Alternative medicine use common among patients with hidradenitis suppurativa

More than one-third of individuals with hidradenitis suppurativa reported using alternative medicine approaches, regardless of age or disease severity, according to a study.

“Hidradenitis suppurativa patients often seek non-prescription therapies,” Jordan Lane, BS, BSN, of the center for dermatology research in the department of dermatology at Wake Forest School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and colleagues wrote.

Lane and colleagues surveyed 67 patients with HS to determine prevalence rates for the use of alternative therapies. Specifically, they sought information about demographics, disease severity and quality of life to determine differences between patients who use alternative approaches compared with those who do not.

Some of the alternative approaches reported by patients included hot baths, laser hair removal, antibiotics, creams, teas and bath salts and soaps.

Results showed that 25 patients (mean age, 36.7 years; 92% women) reported they used alternative medicine, and 42 patients (mean age, 40.8 years; 88% women) reported they did not.

Time since diagnosis was shorter among patients reporting alternative medicine use compared with those who did not (12.6 years vs. 14.6 years).

Alternative medicine use was also associated with poorer quality of life as assessed by the Dermatology Quality of Life Index. Patients who used alternative medicine had an average score of 14.1, compared with a score of 11 for nonusers.

None of these differences were statistically significant, according to the findings.

The researchers said the data set may be limited by the small sample size.

“Alternative medicine use among patients with hidradenitis is common regardless of disease severity,” the researchers wrote. “Even mild disease may drive patients to seek alternative treatment.”