What causes erythema multiforme

Normally, there are always various spots on people's skin, especially for women. After the age of 30, it is easy for yellow spots to appear on the face. These spots are called chloasma. This is because you don’t pay attention to skin care on a daily basis, which leads to pigmentation deposition in the skin. Of course, spots include not only chloasma, but also freckles, pregnancy spots, etc. So, what causes erythema multiforme?

Erythema multiforme is an acute exudative inflammatory disease of the skin and mucous membranes, also known as erythema multiforme. Because this disease has the prominent characteristic of exudation, it would be more accurate to call it erythema multiforme exudative, which fully summarizes the disease as the name suggests.

Causes:

1. Allergic reaction to drugs

It mainly refers to people with allergic constitution. After using certain drugs, they are prone to allergic reactions, and various forms of erythema, blisters, erosions, etc. will appear on the skin and mucous membranes. Common allergenic drugs include sulfonamides, antibiotics, barbiturates, phenylbutazone, antipyretics, dapagliflozin or carbamazepine, etc.

2. Immune factors

Many scholars have studied the relationship between immunity and erythema multiforme exudative, and believe that immune factors are also a possible factor in the onset of the disease. For example, Kraeger et al. (1973) measured the macrophage aggregation activity (MAA) of 5 patients with erythema multiforme exudative, of which MAA was increased in 2 cases. Safai et al. (1975) reported two cases of bullous erythema multiforme exudative diagnosed by clinical and histological examination. Both IgG in serum and blister fluid were elevated, while complement components in early blister fluid decreased and immune complexes increased. Kazmicrowski et al. (1978) used direct immunofluorescence to observe skin sections of 17 cases of erythema multiforme exudative, and found that all specimens of early damage within 24 hours of onset showed C3 and/or IgM deposition on small blood vessels in the papillary layer.

3. Viral Infection

Soltz-Szots (1963) reported that the use of herpes simplex virus vaccine to treat recurrent herpes simplex induced erythema multiforme exudative. Shelley (1967) used 0.01 ml of herpes simplex virus vaccine for subcutaneous injection to replicate the occurrence of erythema multiforme exudative. In addition to herpes simplex virus, coxsackie virus, measles virus, echovirus, polio virus, etc. can all serve as antigens to induce the occurrence of this disease, so erythema multiforme exudative is recognized as an allergic reaction.

4. Bacterial Infection

It is mainly caused by pyogenic cocci, which act as antigens and cause disease, including hemolytic streptococci, staphylococci, Brucella, diphtheria, erysipelothrix, etc.

5. Mycoplasma infection

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is currently considered to be a pathogen that causes disease in humans. For example, Lyell et al. (1967) isolated Mycoplasma pneumoniae from the blisters of 2/13 cases of severe erythema multiforme exudative, and the titer of complement-fixing antibodies was elevated. They also isolated Mycoplasma pneumoniae, oral Mycoplasma and human Mycoplasma type I from the oropharynx of another 5 patients with erythema multiforme exudative. The pathogenic effect of mycoplasma is currently believed to be explained from two aspects: on the one hand, the mycoplasma membrane and its metabolites directly adhere to the respiratory tract and cause disease, and on the other hand, it is an allergic reaction.

6. Other factors

The disease can be triggered by mental stress, excessive fatigue, food allergies, lesion infection, and even exposure to cold.

To prevent erythema multiforme, you must pay attention to skin care and prevent skin infection. If there are damaged areas on the skin, you must find ways to promote healing. If the skin has symptoms of itching, you must stop the itching immediately and never scratch it with your hands, otherwise it will easily be infected with bacteria or viruses. In daily life, try to stay away from sources of infection.