Transcript
Hey guys – welcome back to the Help for HS YouTube channel.
Today I’m going to be talking about the 7 major signs that let you know a flare is coming, and I’m going to list them from the most common to the least common, based on the science research and based on what I’ve seen with my patients.
You might be able to relate to some of these, all of these, or none of these, but either way I’m going to share a couple of tips about what you can do if you do feel like a flare is coming on, and hopefully you can nip it in the bud!
Alright, so let’s get right into it.
The most commonly reported symptom that shows up right before a flare is redness of the skin. There’s a lot of inflammation happening within the skin, and that brings more blood flow to the area, so the skin will look more red.
The next most common symptom right before a flare is called paresthesia. And this is a sensation of burning, numbness, tingling, prickling, or crawling.
Number 3 is fatigue, or having low energy. Remember that HS involves inflammation of the whole body, and it turns out that inflammation also plays a role in feeling tired.
The next one is malaise, or just feeling kind of sick and under the weather. Just like when you have the flu and you feel run down because your immune system is really stirred up, it’s the same with this type of inflammation. Your immune system is overactive and it can really make you feel lousy.
Number 5 is itching. Now, I haven’t had many of my patients complain of itching, but I really believe it’s underreported.
And to me, itching is a really important issue because it can be even more bothersome than pain, and it can especially be intense for people with HS. Sometimes it’s hard to sleep or get through your daily activities when the itching is really bad.
And unfortunately, itching is not always easy to manage, but some things that might be helpful are hot Epsom salt baths, manuka honey, and also Derma E makes a really good itch relief lotion. We’ve had so many people tell us that the Manuka honey stops a flare in its tracks, and the boil just never fully develops. So I’ll leave some links for you guys down in the description box.
Alright – we’re in the home stretch with the last two symptoms, and those are headaches and nausea.
And interestingly, ginger can help both of those symptoms and reduce the inflammation. You can put fresh ginger juice into some herbal tea and drink it, or put a chunk of fresh ginger root into a green smoothie.
Another way to help get inflammation quickly under control is to take a high-quality curcumin supplement. Curcumin has been shown to block a protein called TNF-alpha, which is one of the main drivers of inflammation for HS.
Also, rest. Taking it easy, doing some deep breathing, and getting more sleep can all help to reduce inflammation. You can also really dial-in your diet by cutting out sweets and eating more organic vegetables and homemade bone broth.
The minerals in bone broth have a lot of healing properties, and the amino acids in the broth can reduce intestinal inflammation. And remember, inflammation in the gut creates inflammation in the rest of the body.
I want to mention that not everyone will have these symptoms leading up to a flare, but at least 80% of people will. So I encourage you to pay close attention to what your body is telling you, and then be really strategic with trying things that can help to get things under control.
Please comment below if you have a certain type of symptom before a flare that we didn’t talk about, or just share your experience – we want to hear about it, and your experience can help other people.
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Thank you so much for spending time with me today and for being a part of our channel, be sure to give me a thumbs up if you liked this video, and we’ll see you again soon!