Can lupus affect your scalp?
Unfortunately, yes. 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.
What is lupus of the scalp?
Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) is the most common chronic form of cutaneous lupus. It is characterised by persistent scaly, disk-like plaques on the scalp, face, and ears that may cause pigmentary changes, scarring and hair loss.
How is lupus of the scalp treated?
When discoid lupus forms on the scalp, you want to treat it early. Early treatment can prevent permanent hair loss. To treat discoid lupus, your dermatologist may inject a thick patch with a corticosteroid to help it clear.
Does lupus cause scalp itch?
Chronic Cutaneous Lupus Lesions most often appear on the face, ears, scalp, neck, and hands. They are usually not itchy or painful, but they may cause dark spots or scars that remain on the skin after they heal.
What autoimmune diseases cause scalp pain?
Autoimmune: Some autoimmune diseases can cause inflammation of the blood vessels in your head leading to scalp pain. One such condition is called Giant Cell Arteritis, also known as Temporal Arteritis. Dermatologic: Skin conditions such as eczema or dandruff can cause inflammation of the scalp.
What autoimmune disease causes sores on scalp?
Lupus can cause two main types of lesion or sore: Discoid lupus lesions, which are thick and disk-shaped. They often appear on the scalp or face and can cause permanent scarring.
Why does scalp itch at night?
Typically, we only focus on androgenic hormones like DHT when talking about hair loss. But, having high levels of estrogen can also lead to an often-overlooked cause of hair loss: intense scalp itch. Estrogen dominance is frequently an underlying factor responsible for increasing the intensity of itchy scalp at night.
What autoimmune disease affects the scalp?
Alopecia areata is an autoimmune disease. This means that your immune system mistakenly attacks a part of your body. When you have alopecia areata, cells in your immune system surround and attack your hair follicles (the part of your body that makes hair).
What autoimmune disease causes dry scalp?
What is Sjögren syndrome? Sjögren syndrome is an autoimmune disorder. This means that the body’s own immune system attacks its own cells and tissues by mistake. In this case, it attacks the glands that produce moisture.
What does scalp pain indicate?
Scalp pain is a common symptom of head injury, headaches, and skin conditions. It may result from trauma to the head region, including the brain, skull or scalp. It can occur in conditions that cause headaches or skin irritation, or in more generalized conditions, such as cancer.
What autoimmune condition causes itchy scalp?
Autoimmune diseases that have been linked with scalp itch are dermatomyositis, systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma and Sjögren syndrome. Itch may or may not be associated with skin lesions. If present on dermoscopy, erythema and enlarged interfollicular vessels may aid the diagnosis.
What are the signs of discoid lupus on scalp?
Butterfly rash.
What is the treatment for scalp lupus?
Treatment of cutaneous lupus typically involves strict sun protection, the use of topical steroids and other topical anti-inflammatory medicines, as well as anti-malarial oral medicines, e.g. hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil). If there is scalp involvement, steroid injections into the affected skin may be considered.
What is lupus and symptoms?
Lupus, also known as systemic lupus erythematosus, is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder that can have negative effects on the joints, skin, and various organs of the body. Symptoms vary widely among patients, but some common signs of lupus include fatigue, muscle and joint pain, and a skin rash, particularly on the face.
Can discoid lupus turn into systemic lupus?
About 1% to 5% of discoid lupus patients go on to develop SLE. If you have discoid lupus, you will need to routinely check in with your doctor to make sure only your skin is involved. If your doctor suspects you have systemic lupus, they will first run blood tests. If that’s ruled out, a skin biopsy may be used to diagnose discoid lupus.