I am SO, SO sorry. I've only had about one on my panty-line but it's recurring to the point where it's almost always just a "hole" in my skin that's always draining. My poor panties can't take it anymore! I imagine it's extremely uncomfortable in your underarm seeing as its been rubbed against by your skin. I used to get cortisone injects every time they were open but the "hole" never seemed to go away. It's still just a pinprick but it'll always seep stuff out.I've never had it as severely as yours, mine has always been the size of a thumb nail, but it was painful so I understand what you're going through. Luckily I'm getting surgery tomorrow and I'm extremely optimistic.
I suggest putting a non stick gauze pad, if your skin (and most importantly wound) is unaffected by vaseline, neosporin could work too, cover the gauze with a thin layer of it so it won't stick to the wound when you take it off. Good luck!!!

Hi there. I have had the same type of hole for about two months. My boyfriend jokingly calls it a GSW, Gun Shot Wound.

It's extremely frustrating. I'm not on my second, stronger course of Anti-Biotics. The only thing that seems to be helping is keeping it covered during the day with a non-stick gauze pad and paper tape to secure it to my skin and taking Tumeric and Zinc.
I've been taking 900 mg of Tumeric and 50 mg of Zinc a day. It seems to be working well. My GSW hasn't healed, but it's doing MUCH better than it was a week ago.

Avoiding baths is definately a good idea. It just keeps the wound open and wet.

Take care!!

yeah ive had that. in fact i got one right now under my left armpit going on a month now. i do alot of documentation which not only helps with my disability case but also with the venting.

Yeah, I have those holes too. Vaseline on my underwear line really helps with the friction pain. I just use that or triple antibiotic ointment as needed. Its just one of those things I've learned to live with.

I tried the Tumeric and Zinc for a few weeks and it didn't seem to help at all. I am currently on Yaz birth control. I chose it because I read a study where an ingredient in it showed to help women with HS. It's been about a month and I don't see any improvement yet. I am such an advanced stage 3 that I don't expect anything to help me at this point. It's so wide spread in my groin area that I don't even think surgery could help me.

Use Silvadene 1% cream, prescribed by your doctor. This is amazing stuff! It is primarily used to treat burn victims. It is applied directly to the area and left. It is antibacterial and antifungal as well. I too have had several craters that NEVER seemed to heal.. it healed one up that had been gaping and draining for several years. Ask your doctor what they think, then at least give it a try if they agree.
Here is how I found this amazing cream!
When I worked in a nursing home, we had a cancer patient come to our facility from another facility who was bedridden and had the worse bed sores I have ever seen in my life, nearly clear to the bone on her backside.. they looked much like our gaping holes..we used Silvadene on those areas, and on her stomach fold too where the cancer had eaten through the flesh and left a gaping wound, she healed up so amazingly well that I was shocked! I can't say for absolute certain that this Silvadene will help you or not, but if I were you I would give it a try and see how it works.
Not so sure I would use Vaseline on my skin though, it is pretroleum based and will not allow the skin to breathe and may very well further clog your pores and create new cysts!
Hope this helps!

Oh, and Silvadene is water miscible and allows the skin to breathe and continue draining while it works to heal your area. :D

I do have the same problem. What works for me is: I use a product called Hibiclens.
http://www.drugs.com/mtm/hibiclens.html
What it does is dry things out and make them heal. I purchase it from a pharmacy and he orderes it for me in a 32oz. container. Be careful not to pay too much for it. Look around. My son uses it for his cystic back acne also.
After I wash with this, I put a gauze over the top with a product called Boileze
http://www.privateway.com/boezepareoif.html
What this does is has a numbing agent in it that helps with the pain and keeps the gauze from sticking. I purchase it at Walgreens...Generic form. It helps alot with small cysts that appear and hurt.
I have had this disease 30 years, so I have tried it all. I hope this helps a little.
Chris

