Erythema Multiforme - Causes, Symptoms and Preventions

-LA Chronicle

04/01/2008 - Erythemam multiforme is the skin problem which occurs as the reaction due to infection or medication and is discovered by Ferdinand von Hebra in 1866. In this disease a red rash is obtain on the skin which is the sequence of the spots. Sometimes they are purple in color.

Causes

Erythema multiforme is a type of hypersensitivity (allergic) reaction that occurs in response to medications, infections, or illness. Medications associated with erythema multiforme include sulfonamides, penicillins, barbiturates, and phenytoin. Associated infections include herpes simplex and mycoplasma infections.

Erythema Multiforme is an allergic reaction caused by medications (eg sulfonamides, penicillins, barbiturates, phenytoin), infection (herpes simplex, mycoplasma) or illness. Roughly 90% of cases is due to herpes simplex or Mycoplasma infections and occurs mostly in children and young adults.

Symptoms

Erythema multiforme is a recurring disorder characterized by patches of red, raised skin that often look like targets and usually are distributed symmetrically over the body. Most cases are caused by a reaction to infection with the herpes simplex virus. Doctors are not sure if other infectious diseases also cause erythema multiforme. Doctors are unsure exactly how herpes simplex causes this disorder, but a type of immune reaction is suspected. Symptoms: Usually, erythema multiforme appears suddenly, with reddened patches erupting on the arms, legs, and face. Sometimes the rash is also present on the palms or soles.

How is it diagnosed?

Your health care provider will ask about your recent medical history, including what infections you have had and what medicines you have been taking. Your provider will ask about your symptoms and examine you.

Usually your health care provider can diagnose E. multiforme by looking at the rash. The only way to confirm the diagnosis is with a skin biopsy. If you have a biopsy, you will be given a numbing medicine and then your provider will remove a small piece of skin. The skin sample will be sent to a lab for tests.