What Does A Typical Cirrhosis Skin Rash Look Like?

I recently was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.  I was startled!  The basis of the diagnosis was solely my past drinking record (pretty impressive I migth add :-)) and a skin rash that I will discribe below. No inquiry into my family history was made, no physical exam was performed, no ultasound or other external viewing devise was used, and no biopsy was peformed.  To be fair he is an ER doc and was pretty busy at the time.

My real question is what does a typical cirrhosis skin rash look like in terms of size, color and texture?  My rash appears ONLY on my wrists and hands.  The rash is red in color and has the same texture as the surrouding skin. The rash is broken into pieces of irregular shapes.  Each piece is roughly 3-4 cm in size, but this varies widely.  The rash probably occupies no more than 2-3% of my wrists and hands.

Remarkably the rash dissapears completey without me doing anything!  It comes back though sometimes, partularly when I'm stressed out.  Does this look like a cirrhosis rash? Thanks.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

It will be difficult to say whether your rash is characteristic of cirrhosis without examination.

The following are the skin manifestations of cirrhosis:

1) spider veins: they are vascular lesions, consisting of a central lesion with surrounding peripheral smaller vessels.

2) palmer erythema: redness and an exaggeration of the speckled mottling of the palm.  This is caused by altered sex hormone metabolism.  

I would discus these findings with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_b

[jcffd251]

Have the same problem with the skin rash.  It comes and goes.  Finally went to a dermatoligist and he put me on Allegra 180mg and it cleared up in about 2 weeks but still comes back when I get stressed which is about all the time.  I feel your pain because its a pain in the butt to walk around scratching all the time and your look like an idiot.

[sunnyo]

I think you should go to a new doctor. They can't tell you if you have cirrhosis of the liver just by looking at your hands. The only way to know for sure is a liver biopsy.

[jeffaryj]

A related discussion, Skin Cirrhosis was started.

[maninder]

A related discussion, Treatment for Cirrhosis was started.

[maninder]

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[maninder]

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