by Luisa

Created on: February 15, 2007   Last Updated: April 16, 2007

Hidradenitis Suppurativa, HS, (acne inversa) is a horribly painful disease and like other types of acne, has no cure. There are 3 stages of hidradenitis and while it is true that if you are in stage one antibiotics may alleviate your symptoms; in stages 2 and 3 sufferers of this disease find that their bodies don't typically respond well to antibiotics and your system becomes accustomed to the antibiotics so if you were exposed to an infection that requires antibiotic treatment; the likelihood of the antibiotics being able to help is greatly diminished.

In stages 2 and 3 of the disease your skin begins to make sinus tracts within the affected areas. At times the scarring can be so bad that they leave holes or openings in the skin that never completely heal. The affected areas become perpetually painful and often are draining in one or more areas. There are literally hundreds of so called remedies for this disease but so far the only remedies that seem to be holding any promise are laser hair removal, radiation (yes, I said radiation), and an experimental drug, Remicade, that has still yet to be released for treatment of HS for the general population.

Some people have reported that smoking and caffeine irritate the condition but I, personally, have had stress play a major factor in flare-ups. Washing affected areas with antibiotic cleansers or soaking in Epsom salts can help with pain but so far there have been no easy remedies to this disease that truly offer a way to control or treat the disease at home.

The best thing people with this disease can do is to speak out about it and help it get more attention so the medical community will study the condition more and help us who suffer with it. It truly is not a rare disease but because of the nature of it; it often goes undiagnosed. Many people are simply too embarrassed to go to the doctor and get help and those who do find themselves with doctors who have no idea what to do or even how to diagnose the problem.

There are several sites on the Internet dedicated to helping those with this debilitating disease. I suggest that anyone who thinks that they may have this disease to plug "hidradenitis suppurativa" into a search engine and begin investigating their condition. There are many support groups out there. You are not alone.

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