hidradenitis sufferers?

Question:

anybody at all with any new tips or suggestions on dealing with this. THANK YOU

Answers:
This is an "uncommon" disorder of unknown cause in which boil-like lumps develop in the groin and sometimes under the arms and under the breasts. The lumps can also be found in other areas, such as behind the ears, in the crease of the buttocks and around the genitals. Although a few hundred papers have been written on hidradenitis, there seems to be relatively little solid knowledge about it.

Although there is no medical proof, hidradenitis seems to have been found alongside many disorders that are apparently unrelated, such as Crohn's disease, obesity, Dowling-Degos disease, lymphoedema (swelling of the body tissues caused by a build-up of fluid), a form of arthritis, sarcoidosis, Down's Syndrome and the sexually transmitted infection chlamydia. From the people that have contacted the H.I.D.E. mailing list, there also seems a preponderance of thyroid disorders and autoimmune diseases. One of the theories as to the cause is that it itself may be an autoimmune condition. One person has mentioned that treating herself with an anti-candida diet drastically helped her HS.
The use of some medicines, such as lithium, have also been linked.
It is not contagious and cannot be caught.
The condition is very slightly more common in women when the affected area is the groin, but there is no difference in occurences between men and women when infection is under the arms.
In a study undertaken in Copenhagan, it was discovered that the disorder may not be as rare as imagined, but that patients are simply not diagnosed with hidradenitis. They suggested that there was a 1% chance of developing hidradenitis in any given period of 12 months (i.e. In a group of 100 randomly picked people, one person will develop hidradenitis within 12 months).
The disease involves the apocrine and (rarely) eccrine (sweat) glands, the sebaceous (oil producing) glands and the hair follicles, although there is some disagreement as to whether the infection starts in the follicles and spreads to the sweat and oil glands, or vice-versa.
There are often outbreaks linked with periods in women.
It is thought that hidradenitis is dependent on the androgen sex hormones. However, the levels of androgens in hidradenitis sufferers are usually the same as in non-sufferers, although other disorders linked to androgens, such as acne, are commonly found with hidradenitis.
The disease often shows itself during puberty, but has appeared as late as post-menopausal age.
A bacterium called Streptococcus milleri appears to be a common organism infecting lumps, and it is suggested that a common bacterium that lives on the skin and in the nose, Staphylococcus aureus, plays a part in the early stages of the development of the disease.
Bacterial infection was only found in about 50% of swabs taken of the swellings caused by hidradenitis.
The tendency to develop hidradenitis is hereditary, but this does not mean that your children or other relatives will definitely develop hidradenitis.

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hidradenitis sufferers?

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