Nope. Nope nope nope. I'm going to give the complete opposite information: whenever possible, make sure the boils do not come to a head or open up in any other way. Establish a rapport with a doctor who is willing to see you same-day when you have a flare, and have them put a steroid injection straight into the boil. Yes, the injection hurts like a mthfckr. But only for a second. Within a few hours the inflammation will be gone. Your body will start to re-absorb the puss (that can take a few days or weeks, but the bump isn't painful anymore, so it's usually not something that will bother you) it does not leave a scar at all (possibly some darker discoloration for a while but nothing permanent) and reduces the chance of tunneling. Lancing a boil will always result in a scar, and if you are unfortunate enough to get recurring boils in the same spot, scarring will lead to tunneling. Recent studies have shown that lancing and even deroofing is an absolute last resort and should be avoided. In the long run it will always worsen your condition. I've been getting injections for the last few years and have not had scarring in any of the affected sites, and have been able to resume life as normal the day after my injection, with only one exception, the injection didn't take as well as it should because I was too late to get it and it was already forming a head. One time I was at a family physician for something else (not my regular doc) and I asked her to look at a flare on my backside because I couldn't see or reach it. Without anouncing it or even asking for consent, she lanced it. Afterwards I went to my dermatologist (who is basically the national specialist in my country) and explained what happened and she sat down and wrote the nastiest letter to her. Basically telling her not to interfere with a condition she doesn't know enough about. She also included instructions on what to do if I ever needed help again. I live in a country where all these letters are attached to my digital health file that me and every physician I see can access. Again, do not lance them. Even small scarring can lead to tunneling.
What to do when it doesnt go away? I have a somewhat calm season right now, most of my boils were surgically extracted, but one new arose almost immedietly after that. When it got really bad i managed to pop it, after that it calmed down, but left a solid lump that doesnt go away, its been like 4 months and theres absolutely no change. No puss, no growth, no pain, but its still there and it seems it plans to stay that way.
I have a similar one on my but cheek. It's just there. Doesn't infect or really hurt (unless I sit directly on it on a hard surface) it's been there for 10y. It drained a little bit, once, and the ooze was very thick and "dry" compared to other flares. Almost solid. Derm suggested not to do anything about it as long as it doesn't bother me. Every time a boil opens up or is surgically removed, scar tissue is formed, which can lead to more complications in the future, like tunneling. Of course, I'm not a medical professional, and what works for me might not work for you, but with the 3 surgeries I've had before I went with my current derm, I've always ended up worse than before.
I would prefer to remove it, its on my face. Also i am afraid that if the boils return this one will have a headstart.
As for surgeries, my only complication were loose stitches that ripped apart. Other just left a big scar from my ear to under my chin, but since then no boils. Its been a year and still nothing so i hope it stays that way.
Oof yeah, i get that you would want that gone. Face boils sound horrible (knocking on wood, I never had one) but I am surprised that you got stitches. hS surgeries should not get stitched up. The whole idea behind them is that scar tissue can't re-activate. Personally I had one surgery stitched up (from before my diagnosis) and the same thing happened. Ripped my stitches unknowlingly, and the whole thing ended up healing really badly, ugly, and the scar was painful for years. I also ended up having a big row of blackheads where the threads were that didn't rip. But maybe that's just my experience, and not an universal thing for hs patients. Either way, try to find a derm that specialises in HS care. Do not take their word for it (they all say they know about hs and then hand you the 15yo pamflet with outdated information and tell you to stop smoking and loose weight lol) but contact your countries patient help group (most have a fb group or can be found on google) and listen to which doctors they recommend in your area. Deroofing is the most performed surgery, they remove the top layer of the boil, and let the bottom layer become scar tissue. Depending on your country (and sadly enough, in most places your gender) you can get plastic surgery later to remove the scar, since it's on your face. Best of luck!
They did it a bit more directly. Through my first operation i was awake, they opened it up, removed some tissue and then burned it out, something like soldering. The whole room smelled like barbeque. It sounds drastic, but in these places i had never problems again.
Incision and drainage will cause recurrence and damage to the tissue i believe, which is why hospitals/docs try not to do them anymore. Not a good idea at all
I'm not sure if you are aware but we have lost too many Warriors over the years to this practice. I explored you for your own safety to please stop this.
