Lupus and Your Skin

If you have recently been diagnosed with Lupus, then you may not know much about it. As an autoimmune disorder that affects multiple organs in your body, Lupus can sometimes have negative effects on your skin. Depending on the type of lupus that you have, your dermatologist can properly evaluate just how much of your skin rash is, in fact, caused by lupus.

Discoid Lupus
The most common skin condition that patients with Lupus get is called discoid lupus which causes a coin-like shape on the skin. Typically, these lesions appear as red scaly patches on the nose, ears, and cheeks. Sometimes, they can also appear on the neck, the back of the hand, or even the upper back. Usually, they aren’t painful but if they are, that’s something that we can look further into.

If, for some reason, these lesions appear on your scalp, make sure to have it treated right away because it may cause permanent damage to the hair follicle which may result in balding.

Subacute Cutaneous Lupus
Patients with this form of lupus usually have two types of lesions that are ring-shaped with a small amount of scaliness on the edges that appear on the face, arms, upper back, or chest. The only good thing about these lesions is that they don’t itch.

Acute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus
This rash usually appears as flat red patches called a butterfly rash that looks similar to a sunburn. Because of this, it can sometimes be mistaken for rosacea because it’s most common on the cheeks and nose. However, it can also appear on the legs and arms.

Now that you know a little bit more about the different types of rashes that are caused by Lupus, we can help to treat them. To learn more about the various treatment options that we have, contact our Santa Monica office today and call us at 310-829-4104.