I completely agree that everyones story counts and should be heard!! I promise to make that a personal goal of mine...please remember their are three types of people: person skin type one, will NEVER get not even one boil no matter how much contact they have. Second person skin type: person will get one once in awhile or once and never again but never developes HS. Then their is person number three: once we come across the infections disease without proper knowledge of what it really is we will keep getting boils and eventually develope HS stage three. Knowledge is power. The one boil u have had tested may have been "sterile" but the next one you got prolly wasn't. If you are taking baths with any other people please keep in mind hair follicle open I in warm water and infections are easily spread. Also about children...they don't typically get them untill puberty age 8 or so but I have heard of babies getting them but super rare...just please for their safety be carefull I know I would never wish this pain on my archenemy...I would do anything to make sure any children around me don't get it....you never know who is skin type 1, 2, or 3.....I will get working on my new goal this week I promise ill start contacting everyone soon asking you guys to fil out questionares....maybe with that, another petition, we could get some REAL attention on this VERY serious issue...HS is non curable we will ALWAYS have it....but I do believe there are ways to reduce our flares....if we all are willing to share our stories like this we could really do something guys....

Okay, this entire thread is driving me nuts...lol.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, however, lets talk about some facts.

Fact: Hidradenitis is NOT contagious. It is a malformation of the sweat glands, and that can't be caught. If it was contagious more than 1-4% of the population would have it. Common sense if you think about it.

Fact: 95-99% of HS lesions and boils carry NO secondary infection, therefore cannot be spread. This is why antibiotics do not cure the disease.

Fact: If there is a secondary infection it can be spread. If you have luck changing your clothes, bleaching, and disinfecting, that is because you are helping to block any secondary infection to enter the wounds. For instance, wearing a bra, if there is any dirt, or bacteria on the bra and you put it on, you can get a secondary infection.

If you are having trouble spreading this, you may want to consider antibiotics long term because for some reason you are getting secondary infections. I urge you to ask your doctors to do cultures.

Hey everbody Great debate. Thats how we get answers to this monster. With its invaders. PLease Read my topic Antibiotic herb Chlorophyll My research is done and i found through a combination of steps you can beat this mess and you can keep it from coming back or Healing the wound quickly to have a beautiffull life. There are 3 of us with diffrent stages. and presto no moore oozing no more stinky smells. ANd natural healing right in front of your eyes. Please read THis is what it is all about. TO help each other I am informing all of you the best of my abilitty. ANd through The grace of God and this panel I found what we have all been looking for. Ask me any questions call me I don't care. It works. I studdied herbs for years. And the one thing i know Our bodys can heal themselves and we can be the ones who make that happen. God gives all of us the tools to heal. With love and respect Robin

My husband suffers from HS...I've been with him for 10 years and just recently in the last two months I have developed two boils but they are on a much smaller scale...i did find it interesting because i never got boils before.

My bf cared for my sores too, but doesnt have it. I found out that both my uncle and aunt on my mom's side have HS. I noticed you said you asked the mom and brother but what about other family members. As long as its inherited it can be immediate family or distant. I wonder how long HS has actually been going on and think about certain eras where HS was not yet heard of but people might have still had it. We could have had family members back in the 1800's or something, just an example, who've had it.
Hope you find your answer. Just think if he does in fact have HS then you have someone right there to endure with. That's got to count for something right??? There are things in this world that we just can't control but as long as we have someone that cares about us and loves us understands us than we can endure together. Never feel like HS is your fault, because its not. Best Wishes to all.

NOT CONTAGIOUS it has been scientifically proven that it is not contagious...