Humira

I dont know about anyone else however i have found that there is very limited treatment options available for HS (probably to do with the fact that most Doctors dont know what it is). I have been prescribed antibiotics on top of antibiotics for years to the point where now they dont work. I have tried heating pads, dead sea salt baths, magnesium paste, surgery etc. etc. however i have not tried Humira. I haven't even heard it mentioned from my doctors, the only thing they suggest is more surgery that hasn't worked so far so why would it now? and surprise, surprise more antibiotics. But i have heard of people who have been prescribed this drug. Now from what i can gather the majority of people i have know who are on it are in the USA or Canada but i do believe that it is getting administered over here in the UK. So i decided to do a little research about this drug. So i hope that anyone who is thinking about this drug or anyone who's doctor may have mentioned will find this post helpful.


With HS our bodies make to much of a a protein called TNF- Alpha this along with other proteins in our bodies is what causes the increased risk of inflammation and causes abscesses to develop under and above the skin. 
What Humira does is block the TNF - alpha protein it binds it to therefore reducing the regularity of inflammation.
This all sounds brilliant however whilst research on the official website which you can access if you click here. 
There are two very very serious side effects of this drug that i think may outweigh the positives of this drug (at least they do for me).

 1) Serious infections have happened in people taking Humira. These serious infections include tuberculosis (TB) and infections caused by viruses, fungi, or bacteria that have spread throughout the body. Some people have died from these infections. 

Now having HS i constantly have an infection and i am assuming it is the same for other people. At any given time if the doctors give me a blood test it will come back positive. So this is a quite worrying side effect but not as worrying as the second.

 2) Cancer. For children and adults taking TNF blockers, including Humira, the chance of getting lymphoma or other cancers may increase. There have been cases of unusual cancers in children, teenagers, and young adults using TNF blockers. Some people have developed a rare type of cancer called hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma. This type of cancer often results in death.

Now obviously this is a very very serious 'side effect'. To me no matter what the benefits are i would not risk this drug. I am not saying that no one should take this drug all i am saying is that me personally, i wouldn't. People have said to me that if that the way i think my HS mustn't be that bad, and to those people i say that believe me that i have felt the pain, i have felt the depression and anxiety and that as someone with HS themselves they should know that and only because we have the same disease doesn't mean that we have the same experiences and views. (sorry rant over).

The way in which you you administer Humira is through a injection kwik pen. the way you do this is by injecting in your stomach, upper thigh or upper arm. Most people tend to stick to the stomach area as it is the easiest to reach. You need to grab a piece of your skin and insert the needle into the skin at a 45 degree angle. You thine press the plum plunger at the top and which point the pen will click. You hold the needle in your skin for 10 seconds to make sure it has all been dispensed.