After dealing with an affliction of spots and blisters for almost a month now, today, on this last day of 2020, I finally have a diagnosis! I saw the dermatologist this afternoon, and he pronounced that I have a case of Henoch-Schönlein purpura, which is a rare form of vasculitis.
Some of the peculiarities of Henoch-Schönlein purpura, or HSP:
- It affects children more often than adults.
- When it affects adults, it is more severe.
- It can cause pain in the joints and the abdomen.
- It can result in kidney damage in a small percentage of cases.
- It usually resolves on its own, but not without several bouts of purpura (spots/blisters).
My next step, according to the dermatologist, is to pay a kidney specialist a visit. He wants to make sure I haven’t suffered any kidney damage from my attacks. If I haven’t, then I’m to stop taking the Torsemide diuretic that I’ve been taking to get rid of the edema/swelling in my legs. Also, I’ve been given a steroid cream to apply to my red spots to help make them go away quicker.
At least I have an idea of what this stuff is now. Time to get to work on fixing it.
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