Newly diagnosed with Localised Scleroderma
Answers to questions you might be asking when you have been newly diagnosed
Localised scleroderma is not a common condition, although many people may be undiagnosed, especially if their symptoms are very mild. It can occur at any age and is as common in children as in adults.
Localised scleroderma can usually be recognised by its appearance without the need for any tests. Your doctor will examine the affected skin and ask you about how and when the skin changes occurred, and whether you have any symptoms.
It is important to distinguish localised scleroderma from systemic sclerosis, especially in cases of rapidly progressing widespread or circumferential skin thickening. So, if you have localised scleroderma, your doctor is likely to refer you to a specialist in skin disorders (dermatologist) or diseases of the joints, bones and muscles (rheumatologist).
When being diagnosed or if your scleroderma changes you might have some of the following tests:
This is a procedure in which a small sample of affected skin, subcutaneous fat (and sometimes fascia) is removed under local anaesthetic and examined under the microscope.
- Eosinophils (eosinophilia), a type of white blood cell count (may be raised).
- Inflammatory markers. The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), or C-reactive protein (CRP), may be raised.
- Anti-nuclear antibody (may be raised, but systemic sclerosis specific ENA antibodies such as anti-Sc70 are negative).
- Thyroid function tests (may be abnormal, and the risk of associated autoimmune thyroid disease should be considered).
- Rheumatoid factor or anti-CCP antibodies if arthralgia/arthritis may be positive. This is more likely to occur in people with arthritis and joint pains.
- Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI).
- Ultrasound.
- Serial thermography, which measures the temperature of the skin, can also be used to assess extent and progression of disease.
- Electroencephalogram (EEG), a test that detects electrical activity in your brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) attached to your scalp, may be used to diagnose epilepsy.
- X-rays are also occasionally used to check that children’s bones are growing properly
Find out more about localised scleroderma
Localised Scleroderma treatments
There are different types of localised scleroderma, and each might need different types of treatment or localised scleroderma does not always need treatment.
FAQs about Scleroderma
Everyone has questions about scleroderma, and here we have compiled some of the most common questions we are asked about scleroderma.