An itchy rash on the legs could be a sign of lupus, particularly if it develops in response to environmental triggers that often affect people with lupus or if they have a family history of the disease. The rash may look similar to sunburn, cause circular lesions, or cause scaly patches with distinct edges.
Lupus commonly affects the skin. It can affect the skin on the legs in a few different ways, including : an appearance of round, scaly rashes. swelling in the legs.
A butterfly-shaped rash on your face — called a malar rash — often occurs. This rash reaches across your nose, from cheek to cheek, in a shape that resembles a butterfly. In addition to the malar rash, lupus skin rashes can appear anywhere on your body.
Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks and bridge of the nose or rashes elsewhere on the body. Skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure. Fingers and toes that turn white or blue when exposed to cold or during stressful periods.
Autoimmune rashes can look like scaly red patches, purplish bumps, or more. The appearance of autoimmune rashes will be different, depending on which autoimmune condition is triggering the skin rash. What is this? For example, cutaneous lupus may cause a scaly red patch that does not hurt or itch.
Rosacea, which can also be triggered by sunlight, often looks like a lupus rash because it tends to be red and flat and have a butterfly pattern.
NYU Langone dermatologists can identify the three main types of cutaneous lupus, a chronic skin condition in which rashes or sores typically appear on sun-exposed areas of the body, such as the face, scalp, chest, arms, and legs.
The rashes often result from sun exposure. There's no cure for skin lupus. Providers treat it with drugs and lifestyle changes.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus. Lungs About 50% of people with SLE will experience lung involvement during the course of their disease.
An itchy rash on the legs could be a sign of lupus, particularly if it develops in response to environmental triggers that often affect people with lupus or if they have a family history of the disease. The rash may look similar to sunburn, cause circular lesions, or cause scaly patches with distinct edges.
No single test can tell whether you have any type of lupus. When you have signs of lupus on your skin, your dermatologist will carefully consider the results from your skin exam, medical history, and lab tests. You may need more testing before getting your diagnosis.
In this disease, the immune system of the body mistakenly attacks healthy tissue. It can affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain, and other organs. The round or disk shaped (discoid) rash of lupus produces red, raised patches with scales. The pores (hair follicles) may be plugged.
Lupus often causes myalgia, or aches and pains in the muscles. Less often, lupus can cause myositis, or inflammation in the muscles — usually in the hips, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms. The most common symptom of myositis is muscle weakness.
A tell-tale sign of lupus is a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and bridge of the nose. Other common skin problems include sensitivity to the sun with flaky, red spots or a scaly, purple rash on various parts of the body, including the face, neck, and arms. Some people also develop mouth sores.
Common triggers include:
Being out in the sun or having close exposure to fluorescent or halogen light. Infection. Injury. Stopping your lupus medicines.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.
“About 90 percent of patients who get malar rash have systemic lupus. This type of rash, as well as most lupus rashes, are generally inflamed, and so it's edematous [swollen], it's raised, and it's red.
Lupus can affect almost any organ in your body.
For example, one person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes. Over time, new symptoms can develop or some symptoms may happen less often.
Sjogren's syndrome is a relatively common disease, although often under-diagnosed. Sjogren's syndrome can occur alone or in association with other autoimmune diseases, most commonly lupus and rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
Sores or red patches on the skin
Discoid lupus lesions, which are thick and disk-shaped. They often appear on the scalp or face and can cause permanent scarring. They may be red and scaly, but they do not cause pain or itching. Subacute cutaneous lesions, which may look like patches of scaly skin or ring-shaped sores.
Some of these "SLE mimickers" are very common, such as rosacea which can be mistaken for the butterfly rash, while others such as Kikuchi disease, type-1 interferonopathies, Castleman's disease, prolidase deficiency, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, Evans' syndrome in the context of primary immune deficiencies and ...