How Lupus Looks in Pictures

Most people with lupus have some type of skin problems, such as a lupus rash or other changes to the skin. Based on the type of lupus that occurs, the disease can affect organs including your kidneys, heart, lungs, and brain, as well as your skin.

Recognizing the signs of lupus can be hard because the disease mimics other conditions like rheumatoid arthritis. Viewing pictures of lupus rashes may help you discern whether your problem could be a cause for concern.

This article shows what a lupus rash and other skin effects look like so you can seek medical treatment as early as possible for the best results.

Pictures of Lupus Rash and Skin Effects

A lupus rash and other skin changes can occur as one of the first signs of lupus. About 80% of people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the most common type of lupus, have skin-related symptoms. Skin changes often are the first sign of SLE in about 25% of people with skin-related symptoms.

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Location

The location of a lupus rash and skin effects of the disease can vary according to the following types of lupus that can affect your skin:

• Discoid lupus: Discoid lupus causes thick, disc-shaped lesions that may be red, scaly, and raised. They typically appear on your scalp, face, or ears.
• Subacute cutaneous lupus: This type of lupus causes ring-shaped sores or patches of scaly skin with distinct edges. They typically develop on the areas of the body that get the most sun such as your arms, neck, shoulders, and upper back.
• Acute cutaneous lupus: Acute cutaneous lupus triggers a rash on your cheeks and nose that can cause areas of skin discoloration.
  

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Onset of Symptoms

Swelling can occur with the onset of symptoms when lupus affects your skin. It can involve swollen eyelids or swelling in the area surrounding one or both eyes.

In addition to skin rashes and swelling, lupus can also cause the following skin effects:

• Lupus sores inside your mouth, nose, or vagina
• Discolored or cracked nails
• Swelling around your nails
  
• Hair loss
• Fingers and toes turning white or blue and feeling numb when exposed to cold

Appearance and Shape

A butterfly rash, also known as a malar rash, is a telltale sign of lupus. About 50% of people with lupus experience this type of facial rash. It can appear spontaneously or after exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light.

A butterfly rash spreads over the bridge of your nose and cheeks to create a shape that resembles a butterfly across both cheeks. This rash is unique because it does not affect your nasolabial folds (areas of skin that run from the sides of your nose to your mouth). It is red, raised, and sometimes scaly, lasting from days to weeks.

Lesions from lupus can have the following appearance:

• Thick, scaly patches of skin
• Scaly rash
• Rash with a ringlike pattern that looks like eczema or psoriasis
  
• Dark spots, light spots, or scars

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Sensations

The sensations caused by lupus can vary. While a lupus rash or lesions can occur without symptoms, some people have the following sensations with these skin effects:

• Itching
• Pain or swelling
• Discomfort from sores inside your nose, eyes, or vagina
  

Pictures of Lupus After Sun Exposure

Up to 80% of people with lupus have photosensitivity (sensitivity to UV rays from sunlight and some types of indoor light such as fluorescent or halogen light bulbs).

People who have photosensitivity from lupus can develop an itchy, sunburn-like butterfly rash and lesions after being exposed to UV rays without skin coverage or sunscreen. A lupus rash after sun exposure can also occur on the parts of your body most often exposed to the sun, such as your face, neck, upper back, and chest.

Rashes or skin lesions that appear after UV exposure can occur within a few hours to a day and then resolve within a week. In other cases, the lesions occur early after UV exposure but last a few weeks to months.

In people with photosensitivity, unprotected exposure to UV light can also trigger a lupus flare, which involves the worsening of lupus symptoms that include:

• Fatigue
• Joint pain
• Tingling
• Numbness
  

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Using Lupus Pictures to Lead to Diagnosis

You can't make an accurate lupus diagnosis based on pictures alone. Getting a lupus diagnosis is a complex process that can take several months. Matching your rash to pictures should not substitute for a medical evaluation and diagnosis and treatment advice.

Lupus can affect people in different ways, making it hard to generalize what is typical for this disease. Symptoms can appear, lessen, and disappear, changing how the disease presents itself. Lupus also has several symptoms common to other diseases, which must be ruled out before reaching a diagnosis of lupus.

No single test can diagnose lupus. Getting a definitive diagnosis can take months to years. A lupus diagnosis typically involves the following:

• Complete medical history and physical examination
• Routine blood tests
• A specialized blood test called antinuclear antibody (ANA) testing to identify the presence of certain autoantibodies (antibodies that attack normal cells) present in the blood of lupus patients
• Skin and kidney biopsies (removing tissue samples for analysis in a lab) to determine organ involvement

Contact your healthcare provider to get an accurate diagnosis of your condition if you have any of the following early symptoms of lupus:

• Stiff, painful joints, often in the hands and wrists for more than a few weeks
• Fatigue for more than a few weeks
• Unusual hair loss
• Butterfly facial rash
• Unexplained fevers over 100 degrees F
  

Summary

Lupus is a group of autoimmune diseases that occur when your immune system attacks your own body. A lupus rash and other skin effects often occur as early signs of the disease.

Comparing a rash or lesions to pictures of a lupus rash can help you discern whether your rash may need medical care but should not take the place of a medical diagnosis.

Contact your healthcare provider if you have a lupus rash or other skin effects of lupus. Delaying a lupus diagnosis can threaten your well-being. Lupus can also affect your blood vessels, joints, kidneys, heart, brain, and lungs before symptoms from those organs occur.