Nail changes These are most common in people who have systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Some people develop a nail infection, which can cause splitting or crumbling nails and discoloration (A), or swollen skin and discoloration around the nails (B). Sometimes, visible blood vessels appear around the nails.
Lupus Symptom: Nail Changes
Lupus can cause the nails to crack or fall off. They may be discolored with blue or reddish spots at the base. These spots are actually in the nail bed, the result of inflamed small blood vessels. Swelling may also make the skin around the base of the nail look red and puffy.
Nail psoriasis is an autoimmune condition. It causes discoloration, pitting and changes in your fingernails and toenails. There isn't a cure, but treatments can alleviate related symptoms.
Lupus can also cause inflammation in the joints, which doctors call “inflammatory arthritis.” It can make your joints hurt and feel stiff, tender, warm, and swollen. Lupus arthritis most often affects joints that are farther from the middle of your body, like your fingers, wrists, elbows, knees, ankles, and toes.
The first symptoms of lupus usually occur somewhere between the teen years and the 30s and may be mild, severe, sporadic, or continual. Common general symptoms include fatigue, fever, and hair loss. Lupus can also affect individual organs and body parts, such as the skin, kidneys, and joints.
Common symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, sun sensitivity, painful and swollen joints, unexplained fever, skin rashes, and kidney problems. There is no one test for SLE. Usually, your doctor will ask you about your family and personal medical history and your symptoms. Your doctor will also do some laboratory tests.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus.
As a result, people with lupus are frequently misdiagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue, skin disorders, psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression or receive no answers at all.
In most, it means an increased likelihood of rheumatic disease. This means that the presence of these nail changes in a patient with inflammatory arthritis, and/or recurrent tendinopathy/enthesopathy, and/or spinal pain & stiffness is significant.
Grooves across the fingernails (Beau's lines)
These could appear following a flare of lupus or exposure to cold temperatures if you have Raynaud's. The grooves tend to only be noticed a few months later, when the nails have grown and the grooves have moved up the nails to become visible.
No one test can diagnose lupus. The combination of blood and urine tests, signs and symptoms, and physical examination findings leads to the diagnosis.
For example, untreated lupus can lead to blood disorders such as anemia or thrombosis. Other potential serious complications include: Chronic digestive distress that could include difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, indigestion, intestinal inflammation, liver enlargement, or pain when vomiting or feeling nauseous.
Joint pain is common in lupus, especially in the small joints of the hands and feet. The pain often moves from joint to joint. Joint pain, swelling and stiffness can be the main symptoms for some people with lupus. In most cases, lupus is unlikely to cause permanent damage or change the shape of joints.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.
Exposure to certain factors in the environment – such as viral infections, sunlight, certain medications, and smoking – may trigger lupus. Immune and Inflammatory Influences.
Although the age of onset of lupus is typically between 15 and 44 years old,1 up to 25% of people diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have late-onset lupus. Lupus is most commonly diagnosed between the ages of 16 and 55, and is more common in women and in African-Americans, Hispanics, and Asians.
Anti-Nuclear Antibody (ANA) Test. Anti-nuclear antibodies (ANA) are autoantibodies to the nuclei of your cells. 98% of all people with systemic lupus have a positive ANA test, making it the most sensitive diagnostic test for confirming diagnosis of the disease.
If left untreated, it can put you at risk of developing life-threatening problems such as a heart attack or stroke.
Hair loss is common in people living with lupus. The autoimmune disease causes body-wide inflammation that attacks the joints and skin, including the scalp. This can result in hair loss (alopecia ). Lupus-related hair loss can occur slowly, causing hair to become noticeably thinner gradually.
Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms.
For some people, living with and managing lupus can cause weight gain. Weight gain may also lead to worsening lupus symptoms and complications associated with obesity. Some potential causes of weight gain that relate to lupus may include: being a side effect of medications such as corticosteroids.
Lupus is not a hereditary condition.