Top Remedies for Hidradenitis Suppurativa

So I started with taking a B complex supplement that contained about 100 mcg of B12, every other day (making sure to take only supplements with limited amounts of "extra" ingredients). I saw some improvements in my overall autoimmune symptoms. But when I went to get my B12 levels checked with my doctor, they were found to still be in the 400s range, which is not optimal at all. He recommended I take a higher B12 dose.

So I purchased a B12 supplement that contained 2,000 mcg per capsule. I began take 3 capsules per week (one on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays). I continued with my regular B complex on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. A couple weeks after beginning this regimen with the added higher B12, I noticed I was no longer breaking out at all. I tested this by going for Mexican food and had enchiladas drenched with tomato sauce. No reaction. A few days later I ate mashed potatoes. Again no reaction. Since then I have eaten nightshades so many times with no reaction! The HS was gone!

I decided to stop the B12 for a week to see what would happen when I ate nightshades. The breakouts returned. I started the B12 again, and my skin cleared pretty quickly. I googled to see if there was a connection between B12 and HS and I did find one small study where someone's HS was cleared with higher doses of B12.

Anyway, I wanted to share this to hopefully help someone. Raise your B12 levels and other vitamins and minerals to optimal levels and you will see a marked improvement in your symptoms.

I have tried every remedy on earth clinic and many that aren't listed. Sometimes I got a bit of symptomatic relief. I still wash with antibacterial soaps and use fresh lime juice as my deodorant. My HS effects my underarms and groin area. Even when there is no active infected boils the lumps remain.

Last week I started applying a topical solution of 70% DMSO and 30% pure organic aloe vera gel. I bought the items and mix them myself in a small glass beaker after my bath. I apply every other day. The difference is like night and day. The long lumps under my skin are gone. There is one slight one left under one arm but it is reduced 90% and I expect it to completely resolve within a few days. The only dietary changes I have ever made is to cut out hot sauces and cayenne of any kind.

The DMSO was the CURE. I had to post...for those of you who have given up on being rid of this horrible ailment there is hope!

I purchased some TEA TREE OIL from WALMART for about $4.00 to mix with my shampoo to treat the dandruff. After reading a few posts on here, I used it on a particularly large, painful sore that would NOT open or drain after weeks.

I saw results WITHIN HOURS. No exaggeration, within HOURS the "cyst" had gone down in size noticably. By the second day, it had shrunk nearly 1/2 of its original size and pain was nearly 80% gone. I'm on my third day and I can't even feel it. I had no drainage, no pain and it is nearly gone. All I did was saturate the tip of a cotton swab (the kind you clean your ears with) with Tea Tree Oil and rub it gently onto the area. I covered the surrounding area for good measure. I did it twice per day and the results are amazing!

I read another post about the connection between HS and Yeast. At first I was really skeptical because my Dr. told me that the disorder is caused by inflammation of sweat glands which "traps" in bacteria which is naturally occuring in the body. Once it gets trapped, she explained, it festers and grows out of control and gets infected, causing these sores. But after seeing how well the Tea Tree Oil worked, I'm wondering if that "bacteria" she mentioned was a generalization and could include the naturally occuring yeast on/in? our skin? Tea Tree Oil, aside from moisturizing is an Anti-Fungal. It is helping with my dandruff, and it worked miracles on my HS sores. So, I wonder if there is not a connection.

I also saw some people treating it with a popular homeopathic yeast infection treatment. I used that same kind for a long time but never thought to monitor the sores with its use. I may start that up and see if it helps.

With all of this information, it makes sense that certain foods, stress and illness could cause a flare up of HS. It could be that those foods, situations, etc are causing inflammation which is trapping the naturally occurring bacteria in our bodies and BAM! Sores all over the place.

I have tried almost every remedy on this site with little results, aside from tumeric, which really only slowed the rapid growth of the massive infections.

I hit my limit one day and went to a natural foods store with a very long list of things I was going to try from this site. I ended up speaking to the owner of the store who asked what I was dealing with. I reluctantly told him, because as you know, it is very embarassing. He immediately said it sounded like a Ph issue and recommended organic sulfur (MSM).

I started taking 1 tsp in water morning and night. I felt the pain had started to go away the first night. By the third day I could lightly pinch the absess, which was quite large, with almost no pain. I would have been excruciating before. By the end of the week it was shrinking and COMPLETELY gone by two weeks. It is nothing short of amazing. I can have a normal life again.

It has been almost a year and I have had only one issue, only because I quit taking it regularly. I felt a little Pain on my inner thigh and felt a hard lump under the skin about the size of a pencil eraser. I didn't immediately panic and get upset. I started taking the organic sulfur again and in two days I can't feel it anymore.

