Hidradenitis Suppurativa Support Group

Hi I was just diagosed with hidradenitis, i am haveing my very first outbreak ever at 60 years old. How long does an episode last/

Hi Mabelle3 Welcome to the group! Wow, first one at 60. That's pretty unusual in my experience. I wish I could say how long it will last, but they vary so much from person to person, it's hard to say. I do know that early treatment makes it less severe and easier to treat. Finding what works for you can be the hard part.

Is your dr. familiar with HS, and has he treated many cases? It really helps when you are lucky enough to have one who has. Also am wondering if he/she offered advice on how to deal with it.

If you haven't already, explore the forums and read some of the older posts, and check out the articles. There is lots of info there with tips on what others have tried, what works and what doesn't. If you need any help or have other questions, don't hesitate to ask. You can use the PM feature under our names to send a private message any time also.

Looking forward to getting to know you.

Karen

Hi Karen,

thanks for getting back to me my regular primary Dr. gave me the diagoses, and after doing so research I would say he is correct I am presently on a penicillan and a gel for acne which is helping a little. I do not know what step is next, I know that as a young person I never used to sweat, ever I could work out for hours and I never would have to use deodorant, so I would say I have a problem with my sweat glands going wacky,

I also have been on a job for three years were I am constantly sitting so no air down there. So I would say that is just part of the problem. So for the future I would like to try to clear this up and work on not getting so many future flare ups it is painful. physically and emotionally. Any info would be appreciated, I am under alot of stress lately I have a terminally ill sister and I just had a break up with the man I was going to marry. So that doesn't help.

Mabelle, I am so sorry to hear about you sister and the break-up. Two such stressful things could really play havoc with flaring. I hope you dr. does some more research, especially some of the posts from here about the nature of HS. He should know if he's read much, that HS is not acne and if treated as such, it usually does more harm than good eventually. Antibiotics don't help except for secondary infections, when they abcess. And even then, most don't work. I've heard of a couple that have for a few, and Keflex works for me thankfully. I was taking Tetracycline for years and the HS just got progressively worse, until it was stage III and I had to have surgery.

I don't want to scare or upset you, but this is just the reality of this disease. No known cause, no known cure and not many proven treatments, if any. Best thing I ever did was to find this site, and get tips from other sufferers on home remedies, which have helped more than any other thing. So hope you explore the site and see if there are things you haven't tried , see if one or more might work for you. I and some others are having lots of success with Tea Tree Oil applied to the affected areas. Sure is keeping flares to a minimum and shorter healing time.

Staying as stress free as you can seems to help too, but that is sometimes impossible, when serious events are occurring. Still some relaxation exercises could help a bit.

Hang in there, as something good is bound to happen for you soon. I'll be thinking about you and praying for a good dermy for you.

Hugs,

Karen

Post edited by: oregonnative, at: 11/03/2010 10:10 AM

Hello Mabelle, Welcome to our group. I'm so sorry you have to contend with HS. It is miserable. All of the life issues you described could have some bearing on why you are just now experiencing the boils.

Karen's right; for many of us, antibiotics just cause more problems.

If the breakout is in your lower regions, maybe you could try a warm/hot sitz bath to get the boils to drain & relieve some pain.

Also, 100% cotton under things will help. Avoid Nylons & panty hose, if at all possible.

My mom would have her doctor lance & drain the boils, the he would pack them. That seemed to help her quite a bit.

I use Tea Tree Oil topically, hot packs and my trusty sitz bath. It all helps.

Best wishes to you,

Michelle