Bullous Pemphigoid - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Definition

Bullous pemphigoid is a disease characterized by tense blistering eruptions of the skin. The condition is caused by antibodies and inflammation abnormally accumulating in a certain layer of the skin called the "basement membrane." A majority of cases occur in persons 60 years of age or older.

It is rare - about seven people in a million develop it each year in the UK. Most affected people are aged over 60. It is very rare in children. Men and women are equally affected. BP is not infectious and it does not spread by human to human contact. Some patients with BP have other autoimmune diseases such diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis. Various other factors have been reported to play a role in triggering BP. These include drugs, mechanical trauma, and a physical trauma i.e. burns from radiation, sun or heat.

Bullous Pemphigoid Causes

1. Bullous pemphigoid typically occurs in elderly persons and is rare in young people. It is characterized by a pattern of exacerbations and remissions. In most patients, the disease spontaneously clears within 6 years.
2. Bullous pemphigoid is a disease in which antibodies produced by your immune system attack a thin layer of connective tissue in your skin. It's not certain what causes antibodies to attack healthy tissue in your body. But his tissue became erroneous.
3. Antibodies are directed against the basement membrane zone of the epidermis, causing separation between the epidermis and dermis.

Bullous Pemphigoid Symptoms

1. Bullous pemphigoid is an autoimmune disease. This means that the cells in the body that normally fight infection or germs attack the skin cells, causing blisters. No one knows why the immune cells start attacking the skin cells.
2. Mouth sores: in this disease different kind of sores in mouth can happen. The various sores may be inner cheeks, gums, tongue, lips, or palate.
3. Gum bleeding: Bleeding from the gums is mainly due to inadequate plaque removal from the teeth at the gum line. If plaque is not removed through regular brushing and dental appointments, it will harden into what is known as tartar. Ultimately, this will lead to increased bleeding and a more advanced form of gum disease occurs.
4. large blisters, thin-walled sacs filled with clear fluid, greater than 1 cm diameter usually in located on the arms, legs, or trunk, May weep, crust over.

Bullous Pemphigoid Treatment

1. In treatment of bullous pemphigoid the coordination between a dermatologist and the patient is very necessary. Usually the treatment prolonged for a huge time period. So coordination is needed.
2. Diet: a combined supplement of calcium and vitamin D should be instituted to prevent osteoporosis.
3. The medication in the treatment of this disease is to be given regularly and for a long time. The common medicines given are methotrexate, azathioprine, mycophenolate, or cyclophosphamide etc.
4. Most patients with bullous pemphigoid are treated with steroid tablets, usually prednisone. The dose is adjusted until the blisters have stopped appearing, which usually takes several weeks. The dose of prednisone is then slowly reduced over many months or years.