It was very expensive in the store, but I found 4xs the amount on Amazon for half the price. My finace and I have been taking it regularly, for the most part and have seen our allergy symptoms dramatically decrease, he has started regrowing hair, and reduce sinus infections.

It is recommended to buy the powder, not capsules, because anticaking agents inhibit its results. Don't eat or drink anything for about 10 minutes after and don't mix it with anything but water. It is kind of bitter and doesn't taste very good. I noticed it tastes much better if I mix it in hot or very warm water and it disolves right away.

Please try it and let everyone know how it works for you. I went to the doctor many times over the years and NOTHING helped. I have had many absesses lanced and packed and it is awful. I didn't want to post to early as not to raise anyone's hopes. But I am more than sure now.

What finally worked for me was Baking Soda. Just plain old, straight up, arm and hammer baking soda. After I shave, I just pour some into my hands and rub it on my underarms and inner thighs. I haven't had a flare up for a good 6 months and I'm happier than ever. I know this solution may not work for others, but everyone's body is different, and it's possible this may help someone. I understand the shame and the pain involved with this disease, but I want to encourage you all that there is a solution. As I said before, everyone's body is different, so each of us need different solutions. Here was mine. Hope it helps someone.

With Hope, Shanay

Try to get rid of as much hair as possible in the area of your frequent breakouts. I use a hair removal lotion around my bikini area (don't get any of this on the bumps! ) that seems to work well and not cause further irritation. Shaving is the worse-I usually got a bump afterwards. I've never waxed my bikini area so can't comment on that. I've heard laser hair removal may work.

The TURMERIC really works. I simply mix a few dashes of it in a small cup of hot/warm water and drink it straight with a straw. The turmeric really stains so you may want to do this right before eating or gargle before brushing your teeth. It will stain your toothbrush. I try to do this at least once a day when I have a bad breakout but it you can do it more often I'm sure that is better. I actually like the taste of the turmeric so I'm thinking I must have a mineral deficiency or something.

I had a large boil right along my belt line that really hurt! I bought those large square band-aids and soaked the gauze part in straight TEA TREE OIL. It was large enough to completely cover the boil and was discreet enough for me to wear all day. In a few days it became flat and eventually went away. It did leave a dark spot that does eventually fade, after several weeks...

VICKS VAPOR RUB-even the generic kind-did give me some relief. It is soothing and did relieve some of the itching that happens as the boils go away and heal. It was best for me to use this at night.

Ladies-use TAMPONS instead of pads if at all possible. I usually get these breakouts around the time of my cycle. Using the pads causes more moisture in my vaginal/anal area and I start to sweat, which causes the bumps! Change your pads often. There is one particular brand-that starts with an "A"-that is the absolute worse and I always feel the moisture a few minutes after using them. Choose wisely!

Using ZINC SUPPLEMENTS seemed to work also. I read that taking 90 ml a day is the trick, but the brand I had is only 50 ml, so I had to take it twice a day. You MUST take this with plenty of water or with a meal, otherwise you will get nauseous or you may throw up.

This last breakout I had was the worse-I had about 4 small boils in my vaginal/anal area at the same time. As they heal, the itching is intense! Scratching seems to make itchiness spread. To combat this, I used ANTI-ITCH VAGINAL WIPES, (in my vaginal area) ANTI ITCH CREAM and ANTIBIOTIC OINTMENT outside of my vaginal area.

I don't currently have any boils now, but on a daily basis I use TEA TREE OIL mixed with COCONUT OIL around the area where I've had past breakouts.

Mind you-my boils never burst, they just went away. Draw your own conclusions with that...

This is a really embarrassing ailment. I truly hope that some of these things I've tried helps someone.

I have tried almost every remedy on this site with little results, aside from turmeric, which really only slowed the rapid growth of the massive infections.

I hit my limit one day and went to a natural foods store with a very long list of things I was going to try from this site. I ended up speaking to the owner of the store who asked what I was dealing with. I reluctantly told him, because as you know, it is very embarrassing. He immediately said it sounded like a Ph issue and recommended organic sulfur (MSM).

I started taking 1 tsp in water morning and night. I felt the pain had started to go away the first night. By the third day I could lightly pinch the abscess, which was quite large, with almost no pain. I would have been excruciating before. By the end of the week it was shrinking and COMPLETELY gone by two weeks. It is nothing short of amazing. I can have a normal life again.

It has been almost a year and I have had only one issue, only because I quit taking it regularly. I felt a little Pain on my inner thigh and felt a hard lump under the skin about the size of a pencil eraser. I didn't immediately panic and get upset. I started taking the organic sulfur again and in two days I can't feel it anymore.

