Hard skin on finger joints

The growth of hard skin on the finger joints is considered to be scleroderma. The causes of hard skin on the finger joints are very complicated and there is no unified fixed cause. Scleroderma is a connective tissue disease that can damage multiple systems and is often more serious than we think. It may affect internal organs such as the heart and lungs, so we need to be vigilant. Next, I will introduce you to some knowledge about scleroderma, such as its clinical manifestations.

Causes

The cause of scleroderma is still unclear. It may be due to the influence of genetic factors, environmental factors (viral infection, chemicals such as silicon), female hormones, cellular and humoral immune abnormalities, etc., which increase the synthesis and secretion of collagen by fibroblasts and lead to fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Chemical substances or viral infections are environmental factors that influence disease susceptibility. People who are frequently exposed to silica at work have a relatively increased risk of developing this disease.

Clinical manifestations

Systemic sclerosis is a chronic multisystem disease. Initial symptoms are often nonspecific and include Raynaud phenomenon, fatigue, and musculoskeletal pain; these symptoms persist for weeks or months before other signs develop. The characteristic early clinical manifestation of scleroderma is swelling and thickening of the skin, beginning in the fingers and hands. A variety of manifestations follow, primarily in the skin, lungs, heart, digestive tract, or kidneys. In patients without Raynaud's phenomenon, the risk of renal involvement is increased.

Scleroderma can be divided into several subtypes, depending on the extent of skin involvement:

① Patients with localized scleroderma only have thickening of the skin on the distal limbs, and the trunk is not affected. CREST syndrome includes: calcium deposition, Raynaud's phenomenon, esophageal dysfunction, digital sclerosis and telangiectasia, and belongs to the category of localized scleroderma.

② Patients with diffuse scleroderma show thickening of the skin on the distal and proximal limbs and/or trunk.

1. Raynaud's phenomenon

When the patient is cold or nervous, his hands and feet suddenly become cold, and the fingertips (toes) become pale and then turn purple. 10 to 15 minutes after the external stimulation ends, vasospasm recovers and the color of the finger (toe) tips returns to normal, appearing red or mottled. This change is called paroxysmal vasospasm (Raynaud's phenomenon). Cold-induced pallor may also occur in extremities such as the tip of the nose, tongue, lips, and earlobes.

2. Skin

In the early stage of the disease (edema stage), the skin shows mild redness and swelling. Some patients have erythema, itching and edema. The early finger edema stage can last for a long time. The skin changes stop at the distal end of the upper limbs and can also spread to the forearms, chest, abdomen, back and face. In diffuse scleroderma, the skin becomes extensively hardened with increased or decreased pigmentation, giving the skin a salt and pepper texture.