A mum has spoken out about her rare skin condition which is often mistaken for acne or ingrown hairs.
Cydney Carter, who hails from Colorado in the US, first started noticing large bumps and bruises on her inner thighs when she was just 12 years old.
The skin abnormalities looked like blackheads at first, but, over time, they transformed into 'pus-filled abscesses'.
"I remember thinking something was wrong with me," the now 27-year-old told TODAY.com. "Nobody was talking about it and my mum had no idea what exactly was going on."
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If the splotches ever became too painful, Cydney would make a trip to the emergency room where doctors would make an incision to drain them.
They would often lanced and drained the bumps under the impression that they were treating something similar to a boil.
However, unbeknownst to her at the time, draining the abscesses is 'literally the worst thing you can do because it has a 100% recurrence rate'.
After half a decade of having no idea why or how she developed 'boil-like growths', the woman was finally diagnosed with a rare skin condition called hidradenitis suppurativa (HS).
According to the NHS, HS is a painful, long-term skin condition that causes skin abscesses and scarring on the skin.
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While the exact cause of HS is unknown, health professionals explain it occurs near hair follicles where there are sweat glands, usually around the groin, bottom, breasts and armpits.
Alongside this, for reasons that are unknown, more women than men have the condition and it's thought to affect about one in 100 people.
The NHS also states that hidradenitis suppurativa could be mistaken for acne or ingrown hairs.
Cydney recalled that finally getting a diagnosis aged 17 was 'bittersweet', saying: "But then again, it’s like 'OK, this is HS, this is what you have. There’s no cure' … that was discouraging."
While it was comforting to finally get to the bottom of why she kept developing these abscesses, not much changed for Cydney due to the lack of knowledge out there on the condition.
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"I would have to go to the emergency room and I’m educating my doctor on what HS is," she continued. "If you feel like you always have to be educating the professionals … that can be really discouraging."
She was initially embarrassed about the pus-filled bumps that started developing around her groin.
Cydney explained: "You think you’re dirty or maybe you’re doing something to cause this.
"I kept it a secret. All the sports I played I did my best keeping it to myself. Even in the dressing rooms, I was just really discrete."
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And it wasn't just the appearance which was an issue as the bumps also caused her a lot of pain.
"The ones that are the tiniest can actually cause the most pain,” Cydney carried on.
"It’s crazy to think how many days I went through with all the pain."
However, after more than a decade of trying to hide her HS, Cydney bravely decided to open up about her story and share her experiences on social media.
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"The most powerful part of this experience - and it’s my favourite part - is to connect with other people," she told the outlet. "We didn’t talk about it for so long so when you get with somebody else who has HS … we are just swapping stories."
Cydney added: "If we can prevent people from feeling (badly) about themselves, giving them the freedom, knowing that it’s not their fault, sharing that truth I think we’re going to help a lot of people mentally."
Featured Image Credit: Instagram/@socialcyddTopics: Health, Real Life, Skincare, US News