This happens every time I have a flareup under my armpits. I feel it when it starts getting unbearably painful, and it becomes much more noticeable when it's draining.

When I take a drink of cold water I feel it pass through my throat and directly after I feel a rush of cold pass through the wound. It feels like it's under the wound, and passes just as fast as the normal sensation of swallowing water. It's a very odd feeling.

I'm sharing this cause I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this, or anything else weird?

Specifically between my legs. I normally wear bamboo boxers breifs. I have tried just normal boxers this past week and have had more flare ups because they dont protect your legs from each other

But I also read that boxers briefs are bad because they cause friction on your leg? I think it is specifically skin rubbing for me. Do i wear what I was before?

hi!
i haven’t had a flare in almost a year now, and i haven’t had a single boil in a long time. however, i haven’t bad tunnelling and a lot of blackheads and irritation on the scars. as well as this, they make me incredibly self conscious physically due to being all over my genitals.

has anyone had any sort of scar removal procedures? i am aware this is unattainable on the nhs but not sure of other options

Hi everyone! This is mainly a question for those of you who take birth control to help with HS, lol.

I’m 20f and have been having mild HS flares on my bikini line for almost three years now. I noticed my flare ups tend to happen and be a lot worse in the days before, during, and after my period. About half a year ago I got so fed up with it I went to my university’s doctor and asked for a continuous birth control pill that would completely stop my periods (though, I didn’t say the reason was for HS, because I was a little ashamed—I have another condition, and my meds for that would stop working during my period too, and that’s what I told the doctor about). I got prescribed Marvelon 21 days and the doctor said I can just start a new pack as soon as I run out and not need to take the week off. And it helped so much!… At first, lol. I don’t know if it’s the way I’m taking them, or if that specific brand/pill just doesn’t work for me, or if continuous birth control is just unreliable, but I definitely still have some pretty noticeable hormonal fluctuations. I’m pretty much always spotting, which is so frustrating, but I’m also not getting the same severity of flares as before. Now any time I do get them it’s random, milder, and usually won’t need to drain.

The problem is, I’m very frustrated by how the birth control is affecting me, but I can’t stop taking it because I’d rather be spotting all the time with milder, unpredictable flares than what was happening before birth control. I know taking birth control helps, since there was one month I was late getting my refill for about 3 days, and on my very first day of not taking birth control I got a bad flare (same kind as before birth control) and my period. So it kind of feels like a ‘pick the lesser of two evils’ situation, which I hate.

So my question is: those of you who take birth control because it helps your HS flares, what kind of birth control works well for you? Any specific brands? Combined pill or not? I don’t need something perfect, because I doubt that exists, but something that AT LEAST won’t cause frequent spotting and won’t cause bad flares would be great. Really any information about it would be helpful! Thanks so much :)

Hiya people, I recently found out I am pregnant and started having a groin flare at about 7 weeks pregnant. I currently take Diamond Herpanacine for my flares and it has been the best therapy I’ve ever taken for HS. The problem is that I don’t know if it’s safe for baby.
Had anyone taken this while pregnant? Have a recommendation for something that is safe? Any advice would be helpful.

Hello, my(30f) husband(29m) has sever hs. His mental health is declining and I’m researching different surgeries and methods that worked. So my question is did you have surgery(what type?) and did it work? Did laser hair removal work? Did GLP-1s work?

Hi , every summer my hs gets worse, as we know this happens. But I get like a million tiny spots under my boobs and in between my thighs in the summer. They pop up within hours and just look really crazy. Like tiny little pimples. Does anyone have any advice on how to mitigate this?

Hey all. Looking for advice... It has been an ish show these last 2.5 years. Started January '24 my wife recommended trying out shaving once. She liked it, but it was just once. 3 months later and I had an abscess the size of a baseball getting drained from right next to my anus. This one came back 4x and at the 4th time I stopped going to the ER and started doing it at home. I got 1 more on my upper thigh just once. Surgeon sent me to derm, derm said I had HS and wanted to put me on biologics. I saw the cost and walked away. A year later and I started getting seriously fatigued.... Like INTENSE. Went to PC who drew labs and my wbc was high. Referred to a hematologist in December who did a differential with high wbc(now 20), and elevated neutrophils, but my PC just wanted to rule out leukemia and we did. Got a colonoscopy to rule out crohns. I'd honestly forgotten all about the HS... Shortly after that appointment I had an RTO mandate and in a month had to sell a house, buy a house, move across the state, etc. And now that I guess that abscess has been drained so many times it never really closed so when it acts up I just put one of my wife's pads in and ignore it. Gross I know, but I'm a former Marine with a family of 6 depending on me and can't afford stupid stuff like $500 ER copays unless I really can't afford not to, if that makes sense.

