Bullous Pemphigoid - Causes, Symptoms & Treatment

Bullous pemphigoid is a skin disorder. Bullous pemphigoid is a chronic condition. The condition is caused by antibodies and inflammation abnormally accumulating in a certain layer of the skin called the "basement membrane. It is zacharacterized by large blisters. Bullous pemphigoid (BP) 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 you cannot 'catch' it from an affected person.

Bullous pemphigoid typically occurs in older adults. The condition is seldom life- threatening, but the medications used to treat bullous pemphigoid can cause complications. Without treatment, bullous pemphigoid may persist, with periods of remission and flare-ups, for many years. Bullois Pemphigoid is an autoimmune disease. In this disease, antibodies are made against the membrane between dermis and epidermis layers of the skin. This means that the cells in the body that normally fight infection or germs attack the skin cells, causing blisters.

Skin becomes inflamed (erythematous) and very itchy (pruritic).The first symptom of Bullous Pemphigoid is usually redness of the skin surrounding a lesion, scar, and/or the navel. Within weeks, thin walled blisters with clear fluid centers (bullae) appear on the undersurfaces of the arms and legs (flexor surfaces), in the armpits (axillae), on the abdomen, and/or around the groin. Unlike Pemphigus, Bullous Pemphigoid blisters usually do not affect the mucous membrane lining the mouth; if they do they heal rapidly. The blisters are usually hard and tight, and contain clear or blood-tinged fluid; they do not rupture easily. If the blisters do rupture, pain may occur but healing is usually rapid. Bullous Pemphigoid usually itches and in its early phase, itching and hive-like patches may be the only symptoms. After a few months, the symptoms of Bullous Pemphigoid often disappear spontaneously, but they may recur for no apparent reason.

Causes of Bullous Pemphigoid

Common causes of Bullous Pemphigoid

• Immunogenetic analyses
• Trauma.
• Epitope spreading.
• Chemokines.
• Complement activation.

Symptoms of Bullous Pemphigoid

Common Symptoms of Bullous Pemphigoid

• Itching..
• Bullae.
• Rashes.
• Mouth sores.
• Bleeding gums.
• General ill feeling.
• Lesions.

Treatment of Bullous Pemphigoid

There is no medical cure for bullous pemphigoid as such. The condition can only be kept in controlled with some medications so that it may not become more severe. The only perfect cure for bullous pemphigoid is time, and as time will pass it will automatically dissapear on its own. Common Treatment of Bullous Pemphigoid

• Immunosuppressive drugs such as azathioprine and methotrexate, have been used on an experimental basis in combination with corticosteroid drugs to treat Bullous Pemphigoid.
• Topical Steroids are very effective, usually clobetasol propionate for the fast recovery.
• Some antibacterial ointment can also be used to prevent skin infection.
• The skin infection can be controlled by using drugs, like Dapsone, Prednisone and Imuran.
• The topical cortisone creams can resolve bullous pemphigoid, but sometimes requires high doses of cortisone taken internally.
• Nicotinamide may also be used in the chronic condition.
• High dose intravenous immunoglobulin is useful for the reduction of blisters from the skin.
• Bullous pemphigoid can also require immune suppression drugs, such as azathoprine.

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