Hi there. I am a 23 year old female and this past May(6 months ago) I started developing what I thought were cysts in my armpit. They were very large, swollen, red, and painful. It took me almost a month to go see a ND about this and he thought it was clogged sweat glands that lead to an infection, and it spread to my other armpit.

I stopped using all deodorant (I was using a homemade deodorant of baking soda, coconut oil, corn starch, and lavender essential oil). We are assuming it's the baking soda that was causing irritation and clogging my sweat glands. I was not put on Antibiotics because after blood tests, he decided the infection was very mild and would go away on it's own once I stopped using the deodorant. I also did not shave my armpits during this time (4 weeks).

It did clear A LOT, but I was still getting these large and painful pimple-like bumps on the sides of my body, starting from just under my armpit. I even had a few on the top/side of my thighs and top of my butt. They were extremely painful, and after a couple days they would come to a head. When they would pop, the pus was almost tinted a blueish color.

Once everything started to clear, he told me to continue with no deodorant if possible and no shaving my armpits still. I believe it was the next time I saw him that everything was cleared up and he told me I could go back to using my deodorant and shaving my armpits.

A couple weeks later it came back, so I immediately stopped using the deodorant and shaved as little as possible to help it subside quicker than the time before. It took about 2 weeks to settle down again. Ever since then (probably July) I have been clear of the swollen sweat glands/infection.

This morning i woke up with a tiny lump in my left armpit. And I also have a small, red, hard bump on my right upper arm (inside, facing my armpit). I never had anything on my actual inside of the arm before, so this is particularly weird. I am worried that it's happening again - I did start using a deodorant with very minimal baking soda (ordered on Etsy from a reputable source) a couple weeks ago. That could be the problem.

I am not scheduled to see my ND anytime soon - but if it gets worse I will call and see what's going on. Anyway, I'm just wondering if anyone who has been diagnosed with HS thinks this sounds familiar - or if I just have bad luck with clogging my sweat glands??

This never happened before May of this year so I'm kind of confused as to why it's happening all of a sudden. I have made a conscious effort to use/make all natural and organic bath products and eat very well (everything organic, make a lot of food at home). I also might add that this past weekend I did have some gluten - I've been primarily gluten free for the last year, except for special occasions/slip ups.

Thank you for any reply you may give!