Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic condition that can be very painful and have a huge impact on the day-to-day life of the affected individual. It occurs mainly in the armpit (axillae), groin, anal, and breast regions.

In HS, hair follicles get obstructed (occlusion), and infection develops creating a blackhead / comedone or a boil / papule / postule. The pressure of the infection causes the hair follicles to rupture – not to the skin surface but laterally – causing painful, reddish nodules and pus-containing cavities to form under the skin (abscesses). Abscesses may rupture through the skin and drain its pus-containing contents onto the skin surface. The created wound needs to heal. Antibiotics have only limited effects on these infections and the healing is often associated with extensive scar formation. New abscesses causing new wounds are likely to develop adjacent to the initial nodules. As the condition progresses, these abscesses may become interconnected with tunnels running under the skin and deep abscesses may drain their content to the body surface through abnormal tunnelling (sinus tracts), complicating the condition further. As HS is a chronic condition, repeated haling and recurrences leave progressive scarring which complicates future healing, and which can potentially impact the mobility in the area.

The exact underlying cause of HS is unknown, but both genetic and environmental factors seem to be involved. Recently it has been established that HS is associated with an unusually reduced microbiome. The biofilm in HS affected areas is thinner than usual and it contains fewer bacteria¹ and the composition of microbes shows differences to what is usually seen in healthy comparable individuals².

MPPT (Aprobaxil) removes wound infections by optimising the microbiome through its support of the immune system. Therefore, when the boils and abscesses rupture creating an opening in the skin, MPPT will help getting the infection under control and the healing process underway. The quicker an outbreak is controlled, the less tunnelling the infection will be able to create and the less scar tissue is formed.

In cases where the HS reaches a stage that requires surgery, MPPT can help considerably. Once an abscess has been surgically cleaned (debrided), the principal objective is to avoid a return of the infection and to quickly fill the wound with new tissue (granulation) and subsequently to cover the area with new skin (epithelialisation). These are the main clinical outcomes of the use of Aprobaxil. It is encouraged to initiate Aprobaxil therapy on the site as soon as bleeding has stopped. In severe cases, the aim of the surgery is to open all abscesses, ducts tunnels and any other cavity containing infection and clean out as thoroughly as possible. Again, in order to provide the best possible support to the healthy tissue that has been exposed by the surgical procedure, it is important to start the MPPT therapy immediately following surgery.

The most severe cases – often associated with inflammation present or in the past – are sometimes treated surgically by removing the entirety of the skin in the affected area and replacing it with a skin graft from a different part of the body. Even here, Aprobaxil, along the borders of the graft and on any part of the wound surface not covered with new skin, will help prevent any infection and support the granulation tissue required to fasten the graft.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa is classified in 3 clinical stages. A cure does not exist, and the disease will eventually follow its course. It is therefore important to keep the infection, consequential spread and tunnelling and subsequent scarring at a minimum in order to avoid the condition becoming extensive and potentially disabling.