The symptoms that occur in lupus erythematosus depend crucially on the course of the disease. The disease can be limited to the skin, but also affect organs. Here you read all important information about the signs of the different lupus forms.
Chronic discoid lupus erythematosus
Chronic discoid lupus erythematosus (“skin lupus”) is characterized by disc-shaped, sharply delineated, slightly elevated reddening of the skin, covered by rough scales. They are mainly found on parts of the body that are often exposed to the sun, such as the nose, forehead, cheeks, lips, auricles and backs of the hands. In the face, the skin redness often looks like a butterfly, so lupus erythematosus is also called a butterfly disease.
The reddish-flaky lesions spread outward, while they slowly heal from the center with detachment of the scales. On the underside of the detached scales you can see a horn-plug. This so-called “tapeziagel phenomenon” is typical of chronic discoid lupus erythematosus. The skin under the detached scales are thin, shiny, white and hairless on the hairy head.
Common lupus symptoms in the chronic discoid form of the disease are also dimpled scars with visibly enlarged small skin vessels (telangiectasia) as well as blotchy spots with reduced or increased staining (hypo- or hyperpigmentation).
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) can cause very diverse symptoms through the involvement of various organs and organ systems. In addition, the disease can be individually very different.
First lupus symptoms
General and nonspecific symptoms often accompany the onset of disease in systemic lupus erythematosus. Symptoms such as fatigue and fatigue, loss of performance, fever and weight loss are the most common. Lymph node swelling is also observed in about half of the patients.
Lupus symptoms later
The lupus symptoms that occur in the further course depend on which organs and / or organ systems are affected by the disease:
Skin and hair: In skin areas exposed to the sun (such as the décolletage, face), rashes may suddenly or slowly develop. A typical feature is the butterfly-shaped reddening of the skin on the face, which intensifies when exposed to sunlight. Other possible lupus symptoms include oral mucosal inflammation and circular hair loss.
Blood vessels: First lupus symptoms can be “vascular cramps” in the fingers in response to cold temperatures: the fingers take on a white or bluish tint. This so-called Raynaud’s syndrome can not only occur in lupus, but also in other connective tissue diseases (collagenosis). Another possible sign of SLE is inflammation of the small blood vessels (vasculitis). They lead to small, red, punctate or blotchy hemorrhages of the skin, such as the lower legs, hands or mucous membranes (especially in the mouth). The blood vessels on the fundus can also become inflamed. There are then veil vision and visual field defects.
joints: Very common lupus symptoms are pain, swelling and / or deformity of the joints (especially the small joints). The joint pain usually occurs in the morning. Often tendon sheaths are affected by the inflammatory changes.
muscles: The disease can also affect the muscles. The consequences are muscle inflammation (myositis), muscle pain and muscle wasting (muscle atrophy).
kidney: About half of all lupus patients develop nephritis (lupus nephritis). It can be recognized by protein in the urine (proteinuria) and possibly water retention in the tissue (edema). Renal inflammation can lead to deterioration of kidney function and eventually to kidney failure. The patients are then dependent on a regular blood wash (dialysis).
Lungs and heart: Three out of four lupus patients develop pleurisy / pleurisy (pleurisy). She is accompanied by severe pain while breathing. Also, inflammatory changes in the heart area (such as heart muscle inflammation, pericarditis) are possible lupus symptoms.
Abdomen: Some lupus patients get peritonitis (peritonitis). It causes stomach pain, nausea and vomiting.
Central nervesystem: About ten to fifteen percent of lupus patients are affected by the brain. For example, epileptic seizures, migraine-like headaches, poor concentration and memory, psychological changes (such as depression, psychosis), and uncontrolled tremors and cramps may appear as lupus symptoms.
CBC: In about half of the patients, the number of white and / or red blood cells, sometimes those of the platelets is reduced. The result is anemia (anemia) or increased bleeding tendency.
Relapses in systemic lupus erythematosus are most often accompanied by fever, fatigue, joint and muscle pain. As far as the affected organs are concerned, lupus symptoms show an increase in thrust, especially in the area of the skin and joints, which means reddening of the skin and joint pain.
Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus
This intermediate form of lupus erythematosus, like the chronic discoid form of the disease, is associated with inflammatory skin lesions (especially in the face, chest and arms): these are less characteristic than pure “skin lupus” and sometimes resemble psoriasis. Only rarely does scarring and pigmentation disorders occur. In the case of subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, internal organs can be affected and specific antibodies in the blood can be detected – these two Lupus Symptoms can also be found in systemic lupus erythematosus.