What causes exfoliative erythroderma?
Generalized exfoliative dermatitis, or erythroderma, is a severe inflammation of the entire skin surface. This is due to a reaction to certain medicines, a pre-existing skin condition, and sometimes cancer. In approximately 25% of people, there is no identifiable cause.
Is exfoliative dermatitis life-threatening?
Managing the symptoms of exfoliative dermatitis is another important step. This condition can be life-threatening without treatment. Your loss of skin can result in dehydration, body temperature issues, and loss of proteins. People who have this condition sometimes need to be hospitalized until the symptoms improve.
How long does exfoliative dermatitis last?
Typically, symptoms resolve within 2-6 weeks after cessation of the offending agent. For patients with idiopathic exfoliative dermatitis, the prognosis is poor. Frequent recurrences or chronic symptoms require long-term steroid therapy and its attendant sequelae.
What does erythroderma look like?
This is the least common type of psoriasis and can be quite serious. A very large area of the body, if not most of the body, is bright red and inflamed. The body can appear to be covered in a peeling red rash. The rash usually itches or burns.
What is the most common cause of erythroderma?
The most common skin conditions to cause erythroderma are: Drug eruption — with numerous diverse drugs implicated (list of drugs) Dermatitis especially atopic dermatitis. Psoriasis, especially after the withdrawal of systemic steroids or other treatment [see Erythrodermic psoriasis]
Can erythroderma be cured?
Although most people with erythrodermic psoriasis do well when taking one or more treatment options, some people can’t be helped. The condition is fatal somewhere around 10% to 65% of the time.
Is erythroderma life threatening?
Erythroderma is a severe and potentially life-threatening inflammation of most of the body’s skin surface. It is also called generalized exfoliative dermatitis.
Is erythroderma serious?