Lupus hair refers to alopecia and dry/coarse appearance of the frontal hairline due to increased hair fragility, a striking sign that can be seen in patients with SLE.
How does lupus affect hair? Many people with lupus have skin problems, like rashes or sores on the scalp, that can cause hair loss. Hair loss and thinning hair can also be side effects of certain medicines used to treat lupus, like steroids and immunosuppressives.
Because lupus commonly affects the skin, it often causes inflammation on the scalp. This directly impacts the hair follicles. As a result, many patients will notice that their hair is thinning or falling out. Others may observe a distinct change in hair texture.
Along with dryness, brittle hair can be dull, showing spit ends and frizzing. Short, broken and brittle hair around the edges of the scalp are common signs of lupus hair. It is important to note that brittle hair is not the same as having true hair loss – a condition called alopecia.
Sores or red patches on the skin
They often appear on the scalp or face and can cause permanent scarring. They may be red and scaly, but they do not cause pain or itching. Subacute cutaneous lesions, which may look like patches of scaly skin or ring-shaped sores.
If your brain is affected by lupus, you may experience headaches, dizziness, behavior changes, vision problems, and even strokes or seizures. Many people with lupus experience memory problems and may have difficulty expressing their thoughts.
A tell-tale sign of lupus is a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and bridge of the nose. Other common skin problems include sensitivity to the sun with flaky, red spots or a scaly, purple rash on various parts of the body, including the face, neck, and arms. Some people also develop mouth sores.
People living with lupus may experience various types of headaches for different reasons. Some of these may include: Migraine: This is a type of moderate to severe headache that may feel like a throbbing pain on one side of the head.
Lupus can also drastically change one's appearance. Patients can have hair loss, rashes and scarring, as well as medication side effects like weight gain, hair loss and stretch marks,” says Dr. Jolly, who has led a number of studies on body image in people with lupus.
The skin lesions can be red, thick, and scaly and typically do not itch or hurt. These lesions damage hair follicles and leave behind bald patches that are round. Chronic cutaneous lupus hair loss: discoid lupus lesions are often red, scaly, and thick and do not hurt or itch.
Sudden hair changes in texture could signal a more serious condition. Anemia and insufficient vitamin D levels can bring on thinning hair. A thyroid disease can also result in a sudden change in the texture of your hair.
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).
If you have active discoid lesions on your scalp, or you are suffering from hair loss as a result of lupus, I would be cautious about using hair dyes. Chemicals in the dye can act as irritants, (although nothing has been proven to link them with lupus), further damaging your hair follicles.
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. Scarring on the scalp may destroy hair follicles and result in permanent hair loss.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) may coexist, and they are chronic complex disorders, with an autoimmune background, multifactorial etiology, multiple circulating autoantibodies, and variable prognosis.
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.
You may get rashes on any part of your body that is exposed to the sun, such as your face, arms, and hands. One common sign of lupus is a red, butterfly-shaped rash across the nose and cheeks. Chest pain. Lupus can trigger inflammation in the lining of the lungs.
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.
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.
A doctor may use the phrase "borderline lupus" when symptoms or blood test results suggest lupus, but there is not enough information for a definite diagnosis.
In general, a brain MRI will show more lesions with MS ("black holes and bright spots") but sometimes the brain lesions found with lupus or MS can be indistinguishable.