Hidradenitis Suppurativa

I have just been diagnosed with hidrdenitis suppurativa, although I have suffered from the condition for 2 years.  Since I had an operation in April, this is my first real set back and I am devistated to have had to take today off my work.  I was prescribed antibiotics 2 weeks ago (1 weeks course) and these reduced the swelling and cleared it up.  However, it raised its ugly head on Saturday and I want to know if I would be best to bathe as much as poss and try and persaude it to burst.  In my limited exerience, it is best to get the poison out?  Would you agree?  I also wondered if you have any advise as to what soap, moisturiser, shampoo to use to minimise future outbreaks?  Any advise you can give me on treating this condition without medication would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

[Dr_Smita_S]

Hi

Hidradenitis Suppurativa is an uncommon chronic inflammatory skin condition. The disease manifests as clusters of chronic abscesses or boils, which can range from very large to very small. The lesions are extremely painful to the touch.

It is caused by the tendency of the apocrine hair follicle to become blocked. The underlying cause may be autoimmune, genetic or hormonal imbalance. As with many skin disorders, HS symptoms are increased by stress.

It is known as an 'orphan' illness because not much pharmaceutical research has been carried out for this condition.

There is not a single treatment developed as yet for Hidradenitis. The current modalities of treatment include antibiotics, long term (commonly tetracyclines- as a preventive measure) and short term (typically Ciprofloxicillin- for secondary infections), retinoids, high-dose systemic steroids, birth control pills (to make up for the hormonal imbalance).

Surgical treatments such as incision and drainage of the lesions and sometimes radiotherapy are also used for treatment.

You should wear loose fitting clothes and underwear and avoid shaving the affected areas to prevent skin irritation. Some anti-bacterial soap may be used for washing the lesions. Application of warm compress or baths to induce drainage may be tried to achieve some relief from severe, often debilitating, pressure induced pain. A general advice would be to stop smoking and lose weight, which may contribute indirectly in symptom control.

For more information, you may like to refer to the link below:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hidradenitis-suppurativa/DS00818

Take care!

[hititpinback]

I just found out today about this hidradenitis when i went in for a pap smear.  This fits my problem perfectly and i just wanted to tell everyone that i have had it for almost 10 years now i tried anti-biotics no help, they told me they were going to inject botox into my armpits to tighten the sweat glands but i never did it....its spread since then to my groin and under my breasts.  i was born in germany now i live in texas and im not entirely sure if its because of the dry heat that caused this for me. at first i thought it was a hygine thing but i have used all sorts of things, anti bacterial soap, face wash seems to sometimes help soften them and pop them sooner..i use the st.ives apricot with the sand.  It has caused depression with me, self esteem issues to where i distant myself from people.  i would clamp my armpits tighter i think it just traps the sweat in and makes it much much worse, let them breath...  i dont know if this is going to help anyone i mainly wanted to share because its always good to know that you are not alone...i would also like to volunteer for some sort of experimenting to find a cure for other people as well as myself this is a horrible disease and im tired of it controlling my life to an extent..

[jonrhynard]

I had a similar condition - very painful pimple-like nodule in each 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.