It was very expensive in the store, but I found 4xs the amount on Amazon for half the price. My fiance and I have been taking it regularly, for the most part and have seen our allergy symptoms dramatically decrease, he has started regrowing hair, and reduce sinus infections.

It is recommended to buy the powder, not capsules, because anti-caking agents inhibit its results. Don't eat or drink anything for about 10 minutes after and don't mix it with anything but water. It is kind of bitter and doesn't taste very good. I noticed it tastes much better if I mix it in hot or very warm water and it dissolves right away.

Please try it and let everyone know how it works for you. I went to the doctor many times over the years and NOTHING helped. I have had many abscesses lanced and packed and it is awful. I didn't want to post to early as not to raise anyone's hopes. But I am more than sure now.

I started having symptoms of HS when I was around the age of 14 but I didn't realize what I had until I was around 20 years old. Once I discovered my extremely painful boils weren't a result of a lack of hygiene, I started the long road of looking for a cure or a way to manage them. A doctor gave me spironolactone and although it worked great, I didn't want to be on a medication like that long term so I started looking for natural remedies...which is when I found this site! It helped me so much I thought I would share some tips of my own. First, I only have HS in my groin (panty-line) and bottom area, so not in my armpits (thank God! ). Things I do that have helped A LOT:

--Washing the affected area once a day with hibiclens (OTC anti-bacterial soap). It was recommended by a doctor and I have found that when I skip a day, I regret it!

--Washing the affected area after working out or getting the area sweaty is a MUST! And I mean right after. I tend to sweat a lot around my panty-line and when I don't follow this regimen, again, I regret it! I usually schedule my daily skin-shower around when I work out so that helps.

--I didn't use tampons until I read posts on this page of women recommending it. I couldn't agree more that if you have HS you should exclusively use tampons. They are a life saver. I used to get the worst flares during my cycle and now barely at all! Moisture and a lack of airflow are huge no-no's with HS, so you can see why pads are terrible for you.

--Wear underwear/briefs that are a size too big. I know that sounds weird, but ANY pressure on the skin in my groin area (the hem line of underwear) would cause the worst inflammation which would lead to the boils. This was honestly one of the easiest ways to manage my problem. I also stopped wearing shorts/pants to bed to give the area more airflow (so less sweat).

--Like the above tip, do not wear tight swim bottoms! I now wear a tankini (I used to wear a one-piece) so that I can wear looser swim-shorts. Beforehand, I would literally have same-day inflammation from wearing a swimsuit that hugged that panty/hemline!

--Another reason I wear swim shorts is so that I don't have to shave my legs so high! I would get a lot worst inner thigh flare ups from shaving, so I stopped doing so as frequently. I have considered laser hair removal but have yet to try it.

--The right kind of shorts (and pants! ) is really important and is probably the hardest to find. I don't wear jean shorts at all anymore (I miss them so much) because they were pinching and causing problems. This is a tip that you will have to figure out by trial and error, but just know that clothing makes a HUGE difference. Speaking of clothing, if you're at home on a cold day, loose shorts and a blanket are better than pants--remember, lack of pressure and airflow are everything.

--Unfortunately, I haven't found many ways to manage the bumps I get on my bum! I've found certain chairs/sitting positions cause bad flare ups, but I haven't found anything else to help so far.

--I have tried turmeric, and although I think it helps a little (I was eating it every day for a couple of months), it didn't help me enough to make me want to eat it every day (so gross when eating a teaspoon by itself). I've also tried tea tree oil and manuka honey which I didn't see much results with. BUT, I wasn't all that diligent in their application so that might have been my problem.

--Although I would not recommend spironolactone long term, I would recommend someone who has super-damaged skin from untreated HS to use it for a couple of months. After 6 years of damage (I literally have scars and had areas of my skin that were so damaged they were almost constantly in a state of being an open wound), the break spironolactone gave me was great. It allowed my skin to heal up and just calm down and I think the natural methods I'm using now work a lot better because I started from better skin.

I've been doing the above for around 2-3 years now and I can say that although I still suffer from HS, it is nowhere near as bad as when I didn't know what HS even was. Although there are some areas of my skin that are still pretty sensitive (only one area of super damaged skin near my panty line), there are other areas that used to flare up every couple of months that haven't bothered me in over two years! Hopefully, this helps you on your journey. And please don't get overwhelmed by the changes either! Just take one change/step at a time and hang in there!

I've suffered with HS for almost 20 years with outbreaks occurring in my younger days almost every other week to every 3-4 months, presently. Don't suffer another minute. Give it a try. It works!!!

All the DS girls I know suffer with this awful condition.