Hidradenitis

hidradenitis [‚hī‚drad·ən′īd·əs]

(medicine)

Inflammation of sweat glands.

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Hidradenitis 

a suppurative inflammation of the sweat glands. It is caused by staphylococcus and usually develops in the armpits, but it is seen more rarely around the nipples, sexual organs (in females), and the skin of the scrotum and anus.

A weakening of the organism, excessive perspiration, intertrigo, and poor personal hygiene are all predisposing factors of this disease. Hidradenitis begins with the inflammation of the sweat gland, which spreads to the surrounding subcutaneous adipose tissue. One or several dense diseased nodules appear deep in the skin, and the skin above them reddens. Then the nodules soften and open with the formation of purulent fistulous passages. The pus gets into the neighboring glands and infects them. The course of hidradenitis is long, often with relapses. Women are affected more often than men. Treatment of hidradenitis calls for antibiotics, physiotherapy, specific vaccinations, unspecific immunotherapy, and sometimes surgery.

REFERENCE

Mnogotomnoe rukovodstvo po dermato-venerologii, vol. 2. Edited by S. T. Pavlov. Leningrad, 1961.