DAY 19 Scleroderma Awareness Month: CALCINOSIS Today’s topic is the debilitating, painful symptom of calcinosis. It is important to note that not every scleroderma patient will experience calcinosis, since no two scleroderma patients present with the exact same set of symptoms. Calcinosis is more prevalent in the diffuse…
DAY 18 Scleroderma Awareness Month: SKIN, HANDS, MOUTH, DENTAL I focussed on the Skin and its management for Day 10 Scleroderma Awareness Month also. To read the post, click here Today’s image, I have focussed on the physical effects which skin tightening and stiffness can cause.
DAY 17Â Scleroderma Awareness Month: THE LUNGS As highlighted in the diagram above, lung involvement in scleroderma patients can be a life threatening complication, if not diagnosed and managed early on in the disease process. Lung involvement, compared to other organ involvement, currently, carries the highest threat to…
DAY 16 Scleroderma Awareness Month: THE HEART Scleroderma can affect all body parts, including the heart. This can be seen in the limited forms and the diffuse forms – see my Day 1 Scleroderma Awareness Month blog post. As can be seen in the above…
DAY 15Â Scleroderma Awareness Month: KIDNEY / RENAL Involvement Scleroderma can affect all parts of the body, and it is important to note that not every scleroderma patient will develop kidney related symptoms. Renal crisis occurs in 5% of patients, usually with the diffuse form, and usually, within…
Fatigue is a well known, chronic, debilitating and severe symptom to the autoimmune disease patient, and especially so with scleroderma. I blogged about fatigue in April, to read the article click here. Managing this symptom can be extremely challenging. Living with constant exhaustion and lethargy, severely…
DAY 13Â Scleroderma Awareness Month: Factor XII The Rheumatology clinical trials unit at The Royal Free Hospital in London are conducting a clinical trial to see if purified Factor XIII will be an effective treatment for scleroderma patients. Factor XIII is a component of the blood clotting…
DAY 12 Scleroderma Awareness Month: Nicola Whitehill Wehoo,….. as the image shows – today is my birthday, and how delighted I am, that I have made it to 43, 17 years post my initial medical prognosis expiry date. I am eternally grateful for the super…
DAY 11Â Scleroderma Awareness Month:Â Gastro-Intestinal (GI) Involvement Many patients diagnosed with scleroderma have gastro-intestinal problems with a multitude of symptoms, as can be seen in the image (above). The entire GI system can be affected, starting at the mouth (dry mouth, difficulty swallowing, gum recession, etc.) all the…
One of the major organs affected by Scleroderma is the thickening of the skin, as the name implies, Sclero, meaning thick, derma, meaning skin. This is usually the first tell-tale symptom to prompt a diagnosis. Skin involvement can vary depending on the type of scleroderma, with…
Get regular updates to your inbox.