What is discoid lupus?
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Discoid lupus, or Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus, is a form of lupus that is limited to the skin. While other forms of lupus can affect your body’s joints, muscles, and organs, discoid lupus affects your skin with the formation of rashes and lesions on your face, neck, or scalp. This form of lupus is commonly referred to as discoid lupus because the area of rashes and lesions are shaped like circular discs. Discoid lupus can also cause changes to the pigmentation of your skin, so if you start to see some discoloration of your skin color you will want to seek medical attention from a doctor as soon as possible.
With roughly ten percent of the people who suffer from discoid lupus also contracting systemic lupus, you must constantly monitor your lupus condition through regular visits to your doctor. If you do not monitor your lupus condition regularly, it is possible that you could see systemic lupus form in another part of your body, which is a much more serious medical condition.
Discoid lupus is can be treated in several different ways. The most common method of treatment is through a topical ointment that is applied to the affected areas of your skin. This ointment will help reduce the inflammation seen within your rash and lesions as well as help prevent the spread of these skin conditions to other parts of your body. If you find that the prescription ointment is not effective enough to make a difference with your discoid lupus, cortisone injections can also be given. Cortisone injections are probably the most effective way to treat discoid lupus as these shots have proven highly effective in stopping the spread of lesions around your body while also reducing the redness and flakiness associated with your rash.
Signs you have discoid lupus
Discoid Lupus is a skin disorder where sores with inflammation and scarring occur on the face, ears, and scalp. While the lesions develop as red, inflamed patches, they may also become scaly and crusty in appearance. Also, the center of the lesions may appear lighter in color with a rim darker than your normal skin color. If lesions occur in hairy areas such as the scalp or beard, permanent scarring and hair loss can occur. While Discoid Lupus is a chronic skin disorder, it is possible for people who suffer from discoid lupus to develop other forms of lupus that affect the internal organs.
The main sign that you may have discoid lupus is the formation of lesions on your face, ears, and scalp. These lesions can form on other parts of your body as well, but mainly they will stick to areas on your head. The red color associated with discoid lupus lesions is another sign to look out for when trying to determine whether or not you suffer from discoid lupus. If you do notice any number of lesions on your face, ears, or scalp, you will want to see a doctor immediately. Your doctor will be able to run a skin biopsy to determine whether or not your condition is, in fact, discoid lupus.
Early diagnosis is key when dealing with discoid lupus. Once you can determine that you do have discoid lupus, you will be able to see treatment in the form of cortisone injections to help reduce the inflammation of your sores and help prevent them from spreading around your body. Your doctor may prescribe some other ointments to help control the spread of lesions on your body, but cortisone injections appear to be the most effective form of treatment.
When to go for a lupus test
Lupus is a debilitating disease that attacks different parts of the body. The type of lupus that you suffer depends on which area of your body is affected by the disease. Lupus can affect your skin, muscles, joints, and organs, which is why lupus should be taken seriously. The first step you will want to take whenever you think you might be suffering from lupus is to read about the many symptoms online. The lupus foundation has a great website with a lot of useful information about the disease, making it a great place to start your research. One of the best aspects of their website is a short questionnaire you can answer to help you determine if you may be suffering from form lupus. If you receive a score that might indicate you are showing multiple symptoms of lupus, you will want to schedule an appointment with your doctor right away.
Once you have an appointment with your doctor, he or she will be able to run some tests to determine whether or not you have a type of lupus. Some forms of lupus are easier to diagnose than others, but you will want to get tested regardless just to make sure you do have the disease. Once you test positive for lupus, you can then schedule appointments with the necessary specialists and receive the proper treatment for your specific case of lupus. Because every instance of lupus is different from the next, there is no one treatment for the disease. To relieve your lupus symptoms, you will need to schedule an appointment with the appropriate doctors so that they can take the necessary steps to treat your case of lupus. Once you are given several lupus tests, you will then be able to start taking the proper medication to treat your lupus.
Where to go for a lupus test
Lupus, while still quite rare, can be a debilitating disease, especially if you do not get any treatment. If you suspect you have lupus, you will want to get checked out by a doctor as soon as possible. However, how do you know if you need to see a doctor in the first place? One method you can use to help you determine if you may be suffering from lupus is taking an online questionnaire at lupus.org. This questionnaire will help you determine if you are seeing any of the symptoms commonly associated with lupus. If you do receive a high score and appear to have some form of lupus, you must schedule an appointment with your doctor right away.
Because lupus can affect so many different parts of your body, you may need to see several different doctors. Lupus has been known to affect the skin, muscles, joints and organs, each requiring a different specialist to inspect if you think you have lupus. Even though you may need to see a series of doctors to help determine if you do have lupus, you will want to start with a visit to your doctor since he or she will know the most about your medical history.
Seeking treatment for lupus right away is important because there are some medical treatments out there that can help reduce the effects of lupus. However, because each case of lupus is different, your doctors will need to tailor your treatment to your specific case of lupus. Seeing a doctor at the first sign of any symptoms of lupus will help your physicians diagnose your specific type of lupus and subsequently provide the best type of treatment for that kind of lupus.
