Is pemphigus (autoimmune blisters) dangerous?

Pemphigus is an uncommon disease that can affect many people but is more common in the elderly. When you have this disease, you will have blisters on your body, arms or legs. Blisters can appear in the eyes, nose, mouth, or genitals. In this article, SignsSymptomsList will present to readers the types of disease, how to treat and monitor pemphigus.

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• 1. How is pemphigus diagnosed?
• 2. Classification of diseases
• 3. How is pemphigus treated?
• 4. What is the monitoring regimen for pemphigus?
• 5. Conclusion

1. How is pemphigus diagnosed?

There are many medical conditions that can cause blisters on the skin. So when blisters appear on the skin, especially large ones, you should quickly see a doctor. Your doctor will then examine you and help you diagnose whether you have pemphigus.

The dermatologist will examine the blisters on the skin to see if they have pemphigus features. In addition, your doctor may recommend that you perform some more professional tests to help make an accurate diagnosis. That is the skin biopsy test, the doctor will take a skin sample from the blister and test it. Also your doctor may recommend that you have a blood test to look for certain antibodies that are associated with pemphigus.

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2. Classification of diseases

Pemphigus pathology is classified into several different subtypes. All forms of the disease have the common manifestation of a rash and blisters. However, they differ in the location of the blisters on the body and the way they appear. Therefore, the diagnosis and treatment are also different depending on the disease.

The forms of pemphigus are:

• Common pemphigus . This is the most common form of the three types of pemphigus, accounting for about 60-70%. Usually, blisters begin to appear in the mouth. Then we will see bubbles floating on the body, arms, legs or joints. After the blister burst, it will leave skin erosion and slow healing.
• Pemphigus warts. This is a rarer form of the disease. Usually, blisters will appear in folds such as armpits, groin, buttocks or folds under the breast. After the blister burst, it will leave a skin slide that then swells up with pus-filled, scaly and foul-smelling papillomas.
• Pemphigus leaves . Usually, the blisters will appear on the face, back or chest, which are areas with many sebaceous glands. The blisters then burst rapidly and leave red patches of skin. Red patches of skin with superficial scaling and oozing. The disease may progress to generalized erythema with the appearance of the entire skin of the body becoming red.

Above are the characteristics that help distinguish the bodies quickly. To be sure, you need to consult a doctor.

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3. How is pemphigus treated?

Because the cause of the disease is not fully understood, there is no cure for pemphigus. At the onset of the disease, measures are applied with the aim of:

• Heals skin lesions.
• Prevent recurrences.
• Minimizing the side effects of treatment drugs.

When pemphigus blisters appear, the patient will be treated as follows:

• Bath with diluted potassium permanganate to prevent skin infections.
• Deflate large blisters to prevent spontaneous rupture.
• Put purple gauze on the skin scrape to prevent infection.
• For blisters in the mouth, you can rinse your mouth with an antiseptic solution.
• Topical or systemic corticosteroids are the mainstay of treatment. Corticosteroids help fight inflammation, heal old blisters and prevent new ones. However, the side effects of corticosteroids are quite a lot if used in high doses and for a long time.
• It can be combined with other drugs that suppress the immune system to help control the disease quickly.
• Your doctor may prescribe additional antibiotics in case of bacterial skin infections.

4. What is the monitoring regimen for pemphigus?

Because pemphigus is not curable, we must have a monitoring and control regimen. Patients should be careful not to stop taking the drug or reduce the dose on their own. This will cause harm to make the disease worse or more difficult to control.

During the monitoring process, you need to quickly see a doctor when:

• New water balloon.
• New skin abrasions.
• The blisters increase rapidly in number or spread throughout the body.
• Fever.
• Cold shiver.
• Muscle weakness or joint pain.

5. Conclusion

Before the period of treatment with corticosteroids , most of the patients died from blisters causing dehydration, malnutrition or infection. However, when the disease is treated with corticosteroids, the prognosis of the disease is better. The general condition of the disease improved with the time of treatment. The longer the treatment period, the higher the chance of complete healing. However, the disease can recur at any time. If you get the blisters again after the treatment period or the first blister is unexplained, you should also see your doctor for timely treatment.

Doctor Vo Thi Ngoc Hien