Hi, I hope this is the right place to post this. I am T2 diabetic, (for around 6 years) on metformin and gliclazide. For a few years now I have had recurring boils/abscesses(? - not really sure if this would be the best way to describe them) in my groin area. They start off as little swellings, the skin gets tight and hot and then they burst and leak a little pus (sorry for the gross details), leaving a pin prick size hole which then bleeds for ages. They take months to heal and often end up tearing when I move around leaving what feel like enormous open wounds (but are probably actually only 1cm max) and then when one finally heals, I usually get another one right next to the old one. They tend to flare up worst around my period but are present pretty much constantly due to the long healing time. I am just a mess of scar tissue and holes down there at the moment and it's really getting me down. I have seen two different nurses and both have not been very helpful and just given me dressings for them. They are not easy to dress though because of their location in the crease of my groin, plasters and dressings just fall off. I'm really fed up with it, it's so painful and disgusting. Can anybody tell me if this is normal for diabetics or suggest what it might be so I can go back to my nurse with a suggested diagnosis and/or treatment. Also, I would just like to know I'm not alone. Please help.
Boils/abscesses? Diabetes related? Help!
- Thread starter carrie77
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Hi carrie and welcome to the forum.
Most diabetics report boils and abscesses when their blood sugars are high but these seem to disappear when their blood sugars are under control.
There is another condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa, you can read about it here.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hidradenitis-suppurativa/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Hopefully someone who has suffered from the same problems as you may be able to help more.
Most diabetics report boils and abscesses when their blood sugars are high but these seem to disappear when their blood sugars are under control.
There is another condition called Hidradenitis Suppurativa, you can read about it here.
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/hidradenitis-suppurativa/Pages/Introduction.aspx
Hopefully someone who has suffered from the same problems as you may be able to help more.
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That sounds nasty.
I have no personal experience of this, thank goodness, but there have been similar questions on here from time to time. A search might unearth something. From memory, I think a longish lasting course of antibiotics helped, along with ensuring the sugars are running nicely tight to your target ranges. Increased sugars just give the bugs a great place to breed.
Hi, thank you both for responding. As far as I'm aware my sugars are more controlled than they used to be (to be honest I'm not entirely sure what I'm doing with regards to this diabetes stuff!). I think my last HbA1c was 5.4, which the nurse was more than happy with and in fact suggested that I reduce my gliclazide by half. (I've recently lost 10kg which has helped). I don't test every day but when I do I'm usually between 4 and 8 (with the occasional 9 or 10 when I've slipped with my diet!). So I'm thinking that's fairly well controlled(?) and probably not the culprit then. I had a look at the link for Hidradentis Suppurativa and it sounds a lot like what's going on with me so I'm going to print the page out and take it to my next appointment. Am I right in thinking that this HS isn't related to diabetes then? Thanks again.
Awww I have these I'm constantly on antibiotics to try clear them up but they don't really work mine just keep popping and filling back up again (very gross I know) I have them in my groin but also on my breasts too grrr plus there very painfull untill they pop good luck tho to you finding a solution xxx
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I've had terrible ones that didn't respond to mega amounts of antibiotics in the end they admitted me and dug them out and they were packed daily ...I've had to start on insulin to keep them under control...touch wood I've been ok for a few months ..insist on further treatment as mine quickly turned to sepsis I was very ill ..good luck
Indy51
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As @catherinecherub pointed out, it sounds a lot like Hidradenitis Suppurativa? There are a few other threads about this on the forum that may help you:
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/search/2628955/?q=hidradenitis+suppurativa&t=post&o=date
http://www.diabetes.co.uk/forum/search/2628955/?q=hidradenitis+suppurativa&t=post&o=date
Have a read of this ...
Carbuncles ..... http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/carbuncles-causes-treatments
Don't know if it will help or not.
Carbuncles ..... http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/carbuncles-causes-treatments
Don't know if it will help or not.
I had a large boil 12 months ago and it was through this that I was finally diagnosed as a diabetic. Had to be admitted to hospital to have it surgically removed. The whole experience was alarming and very painful. My wife described it as looking like I'd either received a bullet wound or knife stabbing lol.
Since being treated as a T2 diabetic I have had no recurrence. Strongly suggest that you ask your GP to review your condition.
Since being treated as a T2 diabetic I have had no recurrence. Strongly suggest that you ask your GP to review your condition.
Hi there. I am having same issue of recurrence. I am tired of pain and my body aches and is too tired of pain. Its started from armpits and verrucae. Even after antibiotics courses its not helping me. I feel embarrassed even when people see me in pain and its like why i am always sick. I am already on antidepressants and seems like to increase dose because i cant move at times its so painful.
Jordi77
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I've had abscess on the groin on the tail bone of your back on your chest and in the arm pit and in the mouth and in my joints inside not on the skin so that you can see them and them ones have caused me more pain as they have damaged the tendons and cartlidge and I am walking on bone on bone in my knees because of them and they are in growing hairs and T2 diabetics are prone to them and the way that they grow into the body and you need to get the hair taken out but the other ones are just a infection and you need the strongest antibiotics to help your body to disolve it but you will always get them and you need to cover them with a dressing so that when they have burst it seeps onto the dressings and not on you and the tooth will need to come out when the abscess has gone so that you don't get the infection in it again
NoCrbs4Me
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I had them before being diagnosed with diabetes. I saw a dermatologist who prescribed an antibiotic that worked well (sorry, don't remember the name). Not too long after I was diagnosed with type 2 and got my blood glucose to normal levels and the boils have not returned. So, my suggestion is to get a consultation with a dermatologist ASAP.
Here is a really interesting read about HS: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1521693414001369 It's long, but worth reading the whole thing. I've had it fairly mildly under my arms for a few years, and in the past couple of months that I've had lower blood sugar it seems to have improved quite a bit.
