What are the causes of erythroderma?
What causes erythroderma?
- A complication of atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, pityriasis rubra pilaris, or another skin condition.
- A reaction to medicines such as penicillin, barbiturates, or sulfonamide.
- Certain types of cancer such as lymphoma.
What does erythroderma look like?
A very large area of the body, if not most of the body, is bright red and inflamed. The body can appear to be covered in a peeling red rash. The rash usually itches or burns.
How is erythroderma diagnosed?
Doctors can usually identify erythrodermic psoriasis by carrying out a physical examination. Most laboratory tests are not specific enough to confirm a diagnosis. A person who has severe redness and peeling covering 90 percent of their body will typically receive a diagnosis of erythrodermic psoriasis.
How do you manage erythroderma?
What is the treatment for erythroderma?
- Discontinue all unnecessary medications.
- Monitor fluid balance and body temperature.
- Maintain skin moisture with wet wraps, other types of wet dressings, emollients and mild topical steroids.
- Prescribe antibiotics for bacterial infection.
Is erythroderma an emergency?
Erythroderma is a potentially fatal dermatologic emergency that is often mistaken for infection. Indeed, the fact that it is difficult to diagnosis is the main contributor to its significant mortality rate, as treatment is readily available.
What’s pustular?
Anyone who has pus-filled bumps over much of the body needs immediate medical care. When widespread, pustular psoriasis can be life-threatening. The pus-filled bumps are called pustules. They can form on the skin, inside the mouth, or beneath a nail.
What happens if you don’t pop a pustule?
This means that by touching, prodding, poking, or otherwise irritating pimples, you run the risk of introducing new bacteria to the skin. This can cause the pimple to become even more red, inflamed, or infected. In other words, you’ll still have the pimple, rendering any attempts useless.
Why do you need to know about erythroderma complications?
Patients with erythroderma require immediate attention as they may face a variety of medical complications. Early detection and effective management of these complications significantly reduce mortality and morbidity of this potential dermatologic emergency.
What does high output mean in heart failure?
High-output heart failure occurs when the normally functioning heart cannot keep up with an unusually high demand for blood to one or more organs in the body. The heart may be working well otherwise, but it cannot pump out enough blood to keep up with this extra need.
Which is more severe pruritus or erythroderma?
The timing of symptoms is also very important. Generally speaking, the onset of symptoms is sudden and faster for drug-induced erythroderma, while primary skin disease may have a slower course. 5 Pruritus is observed in up to 90% of patients with erythroderma, and it is most severe in patients with atopic dermatitis or Sézary syndrome. 8
How are multiple biopsies used to diagnose erythroderma?
Multiple biopsies can enhance the accuracy of histopathologic diagnoses and that features of underlying disease are usually retained. 3 The approach to erythrodermic patients is based on general treatment measures of the signs and symptoms, as well as correcting the underlying cause.