Skin becomes hard and the color is striped? Beware of Morphea Skin Disorders!

What is morphea?

Morphea is a skin disorder that causes physical changes like the color changes or the skin becomes hardened. The part of the skin that has this disorder appears to have a paler color pattern or an older reddish color so that your skin color appears striped. Color changes due to morphea are usually found on the skin around the abdomen, chest, back, and also in the arms or legs. If it occurs in the joint area, morphea can also limit the moving capacity of the affected skin part of the joint.

Morphae causes no pain in the affected part of the skin, but it is possible to relapse again. Skin discoloration caused by morphea can also disappear by itself but requires a long time.

Although not too dangerous, there are therapeutic methods to treat the symptoms of morphea. Morphea is not caused by a bacterial infection so that this disorder does not spread to other people in any way, whether it's touch, air, or borrowing from one another.

Symptoms of morphea

Morphea is a disease that is easily recognized by symptoms. However, the symptoms of morphea can vary from person to person. This depends on the type and level of development of the disease. Some common symptoms of morphea are:

Symptoms of skin discoloration can begin with pale skin with whiteness in the middle of the area of skin that changes color.
Reddish color changes with an oval pattern, especially on the skin on the body. Sometimes purplish discoloration can also occur.
The pattern of change can also be elongated or linear in shape when morphea appear on the arm or leg.
If the change continues, the skin will harden and feel thicker and shiny.
The occurrence of hardening can be accompanied by hair loss (fur) and damage to sweat glands in the area of the skin that has morphea.
Morphea may also be accompanied by itching or burning, as if your skin is burning.

Symptoms such as changes in skin color can last a long time before disappearing on their own. However, there is a risk of physical disability and impaired mobility if morphea affects the skin around the joints. If it occurs in the area adjacent to the eye, there is a risk of permanent eye damage or blindness.

Types of morphea

Based on the pattern of occurrence, morphea is divided into four types. The following is an explanation of each type.

Plaque morphea is the most common form of morphea. Characterized by skin discoloration and oval-shaped lesions. This morphia can cause itching.
Generalized plaque morphea spread more widely than plaque morphea with wider lesions. Networks that experience this disorder also tend to be deeper so that it might affect someone's appearance.
Pansclerotic morpheais a rare morphea, but needs serious handling. This happens when morphea spreads almost throughout the body in a short time.
Linear morphea occurs in the feet and hands with a smaller pattern compared to what happens on the surface of the body. The type of morphea that occurs in limb organs can damage joints, lesions in skin tissue can also spread to muscle cells and cause disability.

Causes of morphea

Morphea is thought to be an autoimmune disorder. However, this is not yet known exactly by medical experts. This disorder occurs when the immune system attacks healthy skin cells, so that the body's cells produce more collagen binding cells.

The content of collagen that builds up on the skin causes buildup and the skin becomes harder. The process of excessive collagen formation in certain parts of the skin can also be caused by repeated collisions or trauma to certain parts of the skin, side effects of radiation therapy, an infection that damages the surface of the skin, and exposure to substances from the environment that directly damage the skin.

Morphea is more commonly reported by women than men. Usually the initial symptoms of morphea occur during childhood, which starts from the age of 2-14 years, but can also appear in adults in middle age.

Diagnosis and treatment of morphea

Diagnosis of morphea is very important for determining treatment and preventing disease getting worse or causing disability. If you find a sudden discoloration of the skin and spread quickly, see a doctor immediately. Determination of this type of skin disease may only be done by dermatologists with a series of physical examinations.

Until now, there is no 100 percent effective treatment for relieving symptoms or effects of morphea. Handling emphasizes more on preventing the spread of morphea and reducing lesions that occur on the skin.

If it is related to other body parts as a complication, separate handling of the affected organ may also be needed. Joint damage due to morphea can be done with corticosteroid drugs and physical therapy, while eye damage due to morphea requires separate action from the ophthalmologist.

Some treatment methods such as light therapy (phototerapy) and use of creams with vitamin D content are used to relieve symptoms. Some things also need to be considered to relieve symptoms and speed up recovery such as: