hidradenitis supporativa

[tammie122]

I would like to comment one the condition HS I have had it for 12 years.  I had the sugery were they practically remove your armpits.  I had to have a skin graft were the skin was taken from my thigh.  I have not had any problems since.  It was a horrible experience, with ugly scars.  My 19 year old daughter is now dealing with the same thing.  I don't want her to have the sugery, are there any other treatments.


This discussion is related to best treatment for Hidradenitis Supporativa.

[Vanessa Lacuesta]

Hi.

I understand your concern. Hidradenitis suppurativa is a skin condition which may occur in puberty. This may have a genetic predisposition. This is caused by blockage of apocrine glands in the armpits and the groin. Apocrine glands are specialized sweat glands. Unlike the regular sweat glands they are regulated by hormones and other physiologic changes. They also excrete an oily or rather fatty substance which may result to the distinct body odor that comes with puberty. The cause for the blockage of these glands in cases of hidradenitis is not known. It is essential that your daughter avoid too much sweating. Also, losing weight by maintaining a balanced meal of fruits and vegetables may be necessary. Also, if hidradenitis is present, your physician may opt to initiate a trail of antibiotics for two weeks. If there is no response, local treatment such as intralesional injection of steroids may help.

Hidradenitis suppurativa may not be easily controlled. Discuss this with your physician so you and your child may be guided accordingly.

[ksebmom]

Is this in any way genetic, do you think my daughters or sons could get it in the future?  I've had it in my groin area for over 10 years and would love to hear about a cure some day.

[brownsugapoet]

my mom has it but i ended up getting it worse than she did. i had the surgery when i was 26 but now she has the lumps under her arms that are at least the size of golf balls to answer your question yes

[jonrhynard]

I had a similar condition - a very painful pimple-like nodule appeared in my left armpit.  Over the next few days it got larger.  After a couple weeks, another appeared in my right armpit.  I stopped using deodorant and started using Goldbond powder several times a day.  The powder reduced friction and immediately helped.  Over the last 4 weeks the nodules have stopped hurting and have completely disappeared.

[BellaEB]

My father has had HS in his early 20's and out of his 4 children i'm the lucky recipient of HS. He has had the surgery under his arm pits and the skin grafts from both thighs. Luckily it hasn't come back for him. Might anyone have a suggestion to ease this condition w/o surgery. My insurance at work is horrible.

[ksebmom]

My dermatologist gives me steriod shots when they are really enflamed and oozing, otherwise she gave me a steriod cream.  Nothing else works, I've tried neosporin, warm baths, but steroids are the only thing that controls it.  As soon as I get rid of one patch another pops up.  

Does anyone know if when you have the surgery, do they come back in other places or is it healed?  I'm wondering if it's worth going thru all that skin grafting.

[brownsugapoet]

I had the surgery becuase it got so bad under my arms. My right arm, I,could only raise half way becuase of it. They do come back in other places. I would still do the surgery again because the pain I had under my arms was unbearable. I couldn't function day to day! My surgeon was an a$$hole so I went through a lot of uneccessary pain but I'd still do it all again. If I were you I'd try to find a dr that has done the surgery before. Mine hadn't so it was a nightmare with him but he was just an a$$hole anyway,but that's another story! It's been 8 yrs and I still miss silly things like shaving under my arms and actually having armpits. I wouldn't wear shorts for a long time but I eventually got over it.

[ksebmom]

Thanks for telling me that.  I have it in my pubic area and don't want to do a skin graft, especially if it's still going to happen.  It already looks bad enough with the scars.  Where did you get it after you had the surgery?

[brownsugapoet]

I get them under my breasts and my pubic area also. When the guy did my surgery he just lanced the ones under my breasts and put staples in so now it looks like ralroad tracks but once again he wasn't familiar with the surgery and was a total a$$hole. Mine are mainly in the bikini line area so if it came down to it I would do it again if got as bad as the ones were under my arms. You have to decide what's more important to you. I'll be the first to admit I had a hard time dealing with the scars afterwards because I didn't know how big they were gonna be and it took about a yr before I would wear sleeveless shirts becuase I thought people would see the scars.  You have to decide if are willing to deal with the pain and not have the scars from surgery or if you want to take a chance of not having it anymore in that area. I missed alot of work before my surgery so it didn't take long for me to make my decision. My arms were so bad, the wounds would never heal and I couldn't wear deodorant and i couldn't raise my arms all the way in the air so it was a pretty easy choice for me.