#Scleroderma – 7 Steps To Diagnosis
According to the Mayo Clinic, scleroderma can appear in different forms and vary from person to person. Since it may affect a wide range of body areas, it can be hard to properly diagnose.
Usually, doctors diagnose scleroderma using:
- Your medical history
Your doctor will want to fully understand your medical history - A thorough physical exam
This will help your physician find the areas affected by scleroderma - Blood tests
This is important to check for elevated blood levels of certain antibodies produced by the immune system - A skin biopsy
A doctor may want to remove a sample (biopsy) of the affected area to be better examined and tested in a laboratory. - Breathing tests
Like pulmonary function tests, and so on. (This may be only applicable in some cases.) - CT scan of your lungs
(This may be only applicable in some cases.) - Echocardiogram of your heart
(This may be only applicable in some cases.)
Learn more about scleroderma here: http://bit.ly/learnscleroderma