Rash appears overnight

[mad4cavs]

Sorry for the photo I don't mean to scare you but overnight my face often flares up ,anyone else get this

[Mylreaclairelee]

Hi mad4cavs, This looks very like the Lupus butterfly rash to me but I have scleroderma not lupus, so am no expert. I did have a sister in law with it though so I have seen the rash before. Hope it goes away soon. x

[mad4cavs in reply to Mylreaclairelee]

I have diffuse scleroderma not lupus but I'm going to show this to my rheumatologist it keeps happening

[charlieab]

My face changes colour a dozen times during teh day. And my hands join in the "fun" too. I watched them during a 1 and half hour car journey today and they chnaged colour from white to red through a mottled mix in between about 15 times. I wasnt driving!

But I dont think I get a similar rash to the one in your pic. I guess we all get variations. Hope you're doing ok.

Its unlikley I guess, but have you checked that you are not allergic to the washing powder that your pillow is washed using?

[mad4cavs in reply to charlieab]

thank you,no allergies nothings changed it just flares up every so ofter its really dry and sore i put on loads of cream before bed to

[GGhere]

Hi Madcavs

I have scleroderma and get a rash just like yours. Mine appears all over my feet and up to my knees with some on my face. The rash on my legs was very red and unsightly but it has calmed to a brown colour since being on medication. The rash on my face comes and goes like yours. I think the medical people call it telangiectasia.

[LucyJean]

Hello there, I think you should ask for a referral to a Dermatologist to just determine what is going on. Rashes are tricky to diagnose and it could be a number of things. They are more expert than a Rheumatologist. When you have an autoimmune condition such as scleroderma it does not mean that you can't get overlap with other syndromes. It is very common to have an overlap with Lupus and have a few features of that such as a facial rash. The other thing it may be is Rosacea. You can have this for many reasons, but you are more likely to get it if you have been on immunosuppressant therapy because of the impact on your immune system. There is not a 'scleroderma rash' that I am aware of. I see Betsie mentioned telangiectasia.These are inflamed blood vessels that tend to be on the face, hands and neck...and sometimes body. They can also occur internally. We just don't know about those ones! They tend to be more blood red and like spider veins rather than causing a reddened area of skin which is puffy and raised.

When we have scleroderma we tend to think everything we suffer from is to do with it, and so do our GPs but you can also suffer from other conditions that are linked, or unrelated. I would really encourage you to get a dermatologist who knows about connective tissue diseases such as lupus, scleroderma etc to see you.

All my best

Lucy

[mad4cavs in reply to LucyJean]

thank you i have an appointment with gp so i will ask for a derm appt

[Toekansaal]

Hi mad4cavs,

Yes I get this & I've been told it's angioedema. Nothing to do with the heart & I usually have a course of steroids to clear it.

I have Systemic Sclerosis & it's just one of the bugbears that make our lives difficult. I think you should ask your doctor or Rheumy about it, show the photo so they can see what you mean.

I sincerely wish you luck with this & I hope you get your own diagnosis & treatment soon.

[mad4cavs in reply to Toekansaal]

Thank you so much its so uncomfortable itching and painful needs cream on it every 2_3hours

[Hidden in reply to mad4cavs]

Hi - poor you having this on top of other things. Do you find it is worst after sun exposure and do you wear a high factor sun cream and hat every day if you're immune suppressed?

I have a similar rash on my face but not as severe. It only really occurs when I'm on immunesuppression but I did have an identical one when I was on Hydroxichloraquine. It started to make my lips swell at night so I finally took action and stopped this drug for a few days. It went straight down so i knew it was an allergic reaction to the drug.

When I finally got to see a dermatologist the rash had gone but she said i have Rosacea and wrote down name of a med for my GP to prescribe but I decided not to bother as got so much else going on and it wasn't severe.

But when I got same thing again recently I joined a Rosacea FB page and was a bit horrified to see from pictures how badly some people suffer with this. Because it's quite common and can look a bit like adult acne - I think many with our diseases tend to think it's not that serious - at least compared to discoid Lupus or Scleroderma. But I'm now thinking again about this and eczema because it's sore and very unsightly (much more than yours often with pustules for some). And it does often occur with autoimmune diseases and drugs such as immunesuppressants and steroids really exacerbate it.

Not saying this is what yours is as it could be SSc or Lupus - that's for a GP or dermatologist to decide. But I know that steroid cream is to be avoided if it's Rosacea and an antibiotic cream is often the first line treatment - and it also causes telengecstasias too. So it's important to get the right diagnosis.

I have Sjögren's with secondary Raynauds rather than Scleroderma but I do have some overlap showing in my blood and I do have something very odd happening to my facial skin since my dose of Mycophenolate was increased to maximum.

[mad4cavs in reply to Hidden]

i think its rosacea ive been looking at rashes lol online hopefully gp will refer me to derm and i can get things sorted,i am immune suppressed this time its stayed it usually flares up and goes its stayed this time i dont spend any time in the sun and if i do its factor 50,i just use doublebase dayleave gel calms it down

[Hidden in reply to mad4cavs]

I wouldn't like to comment on whether Rosacea or a discoid Lupus rash as could be either and I don't have Lupus - but I'm glad you're taking photos to show your rheum. A good GP should be able to treat Rosacea once it's been diagnosed. X

[Hidden]

I am sorry that your face is so irritated. That must hurt a lot. I have a lot of skin sensitivities, too. This is what I do to try to prevent rashes, hives, irritation, etc., I avoid the use of toxic cleaning fluids, perfumes, detergents, and a lot of makeup. I use unscented laundry detergent, organic dishwashing liquid, unscented soap or soap made with essential oils or non toxic chemicals. I use only the organic mascara, Physician's formula concealer for skin flaws and a light creme blush. Pure cocoa butter or Shea butter work well as moisturizers, even olive oil works well to moisturize your skin. I wash and moisturize my face with "Simple" foaming face wash and moisturizer. I use vitamin e oil instead of lipstick. It works well on fingernails, wrinkles. I hope this is helpful. It looks like you are having an allergic reaction to something. Did you talk with your dr about your facial irritation/rash?

[mad4cavs in reply to Hidden]

off to drs in a hrs time i dont wear makeup soap powder is a mild one ive used for years,so i think its the meds os scleroderma thats causing these flare ups

i will let you know how i get on when i get back

[mad4cavs]

Went to see gp she thinks rash is related to scleroderma has given me some cream ordered bloods if no improvement she will refer me to dermatology

[Jar1973]

Dermatomyositis can produce a similar rash also. It usually volves the eyelids and is called a heliotrope rash. But no matter what seeing your GP and specialists is the most sensible thing to do. I hope your GPs plan yields some answers soon.

[mad4cavs in reply to Jar1973]

Thank you 2weeks of antibiotics cream no improvement yet.going for a biopsy on my neck tomorrow may when that's over and done with it will be better gp said it may be stress related

[Jar1973]

If only reducing stress were that easy! Seems to be a doctors catch all diagnosiswhen they are unsure but at least in part they are probably right. Stress does make things worse. Best wishes for it resolving soon mad4cavs!

[mad4cavs]

Rash still coming and going consultant thinks its lupus but not to worry because the meds I'm on treat diffuse scleroderma and lupus,so that's scleroderma lupus and gout,in the last 2years

[agnbg0826 in reply to mad4cavs]

How are you doing

[mad4cavs in reply to agnbg0826]

Not to bad not to good hibernating trying to wean myself off morphine,I'm in pain but I think this is my new normal pain is part of my life from now on .hoping things will get better Chris Denton did say my scleroderma will burn itself out in 3_4years I keep hoping he will be right,how are you