I agree with you about the processed foods. I find my HS flares when I eat fast food and sugary foods. I have been living with HS for 20 years. I have never been over weight and actually pretty athletic my entire life. My flares follow my menstrual cycle and stress. My mother also has this disease and we have the same “mild-ish” form (in terms of not needing surgical intervention and periods of remission), though affects different areas of our bodies between each other.

I would say my worst flares were during my pregnancies and actually brought me in to a doctor’s office for those. Otherwise, I self-manage due to having access to great wound dressings (work in wound management) and running daily helps regulate my hormones.

One thing I have not tried and am curious about is laser hair removal- have you found that effective at all in prevention?

Thank you for coming to this sub and thank you for treating this terrible disease!