Misdiagnosis of Hidradenitis Suppurativa Can Be Hazardous

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic skin condition that results in painful abscesses, nodules, inflamed follicles, and acne-like cysts on many sensitive epidermal surfaces of both men and women. Unfortunately, HS is often misdiagnosed as furunculosis, which can be very dangerous for a patient because the chronicity of HS can have debilitating long-term effects if it remains incorrectly or insufficiently treated.

Both males and females tend to present HS in the axilla regions, but women will often have signs of HS in the inframammary, upper groin, and upper thigh areas, while men might show additional signs of HS in the perineum, perianal, and gluteal cleft areas. The lesions produced by HS can result in sinus tracts, deep-seated abscesses, and complex fibrotic scarring. Correctly diagnosing HS early can lead to less pain, fewer scars, and better outcomes for patients suffering with this skin affliction.

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