I feel your pain! I had my second surgery yesterday, I have many, many holes which have lead to many tracks that had to be removed in my groin, buttcheeks and suprapubic area. I am in the hospital right now on a morphine pump, with an antibiotic drip called levaquin and getting whirlpool with hibiclens therapy. All of the wounds are left open to heal from the inside out, this takes several months to heal so be patient. The doctor wants the wounds to drain as much as possible. It is very important to see a general surgeon to see if you have tracks that need to be removed because they just go deeper and will not close. I currently cleanse with hibiclens soap and do not use ointments because that can trap bacteria in and keep it moist. The scarring can hold bacteria inside as well. The doctor wants to boost my immune system by certain foods, Zinc and Omega 3, cutting out the sugar is a good idea too. I plan on getting back on the Tumeric but because of surgery and it being a blood thinner I had to get off of it. This is a chronic disease that needs the attention of research. Thank God there are people out there like you who are not ashamed of sharing their painful experiences to help others. Take care.

Not that I am proud but as a vet of having boils I have tried a lot of things. What I do for those boils that leave a gaping whole is peroxide. I also pour peroxide into my bath water if I need to bring a boil to a head. The peroxide cleans the boil from the inside out, you have to do it everyday for about two weeks.

The only bad thing about peroxide is if the wound is open, it can cause chemical burn to the flesh! I do get small yet deep gaping holes from my draining cysts too. Once my cyst comes to a head and i can feel its about to 'pop' i usually soak in a hot bath and let my skin loosen. Then i squeeze the shit out of it to get as much of the nasty fluid out as possible... Of course this hurts but it brings much more relief because theres no longer any pressure built up. I usually wash this area several times a day, if possible, and leave it to air dry.... Unless its draining badly and i have to go in public then i will bandage it up so it wont leak onto my clothes. I recently had a huge cyst on my groin that left a hole about the radius of a pencil. I could see the flesh and even took pictures of this for any future reference. I personally would not squirt any antibiotic ointment inside this as it will only keep it moist and slow healing and possibly harbor bacteria. Mainly keep it steril and dry! Good luck!

I too have several "holes' in my armpits and one on my rear.They havent healed in months.The last ER doctor that saw me (I had no ins.at the time) was just shocked that they refused to heal.He did a whole thing of trying to find out if I was diabetic thinking that was what was going on.Of course I am NOT diabetic.Not even close.
What I do is keep those areas extra clean with Hibicleans,and cut out the pad part of those adult diaper things,they work much better than gauze and tape for those in the groin area,and for the ones in the armpits paper tape and non-stick gauze.I have to change them a couple of times a day but it is better than it leaking onto my clothes or worse onto other parts of my skin which breaks out into a rash if it does.
And I hear you on the water thing,burning.We have chlorinated water (city water) so it burns like a mother if they're really bad.Well water isn't as bad,but still burns a bit.
I'm going to be soon going to a dermatologist so if they offer me something new to treat mine that hasn't been done to me already I'll be sure to post it and how effective it's being.I'm not swearing off surgery,but it is definately the last on my list of HS to do list.I'm gonna try everything else I can before going that route.

Hi my name is Nicole and i have about 4 gapping holes all under my arms. they all seem to get infected again and again. Also I hear alot of people talking about the surgery but i've read alot of post and surgery doesn't work! For a couple of months you will be fine and then bam you will get another one.

First of all, do you know what a boil actually is? It's either a fungal infection or a staph infection that clogs up a pore. Even if it hurts you need to keep the area clean and get regular baths. All it does is makes it worse. That may be why it is taking so long to heal because it's infected from not keeping it clean.

Yes and then some. (Inner/Outer Labia, Groin, A**, you name it, they are there, never to close..never not even with Surgery/Silver Cream, etc. )
Makes Peeing/Defecating difficult....do not wish it on my worst enemy. I wish doctors would say more than "It is what it is". or "Sorry there is no cure for you."
The one in my groin took 3 years to heal "AFTER" Surgery. I know how you feel. So sorry for your pain.