When to See a Wound Care Specialist

Some changes in your wound are normal fluctuations. Others are signs that something needs attention. Seek advice from your GP or wound care nurse if you notice any of the following:

Signs of infection:

• Increasing pain, heat, or swelling around the wound
• Drainage that becomes cloudy, green, or develops a strong or unusual odour
• Spreading redness beyond the wound edges
• Fever, chills, or feeling generally unwell alongside wound changes

Signs the wound isn’t healing as it should:

• A wound that shows no signs of improvement after several weeks of appropriate care
• A wound that keeps reopening in the same location
• Increasing tunnel formation or new lesions developing around an existing wound
• Significant scarring that is restricting movement or causing pain

Signs your current wound care isn’t working:

• Dressings that consistently fail to contain drainage, regardless of type
• Skin damage or MARSI developing around the wound from your current products
• Dressing changes that are becoming increasingly painful or difficult to manage
• Wounds that are significantly impacting your ability to work, move, or take part in daily life

If in doubt, seek advice. There is no threshold of severity you need to reach before asking for help. You are entitled to professional support for your wound care.

Navigating the healthcare system with Hidradenitis Suppurativa can be confusing. Here’s a plain-English guide to who does what.

Your GP (General Practitioner)
Your GP is usually the right first port of call for most wound care concerns. They can assess your wound, prescribe appropriate products, refer you to a specialist, and coordinate your wider HS care. If your GP isn’t familiar with HS wound care specifically, you can ask for a referral to someone who is.

Dermatologist
A dermatologist specialises in skin conditions and is the most appropriate specialist for overall HS management. If your HS is moderate to severe, or your wounds are frequent and significant, a referral to a dermatologist is well worth pursuing. They can review your treatment plan as a whole, not just individual wounds.

Tissue Viability Nurse (TVN)
A Tissue Viability Nurse is a specialist nurse with advanced training in wound assessment and management. TVNs are often the most practically useful resource for HS patients with complex or persistent wounds. They can assess your wound in detail, recommend appropriate dressing products, develop a wound care plan tailored to your specific needs, and provide hands-on guidance for difficult-to-manage locations.

If your GP practice has a practice nurse with wound care experience, this can also be a valuable first step, particularly for dressing advice and ongoing wound monitoring.

Wound Care Clinic
Some hospitals and healthcare centres run dedicated wound care clinics. These can be particularly useful for complex or non-healing wounds that need more specialist assessment than a GP appointment allows.

In the USA, the HS Foundation have created a Wound Care Map – highlighting the location of wound clinics who have trained in hidradenitis suppurativa wound care.

Many HS patients report feeling dismissed or misunderstood in healthcare settings, particularly when presenting with wounds rather than active flares. Coming prepared makes a real difference.

Describe the impact honestly. Don’t minimise. If dressing changes are taking 30 minutes twice a day, say so. If wound anxiety is affecting where you’ll go and what you’ll do, say that too. The full picture of how your wound is affecting your daily life is clinically relevant, not just the wound itself.

Bring your wound diary. If you’ve been keeping notes on drainage, dressing frequency, pain levels, and skin changes, bring them. Concrete information is far more useful than trying to recall details under pressure.

Ask specific questions. Rather than waiting to be told what’s available, ask directly:

• “Am I using the most appropriate dressing for this wound?”
• “Is there a Tissue Viability Nurse I could be referred to?”
• “Are there prescription wound care options available to me?”
• “Should I be seeing a dermatologist about my overall Hidradenitis Suppurativa management?”

Don’t leave without a plan. If you’re not sure what happens next after an appointment, ask. Receiving a clear next step, a referral, a follow-up, or a trial of a new product is a reasonable expectation from any wound care consultation.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa wound care is genuinely complex. The areas involved, the volume of drainage, the frequency of changes, the skin damage that can result from inadequate products, none of this is straightforward, and none of it should be left entirely to you to figure out alone.

Professional support exists. Specialist nurses exist. Better products exist. You just need to know to ask for them, and to keep asking until you get the help you need.

If you’re not sure where to start, your GP is the right first step. And if you’d like more information about what appropriate HS wound care looks like, our clinician information page is also a useful resource to share with your healthcare team.