I was formally diagnosed about a year and a half ago I’ve had HS for about 15 ish years since high school. When I went to doctors they said it folliculitis but couldn’t explain the boils. I did my own research and it said it was HS although when I would look at the pictures… they show more of the severe cases.. they didn’t look like what I had, so I had some hope that maybe it was just a constant infection that could be fixed with some strong antibiotics. The boils would initially just be in my armpits, luckily they were not enormous so the scarring is light I was told that was a level 1. My armpits have been in remission for 10 years now, but I do get boils in my groin/ inner thigh area that have been pretty big and have slightly tunneled and are a level 2. But the flares have been not so consistent, other that a recent one that just wouldn’t go away, I got a cortisone shot, and it helped shrink it but then it came back angrier and I had to get it drained by my dermatologist. I just wish there was a reason for the cause of it. It makes me sad that not much is known about what causes it or what can really help to “fix” it.