Usually when I share that I have a chronic illness, someone will ask what it is. I’m very open about my hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), but I still struggle with how to answer this question.
I’ll first say it’s HS, then I’ll follow up with a joke about how it’s a mouthful. I debate how to best describe what it is that I, and so many others, live with.
If I say it’s a skin disease, I’ll sometimes be met with a look of dismissal that suggests, That’s all? If I explain that it results in boils and lesions all over the body, there’s usually at least a quick look of disgust that passes over the person’s face.
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