Discoid Lupus Disease: Symptoms and Treatment

The cause of discoid lupus has often been attributed to genetic, environmental and hormonal factors, but no medical thesis gives a definite cause of the disease. Before we go further into the details, let us try to deal with a confusion that many people have between discoid lupus and systemic discoid lupus. Discoid lupus is a problem related to the skin, while when we talk about systemic discoid erythematosus, we are talking of discoid lupus at its advanced stage, when it has affected other body parts like the lungs, heart, kidney or the nervous system. A look into the medical history explains that 60% of lupus patients are women above 20 years of age.

Symptoms

Discoid lupus is a skin disorder and hence the sympoms of this disease are clearly visible on the skin. Rashes formed in the skin have a raised red scaling pattern. There is a follicular plugging on the affected area that has a central astropy. Generally the rashes have a cone-like appearance. It has also been observed that the rashes generally appear in those areas of the skin which are exposed to sunlight. The most affected areas are face, neck, arms and scalp. A person affected by this disease, falls into short periods of illness, called flares followed by periods of wellness, called remission. Other symptoms that accompany skin rashes are fatigue and swollen joints. If the scalp is affected by this disease then hair starts falling from the scalp in patches. The alopecia caused by the disease may turn out to be permanent. If no action is taken against the symptoms, the problem may result in hypopigmentation or hyperpigmentation.

Treatment

The first step towards the treatment is, to diagnose whether the skin problem seen can be identified as discoid lupus or not. This is generally done through a sedimentation rate test that helps in analyzing if the inflammation on the skin is being caused by blood. A direct examination of internal body fluids can be most helpful in verifying the cause of the skin problem. Once a person is diagnosed with discoid lupus, the treatment procedure should be started immediately. Though there are no treatments available for the complete cure of this disease, but the symptoms can be dealt through various means. A person suffering from discoid lupus should avoid contact with direct or reflected sunlight and fluorescent light. The affected area should always be kept covered and the person should avoid any outdoor activity, that includes going out in the sun. During the flare periods, he should give complete rest to his body. Sun screening agents are advisable but the application of any other medical ointment to the affected part should not be done, without the advise of a medical practitioner. Topical drugs are normally administered to patients. Doctors also advise patients to take non-steroid inflammatory drugs like aspirin , ibuprofin, naproxen and sulindac to deal with inflammation in the joints.

Once diagnosed, patients should immediately be provided with medical attention. The skin problem may look severe but people can live a healthy life with the problem, if they start tackling the symptoms. But at the same time, it should also be noted that discoid lupus is not merely a skin disease. It can have serious impacts on other organs of the body. If the problem remains unattended, it can take the shape of systemic discoid erythematosus.