Does lupus change your skin color?

Most often, symptoms will develop on your face, ears or scalp. However, you can develop symptoms on other parts of your body too. This condition can sometimes cause scarring and discolorations on your skin (skin can turn darker or lighter).

How does lupus change your appearance?

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.

Does lupus cause skin lightening?

Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (SCLE)

The rash does not normally cause scarring, though can cause considerable darkening or lightening of parts of the skin. These skin changes can be avoided or made less severe by using sun protection.

Can lupus cause skin changes?

Chronic cutaneous lupus (also called discoid lupus) causes round, disc-shaped sores, usually on the face and scalp. The sores can cause scars or changes in skin color. Subacute cutaneous lupus causes a red scaly rash or red ring-shaped sores. It usually happens on skin that gets sunlight, like the neck and arms.

How does skin lupus look?

A lupus rash can appear in the following ways: A scaly, butterfly-shaped rash that covers both your cheeks and the bridge of your nose, This rash will not leave any scarring in its wake, but you may notice some skin discoloration such as dark or light-colored areas. Red, ring-shaped lesions that do not itch or scar.

Lupus, The Skin

What autoimmune disease causes skin discoloration?

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease that causes your skin to lose color, often resulting in white patches on your skin that cover both sides of your body.

What were your first signs of lupus?

Fatigue, fever, joint pain and weight changes are usually the first signs of lupus. Some adults may have a period of SLE symptoms known as flares, which may occur frequently, sometimes even years apart and resolve at other times—called remission. Other symptoms include: Sun sensitivity.

What are the 3 types of lupus?

There are three types: Acute cutaneous lupus. Chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus, or discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus.

What foods trigger lupus flare ups?

Alfalfa and garlic are two foods that probably shouldn't be on your dinner plate if you have lupus. Alfalfa sprouts contain an amino acid called L-canavanine. Garlic contains allicin, ajoene, and thiosulfinates, which can send your immune system into overdrive and flare up your lupus symptoms.

What are the 4 types of lupus?

Does lupus cause weight gain?

Muscle pain — Muscle pain or tenderness is common in people with lupus; rarely, some people also notice muscle weakness. Weight changes — Lupus can sometimes cause weight loss or weight gain.

Can you have lupus for years and not know it?

Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms.

What is the life expectancy for lupus?

For people with lupus, some treatments can increase the risk of developing potentially fatal infections. However, the majority of people with lupus can expect a normal or near-normal life expectancy. Research has shown that many people with a lupus diagnosis have been living with the disease for up to 40 years.

What are the symptoms of lupus in a woman?

Common symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, sun sensitivity, painful and swollen joints, unexplained fever, skin rashes, and kidney problems. There is no one test for SLE. Usually your doctor will ask you about your family and personal medical history and your symptoms. Your doctor will also do some laboratory tests.

What does lupus rash look like on legs?

Ring-shaped rash

In people with subacute cutaneous lupus (SCLE), the rash looks like scaly red patches or ring shapes. This rash usually appears on parts of the body that are exposed to sun, such as the arms, shoulders, neck, chest, and trunk.

What are the top 5 signs of lupus?

What organ does lupus affect the most?

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.

Does lupus qualify for disability?

For Social Security's purposes, lupus qualifies as a disability when it meets these conditions: It involves two or more organs or body systems. It includes at least two major signs or symptoms, such as severe fatigue, fever, malaise, and involuntary weight loss.

Does lupus show up in blood work?

No one test can diagnose lupus. The combination of blood and urine tests, signs and symptoms, and physical examination findings leads to the diagnosis.

Can lupus affect your teeth?

Tooth decay was present in 100% of people with active lupus disease and 85% of people with inactive lupus – possibly due to reduced salivary flow or dry mouth, a common development of lupus. People with lupus exhibit more tooth loss than healthy population.

Do I have lupus checklist?

Common signs and symptoms of lupus

Extreme fatigue (feeling tired all the time) Pain or swelling in the joints. Swelling in the hands, feet, or around the eyes. Headaches.

What are the top 10 signs of lupus?

What does a lupus flare feel like?

Living with Lupus

There are warning signs that the body will use to communicate that a lupus flare is coming, such as tiredness, pain, rash, stomachache, severe headache and dizziness.

What does lupus do to your hair?

Lupus causes widespread inflammation that usually involves your skin — particularly on your face and scalp. Lupus can cause the hair on your scalp to gradually thin out, although a few people lose clumps of hair. Loss of eyebrow, eyelash, beard and body hair also is possible.