I have started dressing as comfortable as possible! Yoga pants are now a staple of my wardrobe. I also found one type of bra that fits good from lane bryant and doesn't put any pressure on my arm pits. My main goal is to just keep this from getting any worse. And hope for a cure.

You know Dove deodorant is the only one I can use that doesn't break me out more..it took me a long time to find it.I've never tried it on other areas of my skin though.I don't think I would try it on open sores.

I actually got brave and tried it on a sore. I just made sure I dabbed it with the deodorant instead of dragging it across (ouch). It's not the most pleasant thing but I've found that some more persistent sores began healing and closing. I make sure to get the good skin around it too.

That is interesting.I think the idea of it possibly being painful scares me to try it lol. I get so light headed when I have open sores and I get really queasy.I have found Neosporin does wonders for me esp when it has pain relief with it.Definitely interesting about the deodorant tho.

Dove soap and deodorant has always worked very well for me, and believe it or not I've recently started using Ivory body wash and it has really helped me..

So I got some courage and tried Dove deordorant on a open sore that I've had for a year now.It wouldn't heal and was draining really
Bad this week..anyway I put the dove on it last night and I kid you not the sore is closed up today and the one that was swollen is now flat.i also noticed I wasn't as itchy today after applying it.im curious to see how it reacts this week after putting it on at night.Thanks for the tip.I'll keep everyone updated.

That's awesome, fingers crossed for you!

As for soap/body wash, I use Dr. Bronner's castile soap. Anything labeled "body wash" I stay away from because it doesn't get my skin as clean. I also use some rubbing alcohol on my affected areas before using deodorant (yes, it stings). I don't know if it's at all helpful, but it feels more sanitary and also helps remove adhesive residue from bandage tape.

so I haven't used anything with aluminum in years and just googled the ingredients of dove to try to figure out what might have healing power in it.

This is what's in it:

Active Ingredients:Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex GLY (18.5%).
Inactive Ingredients:Cyclopentasiloxane; Stearyl Alcohol; PPG-14 Butyl Ether; Dimethicone; C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate; Hydrogenated Castor Oil; Talc; Glycerin; Fragrance (Parfum); Sunflower Oil; Steareth-100; Vegetable Oil (Olus); Glyceryl Oleate; Propylene Glycol; BHT; t-Butyl Hydroquinone; Citric Acid.

So I know enough chemistry to know its various forms of alcohol compounds with castor oil, glycerin, and sunflower and veggie oil...so that led me to google castor oil and I found this:

http://www.disabled-world.com/artman/publish/cure-boils.shtml

"Castor oil will draw the poison right out of the boil and can heal it in as little as two days."

so now I am debating the risk of aluminum as it is known to led to Alzheimers or just getting castor oil. Its cheap too so score for thrifty attempts to help HS.

I am so happy this is helping ya'll.

Thank you so much for the suggestion to use Dove sensitive skin deodorant. I'm definitely going to the store and buying some - seeing as I've been having more flair up's under my arms than usual, it's gotta be worth a try!

Im going to get some dove right now!!!! Anything is worth a try with this damn disease! Im gonna use it on my bad spots and see what happens...ill update in a couple days.

i just wanted to reply...THANKS!!! I went and got some and immediately put it on. my underarm has been bright red and itchy for longer than a week and i just looked and its barely even pink!!!! ITS HELPING! I cant wait to see what it looks like in a few days!

I am glad to see posts on this because I was going to update everyone today.I have been using the dove for 5 days and my open sore that would not close (I used tea tree oil,neosporin,anti bacterial soap and so many others) closed that night of using it and its almost gone right now.The redness from my sores have faded and I haven't seen my skin look this healthy in a awhile PLUS it reduces the odor.I have a spring scented dove deodorant and keeps me smelling nice,reduces the red,closes the sore and just makes me feel clean.Its definitely something I will add to my daily routine.It totally flatten bumps I have had in awhile.

Mixie that is interesting what you found.I was so scared to try this lol but I cant believe how fast it closed my sore up when its been open for so long.That was so worth it to me.Anyway its worth a try I think.

Me too...I think I am going to get some and just not worry about the aluminum. I use arm and hammer all natural now and for some reason lately since I started having hot sweats or flashes it doesn't work as well as it did. I am so happy for you and others who are seeing relief. That's a huge boost to our quality of life.

I had used Dove for years, swearing by it, and being a bit on the sweaty side it really was the only thing that worked (my HS at the time was just very small occasional bumps and sometimes black heads) after a while I noticed my HS getting worse with large swollen bumps and immediately switched to Tom's all natural. I have been using that for the last 2-3 years and while the HS has never gone away it was stagnant with the occasional hard bump. Recently (and I am convinced that my body reacts to stress dermatologically because of other skin problems I have) my HS went on to another stage where one of my swollen bumps opened up. I switched back to Dove and things seem to be getting better. I have noticed I can only get a max of 4 years with one brand and then have to switch. So I just wanted to add that while Dove is great - - and even more awesome to know that castor oil would be it's magical ingredient - - there is other stuff out there if you aren't having luck or did have luck but find it to not be working anymore.

I have never used anything but Lady Speed Stick. I don't see any aluminum in it and it does have the castor oil also. Only have had one small sore in my pits in all the years but break out everywhere else. Think I will stick with it for now.