Skin thinning

[Denbo51]

Hi as anyone experienced that legs and arms their skin is getting transparent. And very easlbruse and skin peals easly. I only have to catch leg or hands arms on slightly scrape anything and I bruse like a blood bruse and I bleed very easly. Is there anything I can take to combat this. I'm on 4mg from 15mg prednisolone at moment.

[CT-5012]

Yes, mild bath or shower wash and use an emolument after washing. I have found that using the kiddies Elastoplast dressings, they wash off with water, much less damaging. All good wishes.

[Megams in reply to CT-5012]

~Excellent tip CT-5012 - never knew that about kiddies Elastoplast so thank you~

[Mary63]

Me too! It’s a very common side effect of prednisolone I believe. Not sure there is anything you can do, except don’t knock yourself on anything. Some people feel diprobase helps.

I am left with dark brown marks where I have had a bump. Still with me a few years after the injury.

[Denbo51 in reply to Mary63]

Thank-you Mary im not on my own with this but nit very nice. They take ages to go and look unsightly. I will try double base cream if it helps me .ill try anything to get my skin to thicken back to the way it was. Thank-you

[Constance13 in reply to Denbo51]

Getting thin skin back to being thicker depends a little on age too.

[2013mayo]

Hi,

My legs are a mass of bruises, the only thing I found that helped was wearing leggings, cover them up at all times. Be very careful and conscious of anything near them. The brown marks that they leave are awful, they take so long to go, I’ve had one on the back of my leg for over year and half, it’s gradually healing.

Be very careful, try to protect your arms/legs at all times.

Xx

[PMRpro Ambassador]

Stop using soap products in the shower/bath (it strips the natural oils so your skin dries out). Emollient products such as Doublebase or Diprobase as used by eczema patients help a lot - and you may be lucky enough to get it prescribed though it isn't particularly expensive.

You may also be developing petechiae or purpurae - they are the small deep red marks under the surface of the skin - they are due to the pred making the capillaries in the middle layers of skin leaky. Purpurae are the slightly bigger ones and for me fade to brown. The tiny ones disappear fairly quickly though.

[Denbo51 in reply to PMRpro]

Thankyou thats helped a lot all try anything.

[piglette]

My legs are a dreadful mess followed by my arms. I only have to touch them and they bruise or bleed.

[Denbo51 in reply to piglette]

You seem to br worse than me ,but I'm not to far off that the least little tap or scrape I bleed or bruse. There got to be a medication to stop this surely. Thank-you piglette.

[piglette in reply to Denbo51]

I also have trouble with any pressure on my legs as that can cause blisters that then cause nasty lesions which entails visits to the local nurse for dressings. I won’t attach a photo unless you really want to see them.

[Denbo51 in reply to piglette]

I don't mind seeing them as it may help me later on if I start to get this but I'm only a young 70ty year old lol

[piglette in reply to Denbo51]

the photo has been refused! Too nasty.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to piglette]

Not fair!!!

[piglette in reply to PMRpro]

I have got lots of them as I took photos every time the leg(s) were redressed, I had thought of turning them into a video! None of my friends want to see them though. They just say Yuk.

[IslandRN in reply to Denbo51]

I too suffer with the thin skin.... sadly there is no medication for those of us that get this condition as a result of prednisone. Arnica gel to the bruised areas 3-4 times a day does help many with speeding up the healing. I keep gauze pads, arnica gel and gauze wrap tape in my bathroom and vehicle as a trip to the grocery store can end up with a slight scrape to the forearm that leaves me bleeding as if I was attacked by Wolfman (if Hugh Jackman actually attacked me I would gladly suffer the consequences...wink laugh).

[Viv54]

Hi, yes my problem is from ankles down, in other words all over my feet. My heels cracked and normally after using cream for a couple of days they heal. But now i take pred have to be really careful as they dont heal fast and last time i ended up in the A and E where they dressed them and put me on antibiotics . Im really careful now and make sure i apply plenty of a good quality cream , as do not want them to get infected again. Hope this helps. Best wishes Viv.

[Sho-Sho]

My legs look like they have been in a kick-boxing match!Slightest nudge by one of my dogs & a great black mark appears. You just have to be so so careful, I think all you can do is moisturize the paper thin skin. No short skirts for me (mind you I am 76 so not very suitable!)

[whitefishbay]

The nicely bruised legs and the dried out hair - not a great look.

[Stellamavis in reply to whitefishbay]

Add to the mix a moon face as well..definitely not a good look..🌝

[whitefishbay in reply to Stellamavis]

Absolutely. Mine is gone but the lines (bar code above lip) has returned.😂

[Stellamavis in reply to whitefishbay]

Yes bar code is what mine will look like if it ever slims down 🤣 love that description 😂

[whitefishbay in reply to Stellamavis]

I can put up with lots but that barcode - I hate it.

