What were your first symptoms of scleroderma?
What were your first symptoms of scleroderma?
Early symptoms may include swelling and itchiness. Affected skin can become lighter or darker in color and may look shiny because of the tightness. Some people also experience small red spots, called telangiectasia, on their hands and face.
Where does scleroderma usually start?
Another early sign of systemic scleroderma is puffy or swollen hands before thickening and hardening of the skin due to fibrosis. Skin thickening usually occurs first in the fingers (called sclerodactyly) and may also involve the hands and face.
What are the first signs of Crest syndrome?
What Are Signs and Symptoms of CREST Syndrome?
- Small red spots on the hands, face, and upper trunk develop due to dilated tiny blood vessels.
- Spots may also occur on mucosal surfaces such as the lips and throughout the gastrointestinal tract.
- Spots may bleed.
How do I know if I have systemic scleroderma?
Diagnosis of Systemic Sclerosis
- Skin thickening of the fingers of both hands.
- Fingertip lesions (eg, ulcers, pitting scars)
- Telangiectasia.
- Abnormal nail-fold capillaries (eg, ectatic blood vessels, dropout areas) on capillaroscopy examination (eg, seen with an ophthalmoscope or dissecting microscope)
What does scleroderma pain feel like?
Symptoms can include: Tight skin or swollen joints. Joint pain or tenderness. Muscle fatigue and weakness or aching.
What foods should be avoided with scleroderma?
REFLUX/HEARTBURN: eat small frequent meals to avoid overfilling your stomach; avoid eating within 2-3 hours of bedtime; avoid foods that may aggravate symptoms such as citrus fruits, tomato products, greasy fried foods, coffee, garlic, onions, peppermint, gas-producing foods (such as raw peppers, beans, broccoli, raw …
What can trigger scleroderma?
Researchers suspect that exposure to some environmental factors, such as viruses or chemicals, may trigger scleroderma. Immune system changes. Abnormal immune or inflammatory activity in your body triggers cell changes that cause the production of too much collagen.
What is the difference between CREST syndrome and scleroderma?
Some people have a type of scleroderma called CREST syndrome (or limited scleroderma). Unlike other types, which only affect the arms, legs, and face, this kind can involve your digestive tract. While less common, it can also lead to problems with your heart and lungs.
Does scleroderma cause weight gain?
Acute localized scleroderma (morphea) can present as severe generalized oedema with rapid weight gain and oliguria.
Does scleroderma make you gain weight?
Does scleroderma make you tired?
Our findings indicate that fatigue is common in scleroderma and that pain and fatigue are significant determinants of physical functioning for patients with limited and diffuse disease subtypes.
Can you live a normal life with CREST syndrome?
In a large 2003 US study by Mayes et al, the survival rate from time of diagnosis was computed to be 77.9% at 5 years, 55.1% at 10 years, 37.4% at 15 years, and 26.8% at 20 years. The extent of skin involvement is a good predictor of survival in patients with scleroderma.
What is the life expectancy for a person with scleroderma?
Genetics: Those with certain gene variations are more likely to develop the condition. This may explain why scleroderma can run in families and certain ethnic groups.
What are the symptoms of systemic sclerosis?
Symptoms of Systemic Sclerosis. The usual initial symptom of systemic sclerosis is swelling then thickening and tightening of the skin at the ends of the fingers.
How to diagnose systemic sclerosis?
– Blood tests to look for autoantibodies – Blood and urine tests to look for kidney involvement – An EKG and echocardiogram to look for heart involvement – Rarely, a biopsy of the affected skin is necessary
What is the prognosis for scleroderma?
Scleroderma is not contagious, infectious, cancerous or malignant. Scleroderma has no cure, but symptoms and damage can be reduced with proper treatment. It’s estimated that about 300,000 Americans have scleroderma.