Hidradenitis suppurativa is an incurable condition. According to figures from 2015 the condition affects approximately two percent of the Scottish population, although the dermatologist I speak to says it could be much higher than this.
The condition severely impacts the lives of sufferers, not just from the physical pain and constraints of the condition, but also for their mental wellbeing.
The prognosis for sufferers is very poor and more support and medical assistance is desperately required so that sufferers can get access to as full a range of specialist services and treatments as possible. Those with extreme forms of the condition are referred to hospitals outwith Scotland that have appropriate specialist units, for example Guy's Hospital in London.