[Thelmarina]

I know! Complete pain! I only have to brush against something for those discoloured bruisings to show up. I sometimes feel I should go about in a bee keepers outfit. I also have a pharmacy of different kinds of dressings, saline washes etc. For those little tares. Diprobase is fabulous. Anyway, you are not on your own! 🌺

[autumnlass]

Oh yes… especially toes…the colour range goes from deep purple to pink! Lol 😂… even a pretty bracelet on my arm left a Pred trophy 🏆!Use all the emollients and they are good.. it is what it is I guess. 🙂

[Ttypoo in reply to autumnlass]

Sitting here at the moment with torn skin just yuk ..I have never experienced this before must be the pred…

[autumnlass in reply to Ttypoo]

Yes it is I’m afraid. I’m sorry. Have you a good supply of dry dressings? Boots do a very good range of hypo allergenic dressings. Also there is something called Zoff which takes off the adhesive part of the dressing which you apply before you remove the dressing.Last December I had a shoulder burn from a ‘freeze’ bag. It was horrid - I had wrapped it thoroughly in a towel, but it left me with a 2nd degree burn. Had to have antibiotics and flamazine cream. Six months later after using silicone creams and sheets it’s really much better, but I reckon another 6 months before it’s gone! Grrh - hope it’s soon better for you. 🥲x

[Ttypoo]

Thank you for info 💝

[Hidden]

Fairly common side effect of Prednisolone. Good stuff regarding this on serious USA health sites. I have suffered this problem, mostly livid bruising. Have now weaned myself off steroids and the bruising still it is not as severe.

[gordyb]

As far as I am aware there is nothing one can take to stop the bruising or thinning of the skin however I can give you a little advice based on my own experience, on how to deal with them and in the hope that it might help you in your journey with this problem.I am of the age where thin skin is to be expected but after two years of Pred, mine is now like what used to be termed 'onion skin' i.e. very thin indeed. As a result any slight knock, or even a brush against something, results in a skin tear. My last episode was a brush against a- door pillar when getting in to my sons car, even though I had a long sleeved knitted shirt on, this resulted in a 3cm. squared piece of skin being torn up. Fortunately having experienced this sort of thing many times previously, I have dressings to hand so, as the wound was bleeding I first pulled the skin flap back in place, dried the area with a clean tissue then put a piece of Non-Adherent dressing pad over the wound and secured it with a transparent film dressing.The advantage of the transparent dressing is that it is extremely flexible and you can also see if the pad needs replacing, otherwise you can leave it for a number of days as it is waterproof and will stay on in the shower. On this particular occasion my dressing stayed on until I saw that some blood was showing through, so I replaced it with another similar one, this one stayed on for another week and as it was still dry I removed it and replaced it with a Hydrocolloid dressing which I left for about ten days, now it is removed, all that shows is a thin white scar where the tear occurred. If the wound is not bleeding just use the Hydrocolloid Dressing as advised in the package. I have had very good results from these dressings so can recommend the Hydrocolloid Dressings and the Non-Adherent pads which I get from Morrisons, the transparent film dressings I use are Tegaderm Film and I get the

6 x 7 cm. ones, available on line. All these. or similar, will also be available from a Chemist or Pharmacy.

From my own experience, I would not use an adhesive fabric type of dressing on these wounds if at all possible as I did so once and had to use an adhesive release spray to get it off because it was in danger of tearing the skin even more.

As far as bruising goes, as I am taking blood thinners I also bruise very easily but I am afraid these are just par for the course, I find most of mine are from contact with door handles as these are just the right height for hands or lower arms, fortunately they do eventually fade, or in my case, blend in with the natural blemishes of age.

All the best going forward.

[Denbo51 in reply to gordyb]

Thank-you so much for that it helps immensely I will take your advice

[OldGolfer in reply to gordyb]

Great advice. I’ve been working on this problem ever since pred started. I also have balance issues and any fall caused problems. Even wearing a heavy coat the skin ripped in a fall under the coat and I didn’t know it till I took the coat off. I finally bought a classy cane from Amazon which helps with balance but also slows me down. Not so many accidental bumps on door jams!

[Exflex]

Yes, bruising and I’m not even aware I’ve knocked myself! I’m on 7.5mg.I also take 75mg Aspirin which seems to make it worse. Since starting on this for the heart I bleed easily.

[jarn]

Everyone has responded so the thing that I don't understand is "WHY DO DOCTORS NOT WARN US". It has happened to all of us unawares. Even now, after off Pred for nearly a year, the skin is still sensitive and abrasians take ages to mend. So, just be as careful as can be and do NOT use bandages that stick. There are some non-adhesive types on the shelves. Even when I have blood taken at lab, do not use the tape that they cover your puncture with!

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to jarn]

There are 82 listed adverse effects of pred - the most common, and skin thinning is one of them - are usually listed in the patient information leaflet. Doctors don;t have to time to tell every patient - they do generally expect patients to read the information with which they are provided,

[PMRpro Ambassador]

I was introduced to this recently by a lovely A&E nurse:

amazon.co.uk/Mepilex-Lite-1...

It is a soft silicon foam dressing - not cheap but brilliant for very delicate skin as it doesn't stick to the wound or surrounding skin and you use either a tubi-grip cover or Self-fix to hold it in place (Self-fix is a stretchy bandage that only sticks to itself - other brands are available)

picsolution.com/en/products...

By purchasing the non-border version you can cut it to size. Here in Italy I think I could get it on prescription - so maybe worth asking if you have very delicate skin and nasty scrapes.

[RiverKings]

I’ve found that a Fragile Skin Creme made by DerMend helps strengthen the skin. They also sell a Moisturizing Bruise formula that helps speed up healing if you do get a skin tear. Available on Amazon or at pharmacies in the U.S.