I've also had cortizone shots where there were 4 seperate boils that were extremely painful and hadn't burst yet so I had a shot in each and it did relieve the pain. However, it didn't make any difference in the procedure or length of time to heal but at least it wasn't so painful. Surprisingly after that I also had about 4 more in places on my lower breasts that I didn't even know were there until they had opened up. Had a few more of those in different parts of the body that I didn't know were there either. I just wish I knew what made those ones so painless. I have been trying to determine if food has made a difference. Keeping Sugar, white bread and milk out of my foods was working for awhile but so far it hasn't been 100%. I have other chronic diseases such as Crohns, fibromialga, arthritis, migraines, and just recently chronic kidney disease which can also be food sensitive. It is a slow process but if by chance I find something that works it will be worth it.
I just had a thought, I wonder if medications could be a factor? I think I'll do some investigations into that!

I too took a cortisone shot and it helped for about a week. Like she said they hurt a little but the relief out weighs that by far. So mines are in the buttocks/groin area. Felt a breakout under both arms. At the time I was using Aloe Vera Oil on my bottom and decided to put it under my arms. Amazingly the drainage dried up and the breakout stopped after about a week (unbelievable). Don’t know if this will work for everyone but I think if you catch it early you can avoid a breakout. So I’ve ditched deodorant ( we been bamboozled, I don’t stink). For me as long as I wash thoroughly everyday I’m good.

I am new to here so thought I'd just add a few comments. For body odour I have been using the baby powder that doesn't have the talc which I believe was taken off the market. I use this everywhere on the body after showering and have found it actually keep the areas dryer than anything else I have tried. When I have ones close to or just opened I put the antibiotic jell on top of the boil and put a patch of plain gauze or a band aid , or even a few pieces of toilet tissue over the gel to keep it covered and soak the bandage to protect any rubbing that may occur if covered by clothing. I had one small boil removed by roofing which I was not impressed with. Since it was on the right armpit it was very difficult cleaning and bandaging it with my left hand. If you have someone to help it makes it easier. I wasn't impressed with the roofing so I don't think I'll do that again. I also had quite a few cortisone shots into some of the smaller boils that really hurt. I hope I can continue doing that since it's only painful for less that 1 minute. I have tried the food diet search to eliminate foods that may be causing the boils but the closest I came to was sugar, regular milk and white bread. Worked for awhile and then new ones started once again. I have to admit I was very upset seeing some members pictures of their arm pit areas after being worked on. You are all so brave and I will pray that a solution is found very soon. Since I also have Crohn's disease, which they say is what causes HS, I hope a cure for it is found for that as well. Inflammation appears to be the culprit to many of these diseases so I sure hope a cure is found very soon. I would be happy to talk to anyone that would like to discuss some of my information. Karen

Cortisone? I get those and they are very helpful. I find that pain is gone for about a week.