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Living with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS)? You’re not alone.

With HS, it can be easy to feel isolated or at fault. But neither are true. In the US alone, up to an estimated 200,000 people have moderate to severe HS. If you’re one of them, rest assured, you didn’t cause HS—inflammation did.

What is HS?

Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, or long-lasting, inflammatory skin condition. While the exact cause of HS is unknown, the immune system is believed to play a role. Watch the video to learn more.

Where do HS symptoms show up?

When HS starts, you may begin to notice small bumps under your skin that seem to be the size of a pea or marble. These bumps usually start to develop in areas where skin rubs together, where you have hair, and where sweat glands are located.

While these locations may differ between men and women, areas affected by HS can include:

Common areas of the body that are affected by HS

Under the arms
Groin area
Under the breasts
Buttocks
Inner thighs

See skin symptoms before & after HUMIRA

What causes HS?

Skin gland diagram of person without an inflammatory condition

People without inflammatory conditions, like HS, have balanced amounts of specific inflammatory proteins produced by the immune system.

Inflammation within skin gland in a person with HS

With HS, your body produces too many inflammatory proteins, including TNF-alpha. This imbalance leads to increased inflammation throughout the body. This increased inflammation affects the deep layers of your skin, causing pressure.

This pressure builds to become abscesses which may be painful and could eventually rupture.

To target the inflammation that contributes to HS, you have to target the inflammation inside your body, not just the outside symptoms. Learn how HUMIRA works in HS by targeting and blocking inflammation that’s happening beneath the skin.

HS: Learn the terms.

Knowing the right words to use can help when you’re talking with your dermatologist. Here’s a list of words you’ll see when learning about HS.

Abscess—Swollen area on the body that contains fluid

Chronic—Continues for a long time and progresses slowly

Fistula—An opening on the surface of the skin from a tunnel of connecting abscesses

Nodule—A lump on the skin that may look like a pimple or cyst

Who is affected by HS?

Icon of a woman

Three times as many women
get HS as men

Icon of four people inside a picture

HS usually begins in
adolescents after puberty

Icon of three people

People who have a family
member with HS are more
likely to develop HS themselves

Watch how people with moderate to severe HS helped take control with HUMIRA.
Go to HS Yearbook

HS Facts.

From dealing with symptoms that may be painful to dispelling frustrating misconceptions, HS can be difficult. If you or your adolescent (≥ 12 years old) has HS, here are some important things to know.

HS isn’t contagious—no one can catch it from you
HS isn’t caused by poor hygiene—it has nothing to do with showering or shaving
HS is not an STD

The most important thing to know is this: While the exact cause of HS is unknown, the immune system is believed to play a role. It is not something you caused yourself.