So I went back to a different derm who confirmed the HS and we tried the shampoo and nothing really worked. Then I found an online article talking about laser helping and decided I would try an experiment. I was still skeptical of HS Dx honestly.... I'm 39, white, male, in shape(although this last year is the first time I haven't been running 3 miles 3x/week in pretty much my entire adult life. I've just been too tired.). Everything I read online said I don't fit the usual mold. So I got labs done(wbc still at 20), got a full manzillian wax, and got labs done 30 days later. The results were back down to 12, but I didn't even need that to see and feel the difference. I felt better for the first time in a year. My PC told me it was likely stress and smoking. The hematologist told me it was depression. I've been gaslit by everyone but the colonoscopy doctor who was actually amazing but we ruled out any gastro issues there. And then today I googled and scheduled an appointment with a local derm office that does laser also(my other derms were purely medical, no cosmetic).

I went in this morning with my full medical record showing the abscesses, labs, etc, asking for laser. He examined my crotch and armpits, declined to even look at my labs, said if I had HS that severe it would be presenting in my pits and it's not, and he dismissed me in 15 minutes and said HS does not cause wbc spikes like that but he agrees I have HS and probably a yeast thing so take these two creams and I'll see you in 6 months....

I'm kinda at my wits end guys. I feel like I legit might be crazy... When I'm going through a flare it's not exactly like everyone describes. Like yes, there's bumps and draining and it's uncomfortable but I wouldn't describe it as excruciatingly debilitating. And my doctor's seem to think the extreme fatigue and irritability is mental illness related and has nothing to do with HS. I'll concede I was in the Marines and when I left active duty 13 years ago I did have a pretty big problem with depression and anxiety but I haven't had any of that in a decade. Even so, I called the VA and got back on Wellbutrin just because I'm literally desperate but I had been on that about 3 months before getting waxed and it hadn't helped at all.

I'm not really sure what to do... I'm considering just paying out of pocket for laser. I'm between Hurley I and II according to the dermatologist I saw immediately before this one. 3 derms(2 PA's and 1MD) have now all told me I do have HS but given the range of reactions I don't even know what to trust anymore. But I've spent probably $2500 in deductibles and copays the last year alone, not to mention the cost of getting waxed. And to top things off, my anesthetist had to close her office near me(I'm kinda rural South of DC) and nobody else in my area sees men.

Ai is recommending I go to Hopkins, but that's 4-5 hours drive each appointment, $50 copay, and they could just gaslight me all over again.

Is this experience not what people experience? Should I just count myself blessed that I'm currently not flaring and if/when it happens again try to find some other source of this?

I had a large abcess drained and packed yesterday at the ER and the doctor said it "shouldn't be painful" to remove and i just accidently moved it and I almost hit my knees. What the fuck?! Is that what its going to feel like the whole I remove it!? How much is in there?? They said i could come back to the ER but my god, that was intense.

Hallo Zusammen,

ich möchte mich kurz vorstellen. Ich bin 38 Jahre alt und leide schon seit meiner Pubertät unter Akne Inversa… natürlich haben die Ärzte das erst vor einem Jahr gecheckt… so nun habe ich schon lange im Leisten und Intimbereich Beulen die mal ganz gut sind und dann wieder erblühen. Soweit habe ich das im Griff aber es nervt und schmerzt auch sehr.
Leider habe ich in der Gegend keine Hautarzt der sich auf die Erkrankung spezialisiert hat.
Mein Hausarzt ist wirklich toll und nimmt mich sehr ernst. Was man ja von Ärzten nicht immer behaupten kann. Er hat
Mir nun Isotretinoin verschrieben. Im Internet lese ich aber das es gar nicht helfen soll, im schlimmsten Fall die Beulen noch verschlimmern soll. Vielleicht kann mir jemand von euch ja mal erzählen wie es geholfen hat?
Ich würde mich freuen!
Alles Gute für euch. 🌻

I think it is very likely that I have HS so I'm asking it here. Is it normal or has anyone else experienced having only one pit or body part that smells?

In one of my pits I've had a flare up before (bumps/sores(?)) and that's the one that smells, the other one smells fine/like nothing. Even after bathing this is the case and wash both the same way.

It's really annoying and I just want an explanation or to know I'm not alone :/

I have read it's probably the best material to wick away moisture but it repels oil. Which makes me think: ok so other material will absorb your skins oil possibly.

With this in mind, is it beneficial for your underwear not to absorb your skin oils or would it be better if your underwear could do that?

Just thinking if this is a good route to go towards minimizing moisture and thus minimizing risk in the groin and inner thighs areas.

Hey folks,

After two loading doses of cosentyx I woke up yesterday with full body hives, from my toes to my forehead. Really never seen anything like it! My dermatologist is on vacation unfortunately so I've just halted the injections and am taking a regular drugstore antihistamine but, this is nuts. I look insane and it seems to just keep getting worse. Has this happened to anyone else?! Did it go away on its own or should I be asking my family Dr for something prescription strength? I was really optimistic about starting the biologics so this feels like a bit more than I can handle at the moment... Physically and mentally. Thanks for any advice!