What is Limited Scleroderma?
Limited scleroderma refers to skin hardening issue in the limited areas of one’s skin i.e. often in the fingers or in the face. This is a mild type of scleroderma disease and is common among people of Caucasians than others. Each person dealing with the mentioned problem shows symptoms in varying patterns. However, most of the limited scleroderma patients have CREST syndrome, which implies-
C stands for calcinosis and it refers to the deposition of calcium beneath the skin and within tissues.
R indicates Raynaud’s phenomenon
E refers to esophageal dysmotility and it results in heartburn problems
S stands for sclerodactyly or presence of thick skin on fingers
T indicates telangiectasia or enlarged form of body vessels, which result in red spots on the patients’ face and other skin areas.
Key Facts on or related to Limited Scleroderma
Calcium Deposit: Calcium deposit in the tissues and skin may be a painful experience, as it irritates or breaks the surface of one’s skin.
Raynaud’s Phenomenon – Attack due to Raynaud’s phenomenon is uncomfortable and has close association with intolerance to cold.
Acid Reflux -Acid reflux due to esophageal dysmotility is painful and it causes irritation in the esophagus linings.
Skin Changes – Skin changes in case of limited scleroderma often do not progress.
Telangiectasia – Telangiectasia is removable via laser therapy and they do not cause any severe harm.
Other Organs- Limited scleroderma problem has relatively less involvement of your body organs as compared to the scleroderma’s severe form. However, a few patients may develop heart and lung problems because of the disease.
Symptoms of Limited Scleroderma Disease
Along with CREST syndrome, symptoms of limited scleroderma disease often develop in a gradual way although some other variants of scleroderma take place rapidly. These include-
Tight and Hard Skin
In case of limited scleroderma, changes in the skin affect only the patients lower arm areas and their legs, including toes and fingers, while in some cases, neck and face. Skin may appear as shiny because of pulled taut on the underlying bone. Indeed, individuals face difficulty in bending fingers or opening the mouth.
Raynaud’s Phenomena
The condition of Raynaud’s Phenomena in limited scleroderma takes place whenever small blood vessels present in your toes and fingers spasm concerning to emotional stress or cold leading to blockage in the blood flow. In most of the people, skin changes its color to white before it becomes cold, blue and numb. With the improvement in blood circulation, skin often changes its color to red and may tingle or throb.
Red Lines or Spots on the Skin
Swelling of various tiny blood vessels nearby the surface of one’s skin causes the formation of red lines or spots referred as telangiectasias. Even though these spots do not cause any pain, they primarily take place on face and hands.
Bumps beneath the Skin
The problem of limited scleroderma may cause deposition of tiny calcium particles to develop beneath the skin, especially on your fingers, knees and elbows. You may both feel and see such deposits, which in some cases cause or tend to cause infections.
Difficulties in Swallowing Food
Limited scleroderma causes problems with the tube connecting the esophagus/stomach and the mouth. Poor functions of muscles in both lower and upper esophagus areas create swallowing difficulties and result in stomach acids to backup within the stomach. In this way, the disease sometimes leads to inflammation, heartburn and esophageal tissue scars.
Conclusion
Based on the aforementioned aspects and symptoms related to Limited Scleroderma disease in patients, we can conclude that the disease may or may not have any severe impact depending on an individual condition.
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