Acne Inversa is
sometimes recognized as
Hidradenitis Suppurativa
(HS). Acne Inversa is not
contagious. It's a recurrent
disease impacting
inverse parts of the body
such as breasts, armpits,
and groin, and places hair
follicles and apocrine
glands are located.
It usually develops early on
as one boil-resembling,
pus-laden abscesses, solid
sebaceous lumps, to
deep-seated,
painful, frequently inflamed
groups of lesions
with extreme seepage
resulting in major scarring.
In some
sufferers, abscesses
can become as big as the
size of baseballs;
they are very painfully
sensitive to the touch; this
condition can continue
literally for years,
undergoing from sporadic to
frequent times of
inflammation, climaxing in
drainage, and many times
leaving exposed wounds which
refuses to heal. Such
breakouts are mostly known
to be provoked by hormonal
changes, humid heat, or
stress. When the lumps
drain, this process
offers temporary relief
from both severe and
pressure pain. Yet, for
acne inversa patients, they
can experience pain every
hour of every day of the
week when flare-ups take
place. The flare-ups are
hard to bring under one's
control.
Lesions
that persist can
develop into sinus tracts,
or even into tunnels that
link the abscesses beneath
the skin. Wholesome healing
is not a likely occurrence
in this stage, but now this
disease will most likely
worsen at the affected
areas. Cellulitis and
bacterial infections are
likely to develop.
Sufferers
of acne inversa frequently
are unable to work,
exercise, or complete simple
daily activities because of
a foul odor from the
drainage, tiredness and
fever brought about by
extreme inflammation, and
their physical limitations
from pain and disfigurement
of skin. It is not uncommon
for acne inversa
sufferers to
experience extreme bouts of
depression, to shun the
general public, and grow
overweight from living
inactive lifestyle.
Acne
inversa often persists
undiagnosed for
years since sufferers
are embarrassed to share or
discuss about their
condition with friends,
relatives, or perfect
strangers. And when they
muster the courage to see a
doctor, this skin condition
is often misdiagnosed. A
rare few doctors can
actually identify the
disease, and when they do,
the treatments
they recommend are
usually unsuccessful,
short-term, and at times,
detrimental. To date, there
exists no cure, or even an
effective treatment; simply
put: what may work for one
patient may have no positive
effect on another patient.
In only
the United States there is a
conservative estimation
of one million people who
suffer from acne inversa;
the actual number can be a
lot higher.