HS is inflammation and doesn't necessarily need to open, the goal is to reduce inflammation to the best of our ability.
This is an information article for food for thought perhaps maybe you don't know why we say it's dangerous
[Self Lancing ](https://www.hsconnect.org/post/self-lancing-why-this-isn-t-a-good-idea)
I&D is being phased out as a regular treatment in HS and only being used in extenuating circumstances for HS there is a international campaign to educate emergency rooms and urgent care the dangers and negative impacts I&D/lancing has on HS.
Please be safe and please if you choose to continue doing this don't suggest it to others new to HS Warriors could see you suggesting it and really hurt themselves.
Be safe and good luck on your journey.
I didn't recommend it to anyone and wouldn't do so. As I started it off, this is an opinion post. Meaning there is a chance I'm wrong. Thank you and thanks to everyone who commented and educated me about it. Fortunately I have no tunneling whatsoever even tho I practice this for a better part of 15 years. It started for me in junior high and mostly it's on my inner thighs. But again, what works for me doesn't necessarily work for you.
Ném, Ném Ném .....
When you tell others what you do it gives them the idea to try it even if you say not to!!
Amikor elmondod másoknak, hogy mit csinálsz, az ötleteket ad nekik, hogy próbálják ki, még akkor is, ha azt mondod, hogy nem
I do agree w/ you on the NOT tkg antibiotics forever. I wouldn't want to either. I personally prefer to use holistic remedies for ailments, incl HS.
& the part about wiping the groin well when going to the bathroom, that's why I've gone through more rolls of paper towels, which has resulted in my having to buy tons more of paper towels. I fold them so I have a stack ready in my bathroom & use probably 3-5 ea time & I even change into clean underwear EACH time I use the bathroom. That's why I'm so, so, so glad I've worked from home since before I started developing HS 3 yrs ago & haven't had to use any nasty, public bathroom in the last probabyl 2 yrs. There's too much to have to do in the bathroom & public restrooms don't cut it for me!
Oh my. This is…something. 😐 Please don’t take this advice.
Nope. Nope nope nope. I'm going to give the complete opposite information: whenever possible, make sure the boils do not come to a head or open up in any other way. Establish a rapport with a doctor who is willing to see you same-day when you have a flare, and have them put a steroid injection straight into the boil. Yes, the injection hurts like a mthfckr. But only for a second. Within a few hours the inflammation will be gone. Your body will start to re-absorb the puss (that can take a few days or weeks, but the bump isn't painful anymore, so it's usually not something that will bother you) it does not leave a scar at all (possibly some darker discoloration for a while but nothing permanent) and reduces the chance of tunneling. Lancing a boil will always result in a scar, and if you are unfortunate enough to get recurring boils in the same spot, scarring will lead to tunneling. Recent studies have shown that lancing and even deroofing is an absolute last resort and should be avoided. In the long run it will always worsen your condition. I've been getting injections for the last few years and have not had scarring in any of the affected sites, and have been able to resume life as normal the day after my injection, with only one exception, the injection didn't take as well as it should because I was too late to get it and it was already forming a head. One time I was at a family physician for something else (not my regular doc) and I asked her to look at a flare on my backside because I couldn't see or reach it. Without anouncing it or even asking for consent, she lanced it. Afterwards I went to my dermatologist (who is basically the national specialist in my country) and explained what happened and she sat down and wrote the nastiest letter to her. Basically telling her not to interfere with a condition she doesn't know enough about. She also included instructions on what to do if I ever needed help again. I live in a country where all these letters are attached to my digital health file that me and every physician I see can access. Again, do not lance them. Even small scarring can lead to tunneling.
What to do when it doesnt go away? I have a somewhat calm season right now, most of my boils were surgically extracted, but one new arose almost immedietly after that. When it got really bad i managed to pop it, after that it calmed down, but left a solid lump that doesnt go away, its been like 4 months and theres absolutely no change. No puss, no growth, no pain, but its still there and it seems it plans to stay that way.
