before you sleep. Hope this helps.

I have not had very good luck with antibacterial soaps. They seem to inflame my cysts. They are all pretty raw and large. I have had better luck with an 8% peroxide cream wash and Physoderm.

I had lovely skin until I turned 20. I had terrible acne on my face and back. A year or so later the HS started. It wasn't bad in the beginning, but that changed fast. As long as they drained I was ok it was when the scare tissue was too tough for them o break thru that I had to make trips to the ER to have them lanced and wicked. I'm 55 and overweight (lost 72 pounds in the past year) and they are worse then ever. My arm pits are not too bad but my groin area is a nightmare.

As a result of an infected cyst in my 20's I was hospitalized with a whopping 106.5 temp. While in an ice bath they started IV penicillin, which I had orally without incident so it came as a big surprise when I had renal shut down.

My kidney function did return but my doctor dropped the ball and in 2002 when I got cellulitis for the fifth or with time from the HS it was found that my kidney function was only 40%. So much for my doc keeping an eye on things.

Now it seems my kidneys are not sending the hormone to my bone marrow telling it to make red blood cells. The HS causes and abundance of white blood cells. I am so anemic it has become dangerous.

My cysts generally leak a clear fluid or bleed copious amount of bright red blood. It's a nightmare going anyplace. Hard chairs hurt, I leave stains, I can't wear anything but black and it's pretty impossible to bandage he to the location.

I have been to some of he best dermatologists in Boston but nada! I find I do better hen the doctors treating it. Awhile back they injected the worst ones with a steroid and or a few days I was in heaven. They were nearly nonexistent but then came back with a vengeance. I was talked into trying it 2 more times and it was the biggest mistake of my life. Everyone injected is so much worse that I long for the days before they experimented on me. I've done Embrel (sp?) some IV thing for RA that gave me a bizarre side effect. Every joint felt like it had gout.

So if we don't get the blood thing under control HS may be the cause of my demise. It's such a horrible disease that's so hard to explain to anyone that doesn't have it or love someone that does.

I'm open to suggestions.

Go to the "ailments" section of this website and type in "H" and then key down until you find your ailment. Many people have cured their Hidradenitis Suppurativa. Read what they did ...

Hi Brian, My daughter just told me about her condition which she has been hiding for 9 months. She also has cellulitus. She has an appointment with a dermatologist Monday. But we are going to try these remedies!

Brian, I am amazed at your courage. My prayers are with you. We have family in Tampa, maybe someday we will meet you.

Paulette