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.