Hidradenitis suppurativa (acne inversa)

Hid­ra­de­ni­tis sup­pur­a­ti­va is a chro­nic inflamm­a­to­ry skin dise­a­se that cau­ses pain­ful nodu­les, abs­ces­ses and sinus tracts in skin folds. It main­ly affects the arm­pits, gro­in, buttocks and the area under the breasts. The con­di­ti­on usual­ly beg­ins after puber­ty and is fre­quent­ly reco­g­nis­ed cor­rect­ly only late.

Cau­ses

The start­ing point is blocka­ge and inflamm­a­ti­on of the hair fol­lic­les in are­as of fric­tion. Gene­tic pre­dis­po­si­ti­on, smo­king, excess weight and hor­mo­n­al influen­ces play a sub­stan­ti­al role. Con­tra­ry to a wide­spread assump­ti­on, poor hygie­ne is not the cause.

Sym­ptoms

Typi­cal are recur­ring, ten­der nodu­les that break open and dischar­ge foul-smel­ling secre­ti­on. As the dise­a­se pro­gres­ses, con­nec­ting sinus tracts and firm scar bands deve­lop that can rest­rict mobi­li­ty. The con­di­ti­on is a con­sidera­ble bur­den in ever­y­day life for many patients.

Tre­at­ment

The ear­lier tre­at­ment beg­ins, the bet­ter scar­ri­ng can be avo­ided. Anti-inflamm­a­to­ry and anti­bio­tic the­ra­pies, modern bio­lo­gic medi­ca­ti­ons for mode­ra­te to seve­re forms and sur­gi­cal pro­ce­du­res to remo­ve the sinus sys­tems are used. Stop­ping smo­king and redu­cing weight demons­tra­b­ly impro­ve the course.