HidraMed’s HidraWear Available to Eligible HS Patients Through Public Health Service
1st April 2021
Ireland has become the first country in the world to offer Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) patients a specific wound dressing through its public health service. From the beginning of May 2021, HidraWear wound dressings will be available to eligible HS patients living in Ireland through their health care provider.
Hidradenitis Suppurativa (HS) is a chronic, inflammatory skin disease with no cure that affects tens of thousands of people in Ireland and millions worldwide. Patients experience recurrent and painful boils, abscesses and lesions and debilitating pain. HS can compromise patients’ quality of life, preventing them from maintaining relationships, jobs or even completing day to day tasks.
One of the main challenges for people with HS is daily wound care. HS lesions and wounds are painful and prone to a high volume of exudate. Traditional dressings leak, fall off or cause skin damage, causing the patient pain, distress, embarrassment, and anxiety. HidraWear’s HS specific design assures secure dressing retention in the difficult to dress areas affected such as the armpits. The soft, highly absorbent dressing can retain large amounts of wound exudate. HidraWear’s fluid-repellent backing prevents external contamination of the wound, and provides comfort and security to patients, enabling them to self-manage their wound care effectively.
Suzanne Moloney, CEO and founder of HidraMed Solutions, creators of HidraWear, has lived with HS since she was 13 years old. “Being able to help patients with support from the HSE is a huge step towards greatly improving our quality of life.”, says Suzanne.
Mis-diagnosis is common in HS, with recent studies showing that on average it takes over seven years for a HS patient to receive a proper diagnosis. Dr Barry McGrath PhD, from Limerick, was misdiagnosed until his 30’s, having started showing symptoms in his teens. “There is a belief that this is a rare disease,” Says Dr McGrath, “Whereas the truth is that people are suffering silently and with little support because of a lack of HS understanding among health professionals”. Dr McGrath manages Hidradenitis Suppurativa Ireland an online community of HS patients in Ireland.
HS patients should enquire about HidraWear with their GP. Anyone who believes they might be experiencing HS symptoms is encouraged to speak to their GP or alternatively reach out to the Irish Skin Foundation for advice.