Examining the Discoid Lupus Condition
We have many conditions that affect the skin one being discoid lupus. The skin is usually characterized by skin rashes that reoccur after some time. When the condition is severe, you may have permanent circular lesions mainly on exposed parts of the body. The lesions may also appear on the hidden parts of the body although in rare cases. The parts which are mainly affected include; scalp, face, neck hands and sometimes the legs. The real cause of the condition has never been proven although is usually based on several factors. It’s usually an autoimmune reaction that attacks healthy body tissues instead of preventing the body against disease-causing microorganisms. This usually occurs due to the dysfunction of the system leading to this reaction. We have some experts in the medical field who relate the condition to heredity. Researches show that many of the people diagnosed with the condition have some people within their family line who had the condition. We also have others who relate the occurrence of the condition to a combination of several factors. The condition has been proven to affect more women than men specifically the African American women within the age bracket 18-50.
To make matters worse about the discoid lupus condition, we do not have a specific test that can be conducted to prove the condition. The medical experts, therefore, carry out a combination of tests. The examination involves the physical process of examining the symptoms on the skin, the analysis from the laboratories where the skin samples are analyzed plus the various blood tests. The tests are aimed to reveal the condition of the immune system. In case the laboratory tests prove the dysfunction of the immune system, then the rashes are related to the condition. When diagnosed with the condition, patients can take the proper medication as well as the measures to prevent the worsening of the condition.
How Is Lupus Test Carried Out?
Lupus is a condition that occurs in very many forms. We have two forms of the condition that are very common and they are discoid lupus and systemic lupus. Among the two, the systemic form is usually chronic and may lead to several major diseases that affect the vital organs. The condition affects the autoimmune system in the body forcing the body to destroy its cells. Due to this abnormality of the system, the body is unable to fight the disease-causing microorganism leading to other diseases finding their way into the body. For example, lupus nephritis is a disease that attacks the kidney which is just one form of systemic lupus. This disease reaches an extent where the kidney dialysis has to be done or a kidney transplant. You can imagine the kinds of problems the lupus conditions can lead to. It’s therefore very wise to carry out lupus tests whenever you suspect you have one of the signs of any of its forms.
The main forms as mentioned above are the discoid and systemic. The discoid mainly leads to the formation of systemic. The discoid affects the skin where the skin starts with having rashes on the exposed parts of the body such as the hands, neck, and face. They later develop into lesions that are usually circular and red. To identify whether your skin is affected y the lupus condition, the biopsies tests are carried out. This is a lupus test which involves taking samples of the affected parts of the skin to the laboratory to test for the state of the affected tissues. If the tests prove that the tissues have an abnormality, it, therefore, means the patient is suffering from discoid lupus. For the systemic types, you have to carry out blood tests. However, it’s not very easy to test for these conditions as no main cause known and therefore various combinations of tests are used.
The Discoid Lupus Condition
The discoid lupus condition is an autoimmune reaction of the body. Instead of the reaction preventing the body from microorganisms that attack the body, the reaction attacks the active body tissues which effects bring out mostly circular skin lesions. The condition occurs when there is a dysfunction within the autoimmune system. The condition has been proven to attack more women than men. The lesions are usually found on the exposed parts of the body such as the hands, scalp the neck, face, and head. That does not rule out the rare occasions when the lesions may be found on the hidden parts of the body. The condition is usually worsening with continuous exposure to the sun. The lesions usually worsen and become permanent lesions. It’s therefore advisable to avoid exposure to the sun when you have the condition to prevent its progress.
Those people who suffer from the discoid lupus condition exhibit time when the skin lesions reoccur after treatment. In severe cases, the lesions may even appear on the skin of internal organs which indicates the presence of a more chronic type of lupus condition referred to as systemic lupus. The people who are diagnosed with a type of condition can suffer a variety of diseases. In most cases, the effects have attachments to the vital organs, joints, and the central nervous system. The diseases may include; pneumonia, tuberculosis, gastrointestinal diseases among others. The discoid condition affects African American women more than any other woman in the entire world. The cause of the disease is not known although we have medical experts who relate the condition to heredity. We have several cases where the women who suffer the condition have some other people who had the condition in their family line something that can only happen due to genetic inheritance. However, we do not have a specific gene for the condition.
Discoid Lupus-What You Should Know About the Condition in Dogs
Discoid lupus is a disease that affects humans although in some cases it can be found some dogs. The condition affects the nasal part of a dog. The nose usually loses its pigmentation. It may also affect the other parts of the skin although on very rare occasions. The condition is brought about by an autoimmune reaction of the body which leads to the body destroying its healthy cells instead of fighting the disease-causing microorganisms. The real causative agent is not known although medical experts relate the condition to heredity. The condition is only found in specific breeds of dogs making it evident to affect only specific genes. The main breeds that are attacked include; German shepherd, Collins and Siberian husky. The main symptoms comprise of loosing of nasal colorations followed by scaling and formation of sores. In some cases, the nasal area may become smooth instead of the normal cobblestone texture. Some of the affected dogs may be affected by the nasal sores while the majorities are not.
It’s not very easy to diagnose discoid lupus in dogs due to the similarity in the symptoms with those of dermatitis. However, medical experts usually carry out tests of the affected parts to come up with conclusive results. The tests are usually known as biopsy tests where the tissues of the affected area are usually taken to the laboratory for various tests. Just as the case of humans, the sunshine usually makes the affected area to worsen and hence the dog should be kept away from sunshine. It’s possible to treat the condition although different medications are offered depending on the severity. Topical ointments can treat mild cases while severe conditions can be treated using corticosteroids. Vitamin E supplements can also work although it may take more time.
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