So Im pretty newly diagnosed and I have had these sores on my scalp for a couple of weeks now. They are red and they start out like a pimple but the hurt and I cant help but pick at them they are very bothersome. Sometimes they even bleed. I was just wondering if anyone else has this problem. I dont know if I should see a dermatologist or if my Rheumy can help me.
I think you need to see your dermatologist. I have sores too on my scalp. Mine are from a rare auto-immune disease called Nodular Prurigo. I have to wash my hair with special shampoo, rise and then apply a special oil, wear my shower cap on it overnight and then wash again in the morning. There are several other things that it could be. I did have to see three dermatologist before I got the right diagnosis. If I pick at mine, the scalp comes off. That routine helps enormously. I would definitely tell your dermatologist about all the auto-immune diseases that you have. Some scalp and skin problems are realated to various auto-immune diseases.
I get those but I don’t pick them and they go 
don’t pick because it can damage the hair follicle…
I get them too. I have been diagnosed with lupus sle. My face gets pretty wonky at the same time usually.
It doesn't sound like what I had but I'll mention it just the same as it wasn't SLE at all in my case. Extremely painful pustules that formed a line and were only on one side of my scalp. That was my fourth case of shingles! Extremely painful to the point that I couldn't even touch my head in that area at all. I also had flu like symptoms which I mistook for a lupus flare. If you are experiencing anything like that you should see you doctor right away as it can migrate to your eyes and/or cause herpetic neuralgias, i.e. pain that never goes away. It is successfully treated if caught early with the same thing they use to treat the herpes virus.
My brother who has lupus has these too. He thought they were spider bites he was getting at night, but when he saw the sores I get on my arm, that are the same, he knew it was lupus. I don't know how common it is, but 3 members of my family with lupus get them. Ours sometimes burn like acid, and sometimes are amazingly deep if the blister part pops. Ours start out like the size of head of a pin, sometimes get bigger. Wash them with soap and they go away sooner. Cortisone cream helps if they itch or burn. Sometimes they can get infected.
I get little red bumps on my head, too. They hurt, but I just leave them alone. They go away on their own in about a week. My sons fiancee gets them, too and her doctor told her it’s an allergy to her shampoo. She switched shampoos until she found one that doesn’t cause the bumps.
Are you losing any hair?
Same. I use Cetaphil restorederm wash and moisturizer
I am also fairly newly diagnosed. I also have those sores on my scalp. I have one that changes size every few days I think it depends on how my lupus is. I have tried different shampoos with minimal improvement on the larger one but, the smaller, newer ones have gone away with coal tar shampoo that has no aspirin in
It. I honestly think the large one I have is not going away because originally I thought it was a pimple and tried to drain it. Another shampoo you might want to try is Trader Joe’s has an all-natural shampoo with Teatree oil in which tends to help. Good luck to you I hope this helps.
Hi, yes they are going to come up on the scalp and every where, I hate when this happens. There is nothing really we can do about them , so my doctor say. I have noticed that they don’t stay for long maybe a couple of days ( 2-3) at the most. I don’t do anything, they don’t itch , so I just try not to pay any attention to them …Beverly L.
Thank u for all if the information. I dont lose the hair with them. But these things hurt and its very hard to just ignore them. There are pribly 10-15 spread out all over my scalp. I guess I will need to find a dermatologust im just soo busy I just got a new job and two kids. But I cant stand these things anymore. Thank u again for the support and info.
Walter, I asked my brother what he does for them. he said he puts a tiny dab of cortisone cream on them. Try that before spending money on a Dr. Cortisone cream is over the counter.
I am so surprised at how many people have this problem! Maybe my dermatologist is wrong??? Anyway the treatment works for me. I was my hair with a zinc shamphoo. It is precription and his own formula. Then I dry my hair to that is just damp, Then I apply a special oil. Fluocinolone Actetonide 0.01. Topical Oil, then I put on a shower cap and wear it to bed. In the morning, I wash out the oil with another shampoo. This works, my scalp is improving. What is bad is that my arms hurt so much when I wash my hair that I put it off. You could ask your dermatologist if you could try this method. The oil is prescription. I am going to look for more information on the Internet!
Thank u so much Carolee that is so nice of u.
wow! Lots of different causes for similar problem. A friend of mine has Behcet's disease, which is another "wonderful" autoimmune disease. What you are describing sounds like exactly what happens to her. The sore starts out a sort pimple like, then breaks and the sore becomes a lesion. She gets them on her scalp and they now are moving down the sides of her head and into her ears. She also had one start in her belly button and it is now a huge lesion. I would talk to your rheumatologist..
I get them every time I wash my hair. I just happened to have some pert/or prell and it clears it up
hi there.. a lot of my hair fell out because of sores that were in my head.. My doc asked me to take Biotin supplements and that has seemed to help. she also wanted me to go see a derm but I can't afford that right now. So I would start with maybe some biotin and go from there if you cant get to your derm right now. good luck
What are Biotin suppements? I haven't heard of that before?
Torie Wise said:
hi there.. a lot of my hair fell out because of sores that were in my head.. My doc asked me to take Biotin supplements and that has seemed to help. she also wanted me to go see a derm but I can't afford that right now. So I would start with maybe some biotin and go from there if you cant get to your derm right now. good luck
Hi, I have been taking biotin for a year almost. It has been very good for me. Especially for the butterfly rash that comes out. It does take time for us to relate with , what is good /okay for our body. When I started with the biotin , I thought it was not going to work , maybe because I started out the low dosage, which I was taking about 4-5 a day. Yes!, it sounds like alot but in 3-4months I saw the results of my rash not coming out as much. So I added it on a every other day schedule to take. Now my flare does not come as much nor do it stay for days. Which for me that is good , because I got tired of answering questions about the rash. I really like how the biotin work for me, and I hope it work for you also…Beverly L.
Torie Wise said:
hi there… a lot of my hair fell out because of sores that were in my head… My doc asked me to take Biotin supplements and that has seemed to help. she also wanted me to go see a derm but I can’t afford that right now. So I would start with maybe some biotin and go from there if you cant get to your derm right now. good luck