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Sores on skin

lexihop
1 Recommendation

Hi, my name is Heather and I have systemic scleroderma. I have a question about these sores I just recently started getting on my arms and legs. They start out small and have a yellowish center with red around the outside. They eventually get bigger. I have had 3 doctors look at them and none of them know what they are. Once I think they are getting cleared up another one pops up. My rhumey gave me some lotion to put on but I don't think it's helping. There are times that they itch but if I leave them alone they are ok. Has anyone else experienced these? I'm trying to figure out if they are a scleroderma thing or something else. Thanks

Explore topics in this discussion:

Pain Scleroderma Morphea

20 replies

isobelle44

Hi Lexihop, Your spots sound just like mine but of course that cant be certain. Didnt your doctor do a biopsy? Mine did and then he knew for sure what it was. Could you ask then to do that? I hope you find out what they are soon. Mine are sclero related. Sharon

lexihop

Sharon, my doctor did not do a biopsy. She just said she didn't know what it was. What did your doctor say they were? I will ask my doctor about it the next time I go. Thanks

isobelle44

I spose from the description it could be alot of things, just it sounds like mine and mine were morphea but i have it all over and it came on quickly but they call it generlized morphea. It is under the heading of localized scleroderma, which is not suppose to go to organs. Sharon

backinthesaddle

I had the same thing which my Dr. called Morphea. Mine was on my inner leg & the whole muscle hurt- I am awaiting a biopsy of the area, as I go back to the Mayo Clinic on Tuesday. But the area is also fading & doesn't hurt any more either, so that's a good thing.

isobelle44

Good luck on your appt at Mayo. Thats where i go in Rochester MN. My Doctor there is so amazing.
My muscles under the spots hurt to. I have them on my thighs and try to cross my legs and cant cause it hurts. Never did before morphea. Sharon

photoladywl

Hi,
I too have the morphea type. Have had it for about four months It started out with my legs swelling and then the tight feeling. The lesions are white with yellow around then with reddness underneath. My skin also has a leathery appearance.Sometimes they itch like crazy and at times it feels as if I had a million bees stinging me. My md looked at them and said that it was the morphea type of sclero. Not much to do except to keep the skin soft with cream or lotion. I use something called Bag Balm. You can get it on line from Harmon in New Jersey or Vermont Country store. It has a weird smell but seems to help. Have tried cortisone ointment as well as antiobiotics. The lesions swell up and drain a clear liquid and then seem to dry up. It takes a long time for this to happen Once this happens the skin again seems to heal slowly with the leathery areas disappearing and the area then turns purple. This too diappears after a while.
I am confined to a wheelchair and the swelling is really uncomfortable. I have had to sleep in the wheelchair since all of this started as lying down is very uncomfortable. I also have Rhu. Arth. and neuropathy.
I am praying for all of you.
P.S. I have a wonderful and patient husband. God Bless All

MARILYNNKS

ASK YOUR DOCTOR TO BYOPSY IT. That's what it look like when I had Shingles and when I had ringworm. They should be able to check it right there in the office.

lexihop

Thanks for all your replies but mine doesn't sound like morphea. I will have my doctor check it though and see what she thinks.

It's really nice to have people to ask these questions. Thank you all again so much.

ilene64

Could it be calcifications?

lexihop

I'm not exactly sure what calcifications are? I will look them up. The strange thing is I go to Johns Hopkins scleroderma center and my Dr. is Dr. Laura Hummers and she didn't know what they were so that's why I was thinking they were non sclero but I've never had them before. Right now I'm going through a really rough time with my skin. It's so tight on my arms and my skin which is very dark has these white speckles on them that Dr. Hummers said was a form of vitalego (sp). so I just assumed it was sclero related but maybe not.

ilene64

I have the viteligo too. Dr. Hummers has seen it all, so if she doesn't know, then it is probably unrelated.

bfromnd

Who is your dr at Mayo? Is he/she a rheumotologist? I went there a couple yrs ago and saw a pulmonologist.

bamboopanda

I too have the white spots - thought at first it was old scars reappearing because of thickening skin but now they are covering arms and chest and the surrounding areas are tannish but havent been in the sun. With all the vitaligo talk of the last week i wondered if that wouldnt be a symptom for sd also. It looks different than the larger and more defined white patches i have seen but widespread pattern is consistent.

Cubby1

LEXIHOP: It sounds something like the infected finger ulcers I had. Is your doctor's boss Dr. Wigley? If so, ask him. It is ridiculous that you are at Hopkins and your doc just let you go with an "I don't know what they are"!!! They probably need to be biopsied as mentioned above.

Barbi811

Yes it is all related to scleroderma. My mom had the ulcers on her fingers, hand and wrist...
She would have parafin treatments that would help the dryness.

lexihop

Cubby, unfortunately when I saw Dr. Hummers (yes she does work with Dr. Wigley) I really didn't have any sores that were fresh or too bad. They were sort of all dried up and almost gone. The only doctor who got to see one bad was my primary doctor because I was worried it was infected. You know when they were flaring I did notice I had sores on the same spots on both arms I though that was strange. I have had ulcers on my fingers and knuckles but these don't look the same. Barb, I do the parafin treatments as well and highly recommend them. When I was first diagnosed I did them every day to help loosen my hands so I could stretch them. I'd like to think my hands didn't curl all the way under because I do them and daily stretch my hands and fingers.

Thank you again everyone for your input. I feel a little better knowing it probably is related to sclero and I don't have some other strange disease going on.

backinthesaddle

It's amazing how good it is to find someone who knows what you're going through! I also have vitalagio (I've had it for years) along with scleroderma, which are both auto immune disorders. But I don't think they're related to each other at all. Lexihop, good luck & let us know what you find out.

CyndiRella

With many skin disorders, a biopsy sometimes is necessary. Remeber it's a science, not every person has the same systems. I'm happy to use this form so we can see what works for one might help another.
My suggestion is to try 1% silver sulfadiazine cream.
It doesn't heal, but ooohhhh...it helps soften and soothe dry,itchy,cracked,open wounds. Sometimes I have a sore that just won't heal, becomes so painful and this helps me get through it all. Plus all the strange "growths" that pop up and become bothersome. I rub it on or put a small amount of cream on the problem spot and cover it with gauze and paper tape. I've tried so many creams, lotions and whatever the doc thinks "will" help but don't work. This siver cream is a script, ask your doctor for it. Good Luck, keep us posted on your recovery!

joyu

I am trying DERCUT cream on my legs and hands and it appears to be helping,but spots are not gone yet. I got the oniment online.

CharmaineE

I have an ankle ulcer - one of the tight morphea spots where the skin was constricting the ankle (makes for poor circulation which causes leg cramps and foot cramps, too!) was doing the usual cracking and peeling thing and then just turned into this long-lasting open sore. Going to wound clinic. I had been bandaging since first visit to clinic with a little pain killing gel or cream lightly spread over the area, and then a blob of the silver sulfdiazene on the gauze sponge, then wrapped with roll gauze. I had to get some of that tubular mesh to keep the bandage from getting loose and coming off. Today they gave me something called acticort? More later...

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