Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa Negatively Perceive Both Medical and Euphemistic Appellations of Their Disease: A Study From Turkey

Background: The use of medical terms and folk names (euphemisms) affect a patient's understanding of diseases and perceptions of severity.

Objectives: We determine the psychological effects on patients with hidradenitis suppurativa of medical and folk names of their disease.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional and exploratory study conducted at a tertiary referral university hospital in Turkey. A questionnaire on the medical and folk names of hidradenitis suppurativa was administered to 31 males and 25 females.

Results: The patients expressed that they found the medical term hidradenitis suppurativa to be incomprehensible because it is a foreign term. When hearing it for the first time, it evoked negative responses such as confusion and worry about their health. Half of the patients preferred their doctors to use a more understandable and pronounceable name. More than 80% of patients expressed feeling depressed and stigmatized by the folk name of their disease. They preferred the terms boils, abscesses, or hidradenitis when referring to their disease.

Conclusion: Both medical and folk names for hidradenitis suppurativa have negative effects on patients, and most patients feel stigmatized by either term.