Shaving and waxing are not only painful and time-consuming, but maintaining your bikini line can feel like a losing battle. With laser hair removal, you can finally win.
What is Hidradenitis Suppuritiva?
Often abbreviated as HS, hidradenitis suppuritiva is a painful, chronic inflammatory condition affecting some sweat glands and hair follicles. The hair follicles can become blocked by normal cell shedding. Bacteria then multiply in the closed space, causing infection. This can progress from a pimple to a boil and even an abscess.
What Causes Hidradenitis Suppuritiva?
Your body has 2 types of sweat glands: eccrine and apocrine:
Eccrine glands secrete a watery fluid and empty directly onto the surface of your skin. They are present over most of your body.
Apocrine glands secrete an oily substance that has an odor. They empty deep into hair follicles and are concentrated in the armpit, breast, buttock and groin region.
When hair follicles or pores get clogged with cells, the bacteria on our skin gets trapped inside. We continue to produce sweat, but it has no way to escape and infection occurs.
When this happens on the surface of the skin, it can create a pimple which is relatively easy to treat due to its location. However, when it happens in a hair follicle and the sweat is the oily type produced by apocrine glands, the infection is deep, hard to reach with medications, and bacteria flourish in the oily, protein-rich fluid. The apocrine gland continues to produce sweat, the bacteria continue to grow and the infection grows larger and more painful.
In the early phases (stage 1, or mild HS) lesions may:
As the condition progresses (stage 2, moderate):
Finally (stage 3, severe):
Is there a Cure for Hidradenitis Suppuritiva?
There is no cure for hidradenitis suppuritiva. Treatment is aimed at management. Several things known to help are:
How do you Treat Hidradenitis Suppuritiva?
What's new in Hidradenitis Suppuritiva Treatment and Hidradenitis Suppuritiva Scar Removal?
Is There a Way to Treat Hidradenitis Suppuritiva Scars?
Yes! At Skin Deep Laser MD we have multiple lasers that we use to treat different types of scarring. We have found that the gentle PicoSure™ Laser is the most effective at treating the both the hyperpigmentation (dark color) and scar tissue that often forms after hidradenitis suppuritiva boils heal.
Even more importantly, not only does the PicoSure™ remove the scars, it also kills the bacteria deep in the active abscesses, giving patients relief from their pain and inflammation almost immediately. Abscesses begin to heal and shrink within hours of treatment.
At Skin Deep Laser MD, serving Fort Worth, Weatherford, Benbrook, Burleson, Mansfield, Granbury, Arlington, Dallas, Texas and more, Dr. Riehm offers a range of skin care, scar treatments, age reversal and skin rejuvenation options, tattoo removal, body sculpting, chemical peels, facials and more.
To learn more about each treatment and what it targets specifically, arrange for a consultation with Dr. Riehm and her team. They will examine your skin type and explain each treatment to help you decide which ones are right for you. You can schedule an appointment by calling 817-263-7546 or book online.
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