skin lesions that are not typical bruising from prednisone

[Kt1943]

Hi everyone, has anyone experienced skin lesions that begin by appearing to be some kind of an insect bite with tremendous itching and irritation and a lot of redness and then develop dark patches that look almost like scabs but aren’t. One of these had redness going all around my arm and another goes up the whole side of my arm. My GP said it is vasculitis and immediately put me on what we hope is a short course of 40 mg prednisone … very disappointing as I had got down to 5mg. This has been Thanksgiving weekend in the US so cant get in touch with my rheumatologist. After three days on 40mg prednisone some of the redness has gone but still a lot of irritation and it looks horrible! I believe there are other auto immune diseases such as lupus and Behcets that cause skin problems. I tested negative for lupus at the beginning of all this so know it isn’t that. I haven’t seen any mention of skin problems like this with GCA but wonder if there is some other form of vasculitis that causes this and if any of you have experienced it. I am on Actemra infusions but have not had any problems with that so far. Thanks for any information you can give me and Happy Thanksgiving!

[SheffieldJane]

Urticarial Vasculitis has this. Ask your doctor if antihistamines would help. You have my sympathy.

[Kt1943 in reply to SheffieldJane]

Thanks much. I will talk to doctor about this.

[2013mayo]

yes I get this, the itch is unbearable, you have to scratch it, it’s almost like an invisible eruption under the skin, I think it’s my blood vessels. As you say it leaves a type of scab, I have patches all over my arms from these eruptions, I’ve tried antihistamine and it doesn’t work, I’ve also got hydrocortisone cream but this only soothes it for a minute and then the itch returns. I hope someone has an answer for this.

I’ve considered a type of vasculitis but how do you get it diagnosed, all my doctors do is give me the cream.

[Miacaro45 in reply to 2013mayo]

I just left a message for my rheumatologist about an itch that is sometimes totally unbearable. My dermatologist gave me cream which works for about 3-4 hours and then the itch comes back. I am supposed to use the cream twice a day which is a joke. Taking an antihistamine either puts me to sleep or if it is the non drowsy type does nothing. What Sheffield Jane says is so interesting. I will bring this up with my medical posse.

[Kt1943 in reply to Miacaro45]

I know how unbearable the itch is and the hydrocortisone cream doesn’t relieve the itch for more than a short time. I found a hot shower helped relieve it for quite a while before going to bed. My GP took one look at it and said it was vasculitis and he has now done a biopsy to see more detailed information. The increased prednisone definitely reduced the swelling and skin irritation and I have now gone back down on the dose so we will see what happens. I sympathize with the itch. It’s awful!!!

[montebello]

I had itchy lesions appear gradually and intensify greatly over a period of several weeks. I went to a dermatologist who took a biopsy and confirmed ringworm. I was put on oral medication and the lesions gradually disappeared. Hope this helps..

[Kt1943 in reply to montebello]

Thanks for the reply. It appears this is vasculitis but I am glad you found out what yours was and all is well now.