Erythema Nodosum

[CLAUDETTE]

My skin started "spontaneously bruising" about 1 1/2 years ago.  I began to go to doctors who said it was nothing.  Well finally I went to a dermatologist who did a biopsy and told me it was erythema nodosum.  From that point, we began doing a series of test to see what the cause was.  Well, after all of the test, everything came back fine.  My dermatologist said that it was not uncommon not to find a cause.  I still have the patches on my legs.  My doctor told me that the spots may take a long time to go away or sometimes they may not go away.  I guess I want to know for sure will the spots ever go away?  Or how long to the spots generally stay?  He prescribed two topical solutions which needless to say did not work.  Do you have any other suggestions? Thank you

[Alan Rockoff, MD]

Claudette:

Marks on the legs, whether from erythema nodosum or anything else, can take many months to disappear.  Treatment is of little value.

I agree with your doctor that, despite the x-rays and blood tests we usually do, the cause of erythema nodosum is usually not found.

Good luck.

Dr. R

[Lynne Whiteley]

Hi, I have had Erythema Nodosum for 27 years, unfortunately we can't find a cure as well, if it get too bad I can have a short course of steroids and this clears it up within days.  Still doing different tests and hoping for a cure will let you know if I find anything out.

[GINA JONES]

I REALLY DON'T KNOW MUCH ABOUT ERYTHEMA NODOSUM, BUT I HAVE A SKIN PROBLEM THAT LOOKS LIKE BRUSING ALSO THAT STARTED ALL IN ONE DAY. I,VE HAD THIS PROBLEM FOR OVER TWO YEARS. MY BRUSIES ARE ON MY LOWER LEGS,THEIGS AND ON THE BACK OF MY ARMS SOME OF THEM ARE DIME SIZE AND IN ODD SHAPES. THEY DO NOT HURT, BUT SOMETIMES THEY ARE SORE. I'VE HAD BLEEDING, LUPUS AND A BIOSPY TEST. THE DOCTORS HAVE NOT FOUND ANYTHING WRONG WITH ME BESIDES SOME HYPERPIGMENTATION. RIGHT NOW THE BRUISES ARE A REDDISH BROWN COLOR. IT TOOK TWO WEEKS FOR THEM TO SPREAD. I,VE NEVER
BEEN ON ANY TYPE OF MEDICATION. CAN YOU SHARE SOME OF YOUR SYMPTOMS WITH ME?




                                           THANK YOU..

[Chiara]

FYI, I had my first occurance of Eurothema Nodosum when I was 2 months pregnant and just had "Strep Throat".  I had a pennisilun shot and was told to keep my legs raised as much as possible (my bumps appeared on my lower legs like swollen, red bumps and tender to the touch).  They eventually did go away and seem to flare up when I get strep again.  If I press on my shins firmly I can still feel the bumps beneath the skin.  My dermatologist told me it would probably return with each occurance of strep, and to just elevate my legs as usual.  Hope this helps all of you!

[sherry Hedges]

Helo i was wonding if erythema nodosum can really hurt you because my doctor told me that i have it. But the thing is i do not know what it is. I hope that you can help me with this.
                Thank You
               Sherry Hedegs

[Dr. SK]

While the cause of erythema nodosum is usually not found, treatment for it can be very complex.  There are several different treatments for erythema nodosum.  The cream that you mentioned sounds like a cream called Lydex cream.  This cream has only been found effective with mild cases of EN, not chronic cases.  Ask your doctor about taking prednisone.  It is a steroid and has been found extremely effective.  Also ask about a drink called SSKI.  It is a pottasium solution, In conjunction with prednisone, when patients take SSKI it helps to speed up the process.  

Good Luck

DR. SK  m.d.

[Costi]

Claudette, I have the same problem - erythema nodosum, started about 2 years ago. I went to a doctor the second day after spots apparition and the diagnostic was very clear. I began to do a lot of tests, blood, pulmonary, tests for IBD, and many others, and all tests were ok. I went to other doctors, other tests, but the same result: everything is just fine, excepting spots.
So, after two years, many doctors, many tests, treatment, here I am in the same position.
I wish you luck, and if you hear something new about this erythema, please let me now (***@****).

[Jeanna]

I am 3 1/2 months pregnant and I have had a bump on my shin with the skin over it a reddish color, and it is tender to touch just like a bruise would be.  I showed it to a dermatologist and my obstetrician a month ago. Both doctors had  puzzled looks on their faces and said it looked like either a bug bite or erythema nodosum and either way there wasn't any action to be taken and to just watch it.

[prettypedantic]

A related discussion, is this erythema nodosum? was started.

[want2knowmore]

A related discussion, Symptoms Affiliated with Erythema Nodosum was started.