Video
Dr Christian:
We’ve had a lot of comments to the site about a condition called hidradenitis suppurativa. It’s a bit of a mouthful, so I’m going to call it HS from now on. But you seem to be worrying about it, and you want to know what it is, and how do you know if you’ve got it. Well, it is a really nasty condition, usually caused by some sort of infection in a particular type of sweat glands, and it gives you nasty, suppurating, pussy sores and boils under your armpits, in women it can occur under the breasts, and in both sexes around the groin and around your bottom.
A lot of you want to know how you tell the difference between HS and acne. Acne causes little blackheads and whiteheads, pussy white spots, usually on the forehead and face, on the chest and on the back. HS causes a lot worse lesions, it causes hard red nodules and suppurating pussy lesions that can burst and leak. It causes the skin to be red and sore.
We’ve had a lot of questions on preventative measures—if you have it, what can you do to try and help it a little bit? Well, best things are to avoid tight clothing and to avoid synthetic fabrics, because anything that makes you sweat and that rubs and irritates the skin will make HS worse. If you’ve got it and the lesions are red and pussy, then warm baths, often with a little bit of anti-bacterial detergent in, or actually salt water, can be very effective in helping the pain and helping bring the pus out.
A lot of people have left comments on the site asking what the most effective treatments are. Well, if you are diagnosed with HS, the first thing we usually try is an antibiotic, because very often it’s caused by a bacterial infection. Now, be warned, you may need to take the antibiotics for a long time, a period of six months or more, before you notice any difference. Anti-inflammatory drugs work well to reduce the redness and the swelling, and steroids also, over a short period of time, can dampen down the infection and the severity of the problem. There’s a drug called roaccutane, which is used for severe acne, that can also be very effective for HS, and as a final resort, surgery to remove the infected skin can work as a permanent solution.
A lot of comments have been left about the scarring that HS causes and what can be done about it. Well, the truth is, the best way to avoid the scarring is to diagnose the condition early and get it treated early. That way, the scars shouldn’t set in, and the best way to do that is, if you’re worrying about any sort of lesions on your body, under your armpits or groin, is to go and see your GP.
Doctor Responses: Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Dr Christian answers your most frequently asked questions about Hidradenitis Suppurativa such as: What causes it? What are the treatments for it? What’s the difference between HS and acne?
With thanks to the Baker Street Medical Centre
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Hi, i am 17 years old and i am suffering HS since I was 13 years old :( I am really having a hard time with it. I have boils under my right and left armpits also in my groin area. I am currently studying and having the course related to medical. I dream of becoming a doctor but I guessed it will be all ruined just because of this HS. :'( I went to a dermatologist to treat me but she just gave me a skin cleanser and an antibiotics. NOTHING happened. :( I am really scared that this may affect my studies, specially during our physical exam in every enrollment day. If you know something that can treat this, i would really appreciate it. may God bless us all who suffers HS :((
Ive has HS for years now.i went to 5 different doctors and they kept telling me it was nothing. Finally went to see the dermatologist got tablets which didnt work then got zindaclin gel, it doesnt stop me from getting them but makes them burst quickly.its a horrible thing to have and can bring you down. i get them alot and keep getting told by family members to go back to dermatologist but you so get so fed up of getting nowhere!!! well atleast im not alone! doctors really need to fined a cure so many people are suffering
Hi, I,m a male and have suffered with HS for over 20 years. I have currently been laid up for the past 6 days unable to walk due to severe swelling and excruciating pain due to a number of abcesses in my sac. This is the worst it's ever been, currently on diclofenac, flucloxacillin and tramadol(painkillers don't seem to work)luckily they have began to burst but unluckily they have left a 1 inch cut in my sac. I find that when i don't get enough sleep and feeling down they are at their worst. I don't use anything perfumed and stick to dove soap and use E45 in groin area and armpits daily which really helps. I did see a specialist at hospital who had no answers to why it re-occurs so i put it down to a lack of proper rest.
ive had all those tablets you have had but they not worked for me either, when are they gonna give us something that will work, think we have suffered enough, like you i have suffered with this for 20 yrs too, guess we gonna carry on suffering as the docs dont seem to know what they doing
The major issue I've found so far is the lack of information GP's seem to have about HS. I was diagnosed 7 years ago (after suffering without diagnosis for 5). I had a few operations on my armpit, cutting out the worst affected areas. It didn't cure it but it definitely helped. However, I then moved and registered with a new GP who refuses to accept my condition even though it's in my notes and I've had surgery. All I get is anti-biotics that stopped working many years ago. It's such a depressing condition and stops you from doing so much. I can't wear light coloured tops as mine are constantly 'leaking' and I'm very conscious of the smell which is awful! Embarrassing Bodies should start a campaign to get GP's to recognise the symptoms of HS! On the plus side, it's good to know I'm not alone.
Its very comforting to read all these comments!! I am a guy and have suffered from HS for about 4 years now. The responses here seems to be more of women. Over the last year or so, it has become more manageable as I realised that (at least for me), using perfume-free shower gels and soaps has made things better (Simple). Plus i used to shave my armits religiously (which is what I think caused the damage to my glands in the first place) but not i do not use IMAC or other hair removing creams. I just trim the hairs under my armpits making sure i do not hurt any glands and that works too. I do hoe a permanent cure is found soon!! All the best people!!
I think I may have this condition! I have been suffering from boils in my groin, under my armpits and under my boobs for at least 30 years! I have been to about 12 gps over the years and none of them have diagnosed, one GP actually gave me a bottle of iodine to wash with! So I just gave up. Sometimes the pain is so bad, it really gets me down, especially when a boil is 'ripe' and about to burst. I think a trip back to my gp is in order now that I have finally found a 'name' for it! I have some terrible scaring, I will never be able to wear a swim suit in public! I remember having one boil (in my groin) lanced at the hospital (I was dragged there by my mum as a teen) and the staff found it most amusing! Also there is the smell, if I squeeze them (which I do sometimes to sort of release the pressure) the yellow/white pus can be really smelly, does anyone else suffer with that?
