Managing HS
I’ve been suffering with HS for almost three years now. I didn’t go to the doctor until a year ago where I was then incorrectly diagnosed. It was only a few months ago I came across a TikTok of a woman who seemed to be suffering with exactly the same symptoms as me. After lots of online research I realised I had HS. Suddenly everything made sense to me, especially because I suffer with PCOS too, a co-morbid condition.
I let myself go into an internet deep dive and the word ‘incurable’ kept on standing out to me. I let myself get worked up and stressed which in turn made my symptoms worse.
Three months later I am in a much better place with my HS and I thought I would say the lifestyle changes I have made as I hope to help someone as this forum helped me.
First of all I was prescribed with Fucidin, now what I call a ‘miracle cream’.
Whenever, I have a flare up I will apply this three times a day and it will be gone after a few days. In addition, to I have gone back on birth control, with my PCOS also causing heavy periods, this made a lot of sense to me. I am on luccette the combined pill and I am happy with it so far.
A few other lifestyle changes I have made:
When I have a flare up I try to not wear pants and instead wear loose fitting trousers or girl boxers if I have to.
I use anti-bacterial soap when I wash, I spend a while lathering this in and also make sure I completely dry myself when I get out of the shower.
I follow a semi-strict anti-inflammatory diet. I have limited, processed foods, sugars, complex carbohydrates, caffeine, fizzy drinks, alcohol and nightshades.
My fucidin now prevents my flare ups from scarring but I do use a scare gel to lighten old scares.
With all of these measures I have only had one bad flare up in the past month that has impacted my day to day life. Although it is early days I can see a massive difference already and wanted to show the measures I have taken from the advice I have read.
It's amazing to hear how you've managed your HS! Your lifestyle changes, like using Fucidin, switching to loose clothing, antibacterial soap and an anti-inflammatory diet are inspiring.
Wow,
, thank you so much for sharing your experience with the rest of the community here. It's always great to hear from people who are finding relief and success about what's been helpful for them!
I know a lot of people here can relate to being improperly diagnosed. (You might appreciate this article from one of our health advocates about her experience getting diagnosed, https://hsdisease.com/living/gaslighting-diagnosis.) Were you ever able to get a medical diagnosis? Perhaps the doctor who ended up prescribing the Fucidin cream?
It sounds like you have really done a lot to figure out what is helpful in managing your HS symptoms! Lifestyle changes can be huge within the HS community and I know a lot of people here have made dietary changes that help keep flare-ups to a minimum. Did you find it difficult to determine what foods to avoid? (Another one of our advocates wrote about her experience of following an autoimmune protocol diet that I wanted to share with you also, https://hsdisease.com/living/autoimmune-protocol-diet.) It certainly can be a challenging process to make dietary changes, and I'm curious to hear about yours and how you determined to follow this particular diet?
Again, we really appreciate you sharing your experience with the community here! Although what works for one person won't be a guarantee to work for the next person, it still can be so encouraging and helpful to hear from people who are getting relief, and what has been helpful for them. Thank you for being a part of the community here!
-- Warmly, Christine (Team Member)
