Hello All! Does this look like a lupus rash? I ask because before now I have not had any skin involvement. Maybe I am being a hypochondriac - it's entirely possible, but I am worried. With this on both arms, I also have weight gain, and back pain on both sides.
Any thoughts you have are appreciated.
Thanks, Heather
I get same rash on both arms and nowhere else. Dermatologist has biopsied and lab said it was the skin type Lupus. Nothing has made it go away or stop the itching. However, ice packs give me about 15 min relief. Keep ys posted on what you find out
I have that on my arms right now I’ve scratched till the little bumps bleed and scab nothing helps I use ice packs to numb it also
Oh, dear... I get a red, itchy, bumpy rash on my upper arms too, more toward the outer aspect of the arm. When I saw this posting, I checked my own arms, and realized that they were fairly clear except for a few small, almost healed scabs from previous scratching bouts. I've been on a prednisone taper for the past week or so, taking it very slowly, down to 20 mg per day, but should have been down to 10 mg by now. I've decided that I'll drop down to 15 mg perhaps starting tomorrow, as my last flare started up on my last prednisone taper when I went down from 20 mg to 10 mg, and then got seriously worse when I dropped down to 5 mg, which was about as helpful as being on no prednisone at all. I am just not ready to face being that sick again, although my doctor gave me explicit instructions for the taper.
But I've gotten off the track here, sorry.... what I really wanted to mention was that occasionally I will get an intense, very focused itchy spot on my skin, usually where the skin is thin, like over the shin bone, on the backs of the hands, or around the ankles. They usually occur one at a time. They feel like a fresh mosquito bite, only the welt associated with a bug bite never pops up, and the itching is so intense that the only thing that makes it stop is actually scratching the spot until I've scratched off the top layer of skin! Then a thick, slightly itchy scab will form over the next several days or weeks, and by the time that resolves, it leaves a small scar. My doctor doesn't believe me, and says they must be mosquito or flea bites. I know better (it's my body, strange as it acts). When the itching is most intense, I can get some relief from witch hazel, OTC cortisone creams, ice until it goes numb -- anything to stop the itch is preferable to ripping off my skin!
Anyway, sorry to ramble on like this, but thank you for this post, because I never thought about the red bumpies on my upper arms as part of the lupus effect, but I guess it is, since it's not active now while I'm on pred.
God bless you, and stay strong and healthy.
I got lupus rash right now. They’re red, itchy, bumpy rashes all over my legs and some on my arms. I’m on 60mg cortisol now for a week then will taper it down to 40mg for another week then 30mg for another week then 20mg then 10mg. My rashes are really bad. I wish i can show you photos but i don’t know how to upload photos on ipad. This is the first time i got rashes this bad that’s why i panicked. I look like i have skin disease. I started taking cortisol just yesterday. Right now i can see a little bit of improvement. They’re not very red anymore, but still bumpy. The itchiness has lessened too. My Plaquenil was increased to 200mg from 100mg for at least two weeks then taper it back to 100mg. All these are doctor’s order.
I tried hydrocortisone creams. Didn’t work. It looked like the cream was they’re vitamins. My rashes got worse.
Looks like heat rash. Google"Lupus Rashes" and you'll have some to compare it to. I get rosacea from my heart damage. That has little bumps like the other ladies have talked about. I also get it on my hand. Rosacea can be caused by many different things.
Lupus rash is really bad. I had mine compared to those i googled. They’re the same. Then i went to my doctor and showed her my rashes. She said YES, they’re lupus rash. =(
Looks like heat rash. Google"Lupus Rashes" and you'll have some to compare it to. I get rosacea from my heart damage. That has little bumps like the other ladies have talked about. I also get it on my hand. Rosacea can be caused by many different things.
Can you see the photo? This was taken last week. As of yesterday, these rashes spread all over my legs and are much bigger! They’re really ugly. They itch like crazy. They’ve taken over my legs. I couldn’t wear skirts that is not touching the floor. I wear maxi dresses to hide my legs not because it’s trendy.
128-image.jpg (506 KB)I got lupus rash right now. They're red, itchy, bumpy rashes all over my legs and some on my arms. I'm on 60mg cortisol now for a week then will taper it down to 40mg for another week then 30mg for another week then 20mg then 10mg. My rashes are really bad. I wish i can show you photos but i don't know how to upload photos on ipad. This is the first time i got rashes this bad that's why i panicked. I look like i have skin disease. I started taking cortisol just yesterday. Right now i can see a little bit of improvement. They're not very red anymore, but still bumpy. The itchiness has lessened too. My Plaquenil was increased to 200mg from 100mg for at least two weeks then taper it back to 100mg. All these are doctor's order.
I tried hydrocortisone creams. Didn't work. It looked like the cream was they're vitamins. My rashes got worse.
I've had this also. Mostly on my lower arms. I tried all of the suggested options without relief. Then, I diluted tea tree oil and water in a spray bottle and spritzed on my arms and rubbed it in. I am happy to report that it helps for hours in my case. It might be worth a try. GOOD LUCK!
I thought about that Sheila. Guess it could be. I am curious about what you say on Rosacea. I have rosacea on my face. How do you know the difference? by experience or tests?? How do you get rosacea from heart damage? Sorry to ask so many questions, but very interested in what you know.
Thanks, Heather
Sheila W. said:
Looks like heat rash. Google"Lupus Rashes" and you'll have some to compare it to. I get rosacea from my heart damage. That has little bumps like the other ladies have talked about. I also get it on my hand. Rosacea can be caused by many different things.
Hi Heather,
My Dr. told m I jut need some moisturizer, which is dumb because I already use an all natural (coconut oil) moisturizer, because I'm allergic to so many chemicals. Doctors don't have the time or energy or desire to research anything that they don't already know, so I had to do the search on my own online, comparing rashes, and I learned that rosacea is raised and sometimes has tiny bumps that can pop like a blister or zit. Look at this pic. http://www.rosacea.org/ Doesn't it look like lupus rash? So maybe even lupus rash is a form of rosacea, but from what I've learned so far, lupus rash is not raised or sore or itchy. The reason it gets worse when my heart acts up is that I have tachycardia (very fast heart rate upon sitting up or standing or walking) also called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia syndrome) but I don't call it that because I don't have an official diagnosis. The cardiologist here has only been out of school a couple of years and saw absolutely nothing wrong with a person's heart rate going up to 180 when standing up and walking around, and just sent me home. So I feel like I'm running a marathon even when I am standing still or sitting, due to the fast heart rate. That would make anyone's face turn red, but mine becomes a raised rash that stays even after I rest. The heart damage for me was caused by lupus, so essentially, it is a rash caused by lupus, but it's not the same as the butterfly lupus rash. I'm in a smaller city in Canada where medical is frighteningly negligent. I have had lupus since I was born, diagnosed at age 21, and now suddenly up here this Dr. doesn't believe I have lupus, so I can't get treated for it. She thinks it's just fibromyalgia. Fibro does not cause constant inflammations in various organs week after week or hair loss or mouth sores or a dozen other lupus symptoms, so I deal with it myself. I guess they really couldn't do much, because I'm so allergic to prescriptions, I have to learn what the prescription does, then seek out a natural replacement for each drug, so I frustrate doctors, since all they can offer is a pill that I'm allergic to.
Frustipation!
Sheila
no not to me. that looks like a food allergy maybe.
