A rash caused by sarcoidosis is called eczema sarcoidosis or cutaneous sarcoidosis. Sarcoidosis may affect many different parts of the body. Of people diagnosed with sarcoidosis, twenty to thirty-five percent develop eczema sarcoidosis.
Symptoms of sarcoidosis vary depending on which body systems are being affected. Some common symptoms of sarcoidosis are fatigue, fever, cough, shortness of breath, enlarged lymph glands, hair loss, seizures, nosebleeds, headache, and weight loss. The cause of sarcoidosis has yet to be determined.
The rashes of eczema sarcoidosis can have various appearances and cause different types of rashes. One type of eczema sarcoidosis is called lupus pernio. This type of eczema sarcoidosis causes large dusky purple or bluish-red bumps and thickened lesions.
Eczema sarcoidosis can appear as brown or purplish-red, circular areas of thickened skin called skin plaques. Sarcoidosis can cause bumps under the skin or old scars to become thickened. Sarcoidosis can cause itchiness of the skin.
Cutaneous calcification can occur. Cutaneous calcification, also called calcinosis cutis, causes deposits of calcium in the skin. In addition to these rashes caused by sarcoidosis, the skin symptoms from sarcoidosis can resemble other forms of eczema.
Bumps on the skin that may feel sore may form on the shins. These bumps from sarcoidosis are from a condition called erythema nodosum. Erythema nodosum can cause symptoms of arthritis in the wrists, hands, ankles, and elbows.
Discoid eczema, also called nummular eczema, can be caused by sarcoidosis. Nummular eczema causes round patches that may be a dry, scaly rash or a bumpy, blistering rash.
A blistering rash caused by sarcoidosis may be a condition called erythema multiforme. The rash may appear slowly over a few days and last for up to three weeks.
In about two-thirds of patients with eczema sarcoidosis, the sarcoidosis affects other parts of the body. In addition to eczema sarcoidosis, sarcoidosis can affect the lungs, liver, eyes, heart, and nervous system. Sarcoidosis can also cause musculoskeletal symptoms.
