DAY 27 Scleroderma Awareness Month: TELANGIECTASIA

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by Nicola Whitehill |

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Day 27 Scleroderma Awareness month

DAY 27  Scleroderma Awareness Month: TELANGIECTASIA

Telangiectasia are another symptom of Scleroderma, which although not life threatening as such, can be extremely distressing to the patient due to the change in appearance of the skin.

As can be seen in the above image, my face has taken on its own dot to dot puzzle, which has emerged over the course of the last ten years. I also have telangiectasia covering my trunk and the palm of my hands. I am grateful to my UK fellow patient friend, Alex, who has shared her photo showing telangiectasia covering her chest, for awareness purposes.

In essence, telangiectasia can appear anywhere on the body and are currently, another unmet need of the scleroderma patient. There is no adequate treatment, and relatively little is known about their cause. Laser therapy can be used as a temporary removal measure, however, the red dots will eventually reappear, on a patient specific basis. The red dots are more unsightly, as opposed to being painful.

As with all of the Scleroderma Awareness Month daily posts, it is important to note that no two scleroderma patients will present with the exact same set of symptoms. Some scleroderma patients will not present with any telangiectasia symptoms.

I focused on the ACR / EULAR classification guidelines for a scleroderma diagnosis on Day 6 Scleroderma Awareness Month. To view the post, click here

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About the Author

Nicola Whitehill avatar
Nicola Whitehill Having graduated with BSc Hons in Applied and Human Biology in 1995, I was working as a medical rep for Bristol Myers Squibb, when in 1997, aged 24, I was diagnosed with diffuse systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) and rayanuds and given a prognosis of 15 months, soon to be wheel chair bound. I was advised by my medical professional, at that time, to give up on my dream of being a barrister, and accept the diagnosis...... I did none of this! I changed my medical professional to international experts of the diagnosis (Dame Prof Black, and Prof Denton) and kept my dreams alive, qualifying as a practising barrister in March 2004. This prompted the medical decision to stop the 2g daily immunosuppressant routine of the previous 5 years, and unfortunately, within 8 weeks, I was forced to cease my 60hour working week and accept that the physical requirements of the role were too much for my body. I relocated to my family home town of Southport, UK. My full time job now, is to manage my symptoms to a controllable level. In 2013 I came out of the scleroderma closet to the world by way of the Daily Mail publishing my story with the headline 'The Real Life Tin Man' and since then I have devoted all of my spare energy to highlighting the plight of the scleroderma patient. In 2013 I became a patient advocate on the NHS England Clinical Reference Group for Specialised Rheumatology. I am honoured to have been a member of the clinical team who compiled the NHS England treatment guidelines for digital ulcers. In 2013, I also became a patient expert with the European Medicines Agency as well as Eurordis. In 2015 I was delighted to be a UK patient advocate for the FESCA World Scleroderma Day event held at the European Parliament: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQimB_F2l_4 . I am wholly committed to improving the patient landscape which this diagnosis brings, and I feel very blessed that my symptoms are mild compared to other Ssc patients, whose voices, I hope to include also. Other than being a Ssc parrot, I enjoy relaxing with my dogs and anything which makes me feel good, as one day I want to be able to say I am scleroderma and raynauds free.

Tags

dot to dot puzzle, laser therapy, Raynaud's, Telangiectasia

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