Table 2.

Major themes with representative quotations related to active lesions of HS and damage from HS.

	Active Lesions	Damage (scar or dyspigmentation)
Symptoms	Burning: heat and constant burning, stinging. Pain: The pain of when it’s about to burst I think is a throb. When a knot is coming up I can feel like electrical pulses and a throbbing. Drainage: But it popped and it just like gushed and oozed with phlegm and blood and it was just nasty. Odor: And that odor, when they drain and pop, it’s horrendous. Self-conscious: it makes me feel really down on myself and just unattractive. Depressed: I find myself feeling depressed or down or crying “Why me!”	Stretching: Every time I tried to move around, that stretching. Burning: It’s like if you’re burning it together kind of thing. Pain: The scar tissue can be painful. Dysethesia: When something touches it it’s just like pins and needles. Discomfort: I feel ‘em. I know they’re there. I feel ‘em, but no pain, just discomfort. Self-conscious: I had to swim and I couldn’t quite; I was afraid of people seeing my scars.
Restrictions or limitations	Dressing: I couldn’t even pull my panties up or put my bra on. Just to get dressed or go to the bathroom it was hurting. Clothing restrictions: I’ve been forced to wear sports bras because I can’t wear a regular bra because it cuts right into where I have scars that still hurt and active areas. Reaching: Reaching for things yes. The ones underneath my arms…during breakouts. Limb movement restrictions: Sometimes when I’m gonna mop and I have it there [under arm] it rubs me. And when I feel it I’m like ‘wow!’ Painful sex: There are times that I really don’t enjoy having sex. I really don’t enjoy it because it’s painful. Avoid sex, relationships: The dating world is not really something that I’m open to. I’m not married. And I have short-term relationships because I’m embarrassed about the outbreaks.	Grooming: Shaving of the armpits is almost a near impossible task because right now I have so many scar tissue and there’s always something underneath my arms. Clothing restrictions: You know some people shave when they wear shorts or something. I can’t ever wear skirts. One because I have a lot of scars and two because I can’t shave. Reaching: Reaching for things. Like stretching your arm. Yeah they do [feel tight]. Limb movement restricted: I don’t move my arm as much, so I don’t get skin on skin contact cuz [sic] when you do this rubbing motion it’s like ‘Oh, my scar!’ Affects sexual attractiveness: It’s embarrassing. It made me become pretty much totally inactive sexually, because who wants to see that?