Hidradenitis Suppurativa Support Group
Hidradenitis suppurativa (hi-drad-uh-NIE-tis sup-yoo-ruh-TIE-vuh) is rare, long-term skin condition that features small, painful lumps under the skin. The disease manifests as clusters of chronic abscesses or boils, sometimes as large as baseballs, that are extremely painful to the touch and may persist for years with occasional to frequent periods of inflammation,...
Hi all. I am just now figuring this all out. I am 39 and have been having "boils" for years in my underarms, worse over the last two years. I have had breakouts also in my upper thighs and bikini area. Usually a hard marble sized boil or two. Since I have had acne I always just thought it was cystic acne in weird places. My underarms have been constantly "broken out" for the past two years. I had a huge ( golf ball) boil under my arm in April, I think it may have been a sinus tract. It was soo horrifying when it drained, but felt so much better I didn't even care. I used hot compesses and "massaged" the area to encourage drainage. Lots of gross greeninsh pus drained for almost a week before drying up. I now have a long scar at the area. I have been scared since then and have been searching any information and found this group. My armpits look like a lot of the pictures, I have set up an appointment with a dermatologist, this group has given me the courage to see someone. I am trying Tumeric and just got the Hibiclens, I am so tired of smelling like sweat constantly I really hope this helps. Does this disease always progress? Anyone know if I should expect to have more frequent breakouts. I think I have also had this type along my jaw and by my earlobes. I have areas that are non inflamed but I can "squeeze or massage" out waxy sebum even years later ( gross, sorry). So glad to have found a place I can talk about this!
People are great on this site for coming up with different ideas to try & help relieve some symptoms. But what works for some unfortunately doesn't work for others but its always worth a try.
Thanks for your reply. I am so new to this and have not had my appointment yet so am still trying to figure this all out. I have read a lot about the odor. I don't think I have had any problems with this, the draining abcess I had was not horrible smelling, just gross. I sweat a ton and have not found a deoderant that does not make the breakouts worse. Like I said my armpits have had a constant lesions/ breakouts ( 1-4 per arm) for the past year, and when not inflamed there are always the red scars. So I am always worried I smell like sweat. We were at a show yesterday and I found myself coveting the dancers clear armpits...how sad!