I didn't realise how common this HS is!!! I have suffered with the condition since 13 (now being 25). After countless courses of anti-biotics, creams and solutions.... I have come to the conclusion IM STUCK WITH IT! have been told the surgery is quite abrasive and leaves scaring itself and would not be offered to me as had too many areas affected. I hope they find some kind of relief for us infected as this can really get a girl down :(
Hi I have suffered with chronic HS for 10 years now. My dermatologist started me on all the different antibiotics over the years and I was taking roacutane for nearly 2 years which didn't help. I have had over 30 operations for incision and drainage of these abscesses and also two lots of plastic surgery where the surgeon cut away all the infected tissue and put in a flap. This also didn't work as the abscesses grew back in the scar tissue. I have now been diagnosed with RA and am getting 3 weekly infussions of an anti TNF drug called Inflixamab which doesn't seem to be working either. HS is a debilitating disease where there is no cure - yet. We need to hope and pray that they can find a drug that can cure or make the symptoms better.
I am a sufferer also and in found that gp's do not have the relevant info to hand i was mis diognosed for 7 yrs but have had lots of surgery to try and cure but it does not! So surgery is it the answer or education in ou medical proffesion we need?
Hi, I have suffered from HS since the age of 12 and am now 51 so i'm into my 40th year of coping with this awful disease. After 20 odd years of not having a name for my condition I was sent to a skin specialst and underwent a trial of "cryotherapy" which, although got rid of the problem in that one place did not stop the scarring, i was told I had HS and that operating was out of the question because of the amount of area affected. I was then given "Roaccutane" which did work quite well, however when I visit my GP now he usually gives me something else which are not as effective. Along with a lot of others on this subject, I have tried creams, washes, diet, but all to no avail. I have a very supportive partner who dresses the boils when needed but it makes me feel very unsexy as most of them are in the groin and tummy area. I hate going on holiday as the thought of wearing a swimming costume fills me with dread, but again with the support of my partner, I am slowly overcoming all of my fears about this. At this moment in time I have just two areas of inflamation, which is good as over the past two months I have had as many as 5 on the go at any one time, agony most of the time, uncomfortable at others. I live in hope that a cure, or at least something to help in managing this disease will be found in the future, in the meantime we will all have to soldier on in finding our own ways of coping.
Zena, if you found that roaccutane helped, then don't except your G.P trying to give you cheaper versions of this drug, cause that is unacceptable. You have avoice use it and you will find that you get better help, if your Dr does not respond to this- simple change your Dr. Good luck.
Ive sufferd from H.S for over 10 years now under both my arms and on my groin area... It makes my life a living hell! In the past 3 years i have lost count of the amount of times ive had to go to hospital to get them sliced opend and drained under general anaesthetic and as if that isnt enough i then have to get the packing in the holes under my arm for a few weeks or monthes depending on the size of the wound after surgery... the anitboitcs my dermatologist and doctor gives me never works... im now in fear of losing my job that i love through taking so much time of... Through having H.S so bad in the last few years it has made me very depressed and affects my releationship with my long term boyfriend and has also took away all of my confidence... i need help with this as my own doctors dont seem to botherd and i feel as if they just fob me of with anitboitics that never work! i have asked many times to get all the infected areas removed,a few doctors said they would look in to it for me but ive never heard anything back and other doctors have said they need to wait until my infected areas calm down before moving the sweat glands etc.... im at my wits end please help :(
hey, ive been suffering from this same condition, i am now 23, over the last 2 years this skin condition has progressed agressively, at one point i was on antibiotics for about 6 months, and then roaccutane, i also used anti-bacterial wash.......and guess what it still came back after the drugs were finished. The drugs actually gave me nightmares and my beautiful white teeth became discoloured with brown streaks, (nerve damage). My advice to you is to watch your diet!!!!!1 I noticed that HS gets extremely bad after eating certain foods. I have been a veggie all my life, but i have noticed that once i eat dairy foods hs builds up, spots/lumps build up on my scalp, groin and sometimes my armpit. i am finding dairy to be a huge culprit and i have given it up, its alot better than what it was.... zinc/skin vitamin tabs help, turmeric speeds healing (as long as im eating bad products at the same time). Vitamin C tends to make the spots pus out, so i avoid that. let me know if you have any questions!!!! WATCH YOUR DIET!!
hi marie i dont know if you have been told or not but you can go through the hospital plastic surgery unit an book yourself in as an outpatient an see them there if you are havin no luck with the doctors.thats what i had to do with both my armpits.When they done my op 2 remove an evacuate both armpits an recover with skin grafts my armpits where lumpy an oozing pus.My doctor told me the 1s in my groin where just sweat lumps an i told him it wasnt it was the same as what was in my armpits so 2 years on im sufferin with bout 14 painful lumps to date in the front an back of my groin.I hope this may add a lil help if any good luck an try an keep your chin up i do :)
I am 50 years old and i have been given antibiotics by my doctor now for the last 3 months these just do not work when i go to my GP he just says i will give you some more antibiotics (i then get thrush though taking antibiotics) i just feel that this is a waste of time and money is there no cream that i can use? This is making me more and more depressed by the day and i feel so dirty, im also trying to cope with early stages of the menopause which im wondering if this as anything to do with it.
hi could you help me i have had a problem with my head 4 some mths now it shakes and i dont im doing it. i went to my GP and they told me to do some neak movements to get my musles strong but iv done this 4 mths now and it has not change. can u help me plz.
