Life-Threatening Skin Rashes Symptoms
* Pemphigus vulgaris (PV)
o PV happens more commonly in adults aged 40-60 years, but it has been found in children as young as 3 years and as old as 89 years.
o PV affects both women and men equally.
o The painful blisters found in PV are irregularly shaped, elevated skin lesions, usually more than one-half inch across.
o The blisters can form on either normal skin or reddened skin.
o Lesions usually start in the mouth and may be found on the lips, tongue, throat, and the inside of the cheeks.
o Painful blisters in the mouth make drinking and eating difficult.
o Blisters then spread to the head, face, and armpits, before moving on to the rest of the body.
o As they form, blisters are initially tense and filled with clear fluid.
o If you press on the skin next to a blister, the blister will either extend or a new blister will form.
o After 2-3 days, the blisters become loose, and the fluid within the blister becomes cloudy.
o At this stage, the blisters break easily, leaving a very painful area of raw skin underneath that quickly crusts over.
o These open sores are very susceptible to infection.
o Because the blisters can cover a large portion of the body surface, infection can be severe and easily spread into the blood.
o If not treated, these severe infections may lead to death.
* Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS)
o SJS occurs in all age groups but is more common among those aged 20-40 years.
o SJS affects men twice as often as women.
o The early symptoms include fever, muscle and joint pains, generalized fatigue, and itching or burning sensations in the skin.
o The SJS rash starts in the mucous membranes, usually of the mouth and eyes, and may involve other mucous membranes in severe cases.
o Then the skin lesions common to SJS develop. These lesions are often called "target lesions" because they have a bluish or purple center surrounded by a circle of red.
o These lesions start as reddened spots about 1 inch around and usually appear in clusters.
o Although the rash may start anywhere on the body, it typically involves the feet, hands, and the front of the legs and arms more frequently than the chest, abdomen, or back.
o The rash usually occurs on both sides of the body.
o Within 1-2 days, the rash develops into the typical target lesion.
o The centers of the lesions may become bluish or purple with a surrounding halo of redness.
o Blisters then form in the centers of the lesions and may itch or be painful.
o Target lesions usually appear in successive crops over the body and may run together, forming one large lesion.
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