Types of scleroderma
Scleroderma might only affect your skin, or it can spread to other parts of your body.
The localized form causes skin changes. Rarely, it might also affect your muscles. Symptoms are usually mild and fall under one of two categories:
- Morphea: This type of localized scleroderma causes thick, waxy, discolored patches on your chest, back, stomach, arms, or legs. The patches may grow bigger or get smaller over time, and your skin might get better on its own. Morphea usually develops between the ages of 20 and 50, but it can also occur in young children.
- Linear scleroderma: This form of the disease causes long streaks of hardened, waxy skin on your arm, leg, trunk, buttocks, or forehead. A deeper layer of tissue is affected, so it can impact the movement of your joints. This type usually affects children and can interfere with the growth of their limbs.
Also known as systemic sclerosis, this form of scleroderma affects your skin and other parts of your body. There are three kinds:
- Limited sclerosis: Also known as CREST syndrome, this type causes symptoms in a small area of your body, like your fingers, hands, or face. Internal organs may be affected, but symptoms are less severe and take several years to develop. Over time, limited sclerosis can lead to narrowing of the blood vessels in your lungs, known as pulmonary hypertension.
- Diffuse sclerosis: This type causes large areas of thickened skin, including on your chest, stomach, arms, legs, and face. The disease also affects multiple internal organs, which may include your gastrointestinal tract, kidneys, heart, or lungs. Symptoms appear quickly and can lead to complications, like lung disease.
- Sine sclerosis: A small number of people may have a form of systemic sclerosis that doesn’t fit the limited or diffuse types. If you have sine scleroderma, you don’t have hardened skin, but your internal organs can be damaged by the buildup of collagen.