Absolutely Mildred, it can be crippling. I've had the big one on my bottom which they call pilonidal and that pain is often compared to child birth, so you're not far off. Anti inflammatories over the counter do help a little bit... And a little bit can be a lot!

Yep under the arm pit is the worst I've had HS in so many areas but under the arm is the hardest one yet! There are so many nerves under the arm. Plus, depending on how deep the lesion is its prob hitting a nerve. I'm dealing with HS wounds under my arm pit. Keep the area clean and dry as possible. Under the arm is an awkward place to have HS and hard to get rid of once under the arm pit. Hot compress might help. I would try and see a doctor. My pain was so bad I couldn't get out of bed. My arm felt like it was burning,

this was a doozy the wound itself did not hurt and was on my tummy

in a really weird place but directly where the hip pain was

I think it started internally 2 weeks ago (which is when I first recorded the extraordinary back pain) Then took that long to come to the surface

the lesion doesn't even hurt but its massive (by my standards which are Very Mild) and has the tunneling visible

its like its eaten through from some hip area lymph node right through everything to this tiny lesion

I hate for what Severe sufferers must go through I even LOOKED unwell and it was just one tiny lesion about the size of a dime

I can understand pain Mildred, as most of us can on this site. As with all of us, hang-in there. I have pain all the time and am on two painkillers right now. I'm on Naproxen, and Percocet both. Yikes! My doctor says these will work together. The topicals aren't doing much. In the flare-up areas the puss, infection, and fungus won't totally go away at all. My worse areas are groin, and my left leg. As I've said here numerous times; God still loves us all. I've noticed my walking even gets worse. This HS Disease is sure mysterious, and debilitating. Take care everyone here.

Tunneling can be painful. Sitting in a tub full of hot water 15-20 mins, 3x a day with no soap in the water, might help to relieve some pain. As long as you can stand it, until the water cools. Just an option for some who can't go to the doctor. If it is tunneling it may need to packed or surgery. Make sure to always cover any open wounds with gauze. This will help. Nerve pain will help!

I am not a doctor and this works for my son. I wrote this remedy to some but never received any feedback if it worked for them either. Please check with your doctor. I first heard of this remedy in an Internet blog but I cannot remember where or whose. In the auto supply stores, you can buy a leak detector kit, which has an ultra violet penlight. Be sure not to look into the light but you place the penlight right on over your boil and turn it on for five to ten minutes once a day. If the boil has not popped after 24 hours, repeat for another five to ten minutes. It should pop and the release of the pus should stop the pain. Put an antibiotic cream and a bandage over it after it pops. Putting belladona on the boil (Ichthammol Ointment 20%) before using the Ultra Violet penlight will also help to pop it. Please check this with your doctor and please let me know if it helped you so we can tell others. In adding this comment, I,ledlight,do promise to be nice.

I just take antibiotics this time it wasn't the lesions tht had the pain but I believe the tracking beneath which went God knows how far. :( I actually went to GP about back/hip pain thought it was kidney stone came home and FOUND lesion> :( I don't have a bath here either :(

I'm in pain too! I have been having a bad flare up for about two weeks now. Its my right armpit, I had two of them and one tunneled near my back. It wouldn't let me sleep. OMG it hurts so freaking bad. I would wake up crying sometimes from the sharp pains, it would mess with my nerves in my arm, its terrible. I have been taking advil and vitamins, specifically vitamin C for my immune system to fight it . The advil helps with the inflammation a little, you still feel it, but it relieves it a bit. You are not alone on the pain and I hope this helps.