What Happens If Hidradenitis Suppurativa Is Not Treated?

Hidradenitis suppurativa often affects skin folds such as the armpits, groin, buttocks, or under the breasts. A lump may settle temporarily while inflammation remains active nearby. Over time, separate areas can connect beneath the skin to form tunnels that drain fluid or pus. Openings may stain clothing, and healed areas can become thickened or scarred. Pain, tenderness, and friction may make walking, exercise, work, or sleep harder.

This condition is not caused by poor hygiene, and squeezing lumps can injure the skin and encourage more inflammation. Persistent or recurring painful armpit lumps deserve an assessment; they do not by themselves prove a particular diagnosis.

Arrange a dermatology assessment if lumps recur, drain, leave scars, or appear in more than one skin fold. Treatment may combine gentle skin care with medicines or procedures chosen for the pattern and severity of disease. Options can include steroid injection into the skin for a selected inflamed lump, biologic therapy, or surgery for established tunnels and scarred tissue. Laser hair removal may be discussed in some care plans, but it is not suitable for every person or every active lesion.

Seek prompt care for rapidly worsening pain, spreading redness, fever, chills, marked swelling, foul-smelling drainage, or difficulty moving the affected area. Seek urgent help if you feel faint, very unwell, or cannot keep fluids down. A painful lump that keeps returning should be assessed even when you have no fever, because ongoing disease can continue to scar beneath the surface.

Ask whether your recurring lumps fit hidradenitis suppurativa, whether tunnels or scarring are present, and which treatment is appropriate for the sites involved. Ask how to protect draining areas, what changes should trigger urgent review, and how follow-up will measure fewer flares, less pain, or improved movement.