How to Treat Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Although there is no cure for Hidradenitis suppurativa, various therapies may help relieve symptoms of the condition. Treatment may help:
- Improve pain
- Reduce the severity of breakouts
- Prevent complications
- Promote healing
Your doctor may recommend the following therapies:
- Laser hair removal (LHR); LHR treatment is usually administered early in the disease to stop progression.
- Antibiotics: These could be oral and topical drugs that help reduce inflammation, treat bacterial infections, and prevent breakouts. The most common antibiotics [4] used to treat HS include tetracyclines or a combination of clindamycin (Cleocin) and rifampin (Rifadin).
- Acne washes or topical medications: Although these products may not relieve your symptoms on their own, they are usually added to your treatment regimen.
- Steroids: Your doctor may prescribe oral or injected steroids [5] to help reduce inflammation and improve your symptoms. Low doses of corticosteroids and systemic steroids, like prednisone, may be prescribed for people with moderate to severe symptoms. Using steroids for a long-term may cause severe side effects, so it is important to only use it as prescribed by your doctor.
- Pain medications: You can take over-the-counter (OTC) pain relievers, such as acetaminophen (Tylenol) and lidocaine (ZTlido), a topical anesthetic, may help reduce discomfort caused by skin breakouts.
- Biologics: Biologic drugs work by suppressing your immune system. Adalimumab (Humira) is currently the only HS treatment approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Others, such as infliximab (Remicade), etanercept (Enbrel), and golimumab (Simponi), may be used as well in what is known as off-label drug use.
- Retinoids: Retinoids are commonly prescribed for treating acne. They are produced from vitamin A and may be administered topically or orally. Your healthcare provider may prescribe acitretin (Soriatane) or isotretinoin(Amnesteem, Claravis). Retinoids [6] are used off-label.
- Hormones: Various studies show that hormone therapy is as effective as antibiotics for treating HS in women. Antiandrogen therapy may help reduce the effects of hormones, such as testosterone. The diabetes [7] drug metformin (Glucophage) may help people who also have metabolic syndrome. Metformin is used off-label.
- Zinc: Various studies show that people who take zinc supplements may help improve the symptoms of HS.