Allergic purpura Symptoms, Diagnosis, Complications
Signs and Symptoms of Allergic purpura
Allergic purpura produces characteristic purple skin lesions which are caused by vascular leakage into the skin and mucous membranes. The lesions usually appear in symmetrical patterns on the arms and legs and are accompanied by itchiness, burning and tingling sensation and swelling.
Allergic purpura commonly produces transient or severe colic, constipation, vomiting, swelling and bleeding of the mucous membranes of the bowel, resulting in GI bleeding, blood in stools, and telescoping of one loop of the intestine into another. Such GI abnormalities may precede overt, skin symptoms of purpura. Musculoskeletal symptoms, such as rheumatoid pains most commonly affect legs and feet.
Other symptoms include prolonged headache, fever, and pain and swelling of the scrotum, scalp, eyelids, lips, ears, backs of the hands and feet, and perineum. Involvement of other organ systems may lead to heart attack (myocardial infarction), inflammation of the pancreas (pancreatitis), intestinal obstruction, bowel perforation, or acute intussusception (a twisting inversion of the lining of the bowel).
How to diagnosis of Allergic purpura?
Allergic purpura is usually diagnosed based on the typical skin, joint, and kidney findings. Throat culture, urinalysis, blood tests for inflammation and kidney function are used to suggest the diagnosis. Biopsy of skin, and less commonly kidneys, can be used to demonstrate vasculitis.
Complications of Allergic purpura