Discovering Personal HS Triggers

Everybody is different and what triggers hidradenitis suppurativa flares will be different for everyone. Common triggers might include dairy, gluten, processed sugar and fat, red meat, nightshades, oily food, alcohol, cigarettes, anxiety, depression, hormones, and stress.
Boy, is that a mouthful!

Finding new hidradenitis suppurativa triggers

Some people might get flares from one of these things, while others might be triggered by a few or all of them. It really is so frustrating and makes treating hidradenitis suppurativa even more difficult.

Originally, I thought my triggers were gluten and sugar, but now it seems like it might be a mixture of some of these other things.

Alcohol

I’m not a drinker. Never been and probably never will be. I honestly just don’t like the taste of alcohol and, once it starts making my stomach and head feel weird, I really don’t like it. It’s wild but some people can drink a ton and be fine. Me? Sometimes I’ll have one drink and I’ll throw up all the next morning. It really isn’t a good time with the way it affects me. Right now, I’m on medicine to treat my severe facial acne which is induced by my polycystic ovarian syndrome. This medicine is super strong, so I can’t drink while taking it. Really, I’m not all that torn up about not drinking, especially since I’m pretty sure alcohol is one of my triggers. It seems like after I have a glass of wine (something I don’t mind too much if it’s super sweet) or any alcohol (that doesn’t taste like alcohol), I’m flaring within the next few days.

Dairy

This is a newfound discovery and one that breaks my heart, considering I would inject mozzarella into my veins if I could. That’s dramatic, but you catch my drift. I love, love, LOVE mozzarella, burrata, and all those delicious creamy and gooey cheeses. And don’t get me started on sour cream and mayo. I have high cholesterol and have had it since I was a kid, so perhaps this is really for the best. I’ve been trying to get vegan cheeses and substitutes to make up for the lack of dairy. I really can’t tell the difference with the vegan mayo, and I don’t mind the vegan cheese I’ve tried, but I haven’t found a very good substitute for sour cream yet. If anyone has any suggestions, please help your girl out and drop them down below.

Hormones

I think the hormone imbalances that come with PCOS and the hormone are especially impactful. The week before, the week of, and the week after my period, I always seem to flare horribly. My doctors have me on medicine now to try to counteract the PCOS hormone imbalance, which will potentially help with my HS flares.

Mental health

I definitely flare whenever my mental state isn’t up to par. If I cry, am anxious or stressed, or my depression is getting bad, you can bet your bottom dollar that there's a flare in my foreseeable future. No psychic or crystal ball needed. I also get extra emotional and moody because of my hormones around the time of my period so maybe that’s also impacting the HS negatively.

What triggers your HS flares?

These are just my own personal triggers and, as I mentioned previously, everybody is different. What are some of your triggers? Comment down below and let’s see which ones are, unfortunately, affecting us the least and most.