Hidradenitis Suppurativa Quiz
Questions: 15 · 10 minutes
1. How are affected areas distributed across your body?
I have not had affected areas to compare.
I have had one isolated episode on one side of my body.
One side or one fold has been affected repeatedly.
Both sides of a paired area, such as both armpits or both sides of the groin, or several related folds have been affected.
2. After inflammation begins, what usually happens?
I have not experienced this type of inflammation.
The area settles completely within a few days and has not returned.
Tenderness or swelling often lasts a week or returns after appearing to heal.
The area remains painful, repeatedly reopens, or never seems to heal fully between episodes.
3. What drainage, if any, have you experienced from a tender lump?
I have not experienced drainage.
One spot released a small amount of clear fluid or blood and then closed.
A spot has repeatedly released pus, blood, or noticeable-smelling fluid.
Drainage is ongoing, unexpectedly soaks clothing or dressings, or comes from several openings.
4. What connection have you noticed between symptoms and friction, heat, sweating, or hormonal changes?
I have not noticed symptoms in connection with these situations.
I sometimes get brief surface irritation, but not a deep or recurring lump.
A tender lump has developed after one of these situations more than once.
These situations repeatedly precede painful flares, even when I adjust clothing or reduce friction where possible.
5. What have you observed regarding blackheads or small blocked openings in the affected area?
I have not observed blackheads or blocked openings there.
I noticed one isolated blackhead in the area.
I have noticed a recurring cluster of blackheads in an area that also becomes irritated.
I have repeatedly seen paired or double-ended blackheads around sites where painful lumps develop.
6. After a lump drains or settles, what happens to the opening beneath or on the skin?
There has been no opening or persistent break in the skin.
One opening closed normally and has stayed closed.
An opening persists or repeatedly reopens in the same spot.
I can see or feel a track under the skin, connected openings, or drainage emerging from more than one opening.
7. Before a visible bump appears, do you notice a localized warning sensation?
No, I have not noticed a localized warning sensation or subsequent bump.
I have occasionally noticed mild itching or irritation without a clear lump afterward.
I have felt burning, stinging, or tenderness before a lump appeared once or twice.
A familiar painful, burning, or itching sensation repeatedly comes before a deep lump in the same area.
8. On a difficult day, how do these skin symptoms affect ordinary activities?
They do not currently affect my activities.
I make a small adjustment, such as choosing looser clothing or avoiding pressure on one spot.
I regularly change how I sit, walk, exercise, work, or dress because of pain or drainage.
Pain or drainage prevents sleep, walking, sitting, work, school, or another essential activity.
9. Which statement best describes possible signs of an acute infection or rapidly worsening inflammation?
I have none of the listed signs.
One area is mildly warmer or more tender than usual but is stable.
Warmth, redness, swelling, or pain is clearly increasing, without fever or rapid spread.
I have fever, chills, faintness, confusion, rapidly spreading redness, or severe and quickly worsening pain.
10. What lasting marks have developed where the lumps occurred?
I have not developed lasting marks.
One area has flat discoloration after healing.
I have developed several thick, raised, or indented scars at recurring sites.
I have rope-like or bridging scars, or scarring that pulls the skin and limits comfortable movement.
11. During the past six months, what best describes tender lumps or swellings in your skin?
I have not noticed tender lumps or swellings.
I noticed one small tender bump that settled within a few days.
I have had a deep, painful lump or several distinctly tender swellings.
A lump became intensely painful or enlarged quickly, or its pain disrupted sleep or movement.
12. Where have recurring tender bumps or swellings appeared?
I have not had recurring tender bumps or swellings.
They have recurred in one area away from a major skin fold.
They have recurred in one skin-fold area, such as an armpit, groin, buttock crease, beneath a breast, or around the genitals.
They have recurred in two or more of those skin-fold areas.
13. When a bump develops, how deep does it seem?
I have not had bumps of this kind.
A bump seemed confined to the skin surface and cleared promptly.
At least one bump felt firm or deep beneath the skin rather than like a surface blemish.
I repeatedly develop deep, tender nodules or abscess-like swellings beneath the skin.
14. Imagine one sore area is beginning to settle. What most closely matches what happens next?
It heals, and no new sore area develops.
A separate bump has appeared once, well after the first healed.
A new tender bump sometimes appears nearby while the first is still healing.
Several lumps repeatedly overlap, with one forming while others remain inflamed or open.
15. How often does a lump return in the same spot or immediately beside it?
I have not had a lump return in the same area.
It may have returned once after a long symptom-free interval.
It has returned in the same area several times.
It returns soon after healing or never fully clears before becoming inflamed again.