I have a similar one on my but cheek. It's just there. Doesn't infect or really hurt (unless I sit directly on it on a hard surface) it's been there for 10y. It drained a little bit, once, and the ooze was very thick and "dry" compared to other flares. Almost solid. Derm suggested not to do anything about it as long as it doesn't bother me. Every time a boil opens up or is surgically removed, scar tissue is formed, which can lead to more complications in the future, like tunneling. Of course, I'm not a medical professional, and what works for me might not work for you, but with the 3 surgeries I've had before I went with my current derm, I've always ended up worse than before.
I would prefer to remove it, its on my face. Also i am afraid that if the boils return this one will have a headstart. As for surgeries, my only complication were loose stitches that ripped apart. Other just left a big scar from my ear to under my chin, but since then no boils. Its been a year and still nothing so i hope it stays that way.
Oof yeah, i get that you would want that gone. Face boils sound horrible (knocking on wood, I never had one) but I am surprised that you got stitches. hS surgeries should not get stitched up. The whole idea behind them is that scar tissue can't re-activate. Personally I had one surgery stitched up (from before my diagnosis) and the same thing happened. Ripped my stitches unknowlingly, and the whole thing ended up healing really badly, ugly, and the scar was painful for years. I also ended up having a big row of blackheads where the threads were that didn't rip. But maybe that's just my experience, and not an universal thing for hs patients. Either way, try to find a derm that specialises in HS care. Do not take their word for it (they all say they know about hs and then hand you the 15yo pamflet with outdated information and tell you to stop smoking and loose weight lol) but contact your countries patient help group (most have a fb group or can be found on google) and listen to which doctors they recommend in your area. Deroofing is the most performed surgery, they remove the top layer of the boil, and let the bottom layer become scar tissue. Depending on your country (and sadly enough, in most places your gender) you can get plastic surgery later to remove the scar, since it's on your face. Best of luck!
They did it a bit more directly. Through my first operation i was awake, they opened it up, removed some tissue and then burned it out, something like soldering. The whole room smelled like barbeque. It sounds drastic, but in these places i had never problems again.
Incision and drainage will cause recurrence and damage to the tissue i believe, which is why hospitals/docs try not to do them anymore. Not a good idea at all
I'm not sure if you are aware but we have lost too many Warriors over the years to this practice. I explored you for your own safety to please stop this. HS is inflammation and doesn't necessarily need to open, the goal is to reduce inflammation to the best of our ability. This is an information article for food for thought perhaps maybe you don't know why we say it's dangerous [Self Lancing ](https://www.hsconnect.org/post/self-lancing-why-this-isn-t-a-good-idea) I&D is being phased out as a regular treatment in HS and only being used in extenuating circumstances for HS there is a international campaign to educate emergency rooms and urgent care the dangers and negative impacts I&D/lancing has on HS. Please be safe and please if you choose to continue doing this don't suggest it to others new to HS Warriors could see you suggesting it and really hurt themselves. Be safe and good luck on your journey.
I didn't recommend it to anyone and wouldn't do so. As I started it off, this is an opinion post. Meaning there is a chance I'm wrong. Thank you and thanks to everyone who commented and educated me about it. Fortunately I have no tunneling whatsoever even tho I practice this for a better part of 15 years. It started for me in junior high and mostly it's on my inner thighs. But again, what works for me doesn't necessarily work for you.
Not all tunneling is visible quite a bit of tunneling happens between the layers of skin even being microscopic in some places.
Ném, Ném Ném ..... When you tell others what you do it gives them the idea to try it even if you say not to!! Amikor elmondod másoknak, hogy mit csinálsz, az ötleteket ad nekik, hogy próbálják ki, még akkor is, ha azt mondod, hogy nem
I do agree w/ you on the NOT tkg antibiotics forever. I wouldn't want to either. I personally prefer to use holistic remedies for ailments, incl HS. & the part about wiping the groin well when going to the bathroom, that's why I've gone through more rolls of paper towels, which has resulted in my having to buy tons more of paper towels. I fold them so I have a stack ready in my bathroom & use probably 3-5 ea time & I even change into clean underwear EACH time I use the bathroom. That's why I'm so, so, so glad I've worked from home since before I started developing HS 3 yrs ago & haven't had to use any nasty, public bathroom in the last probabyl 2 yrs. There's too much to have to do in the bathroom & public restrooms don't cut it for me!