How to Identify Rashes and Other Lupus Skin Symptoms

Lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks healthy tissues and organs. This response creates inflammation in many parts of the body, including the joints, kidneys, brain, heart, and lungs.

“It’s thought that the rashes occur because of exposure to sunlight,” says George Stojan, MD, the director of medical affairs at the pharmaceutical company UCB and the former codirector of the Johns Hopkins Lupus Center in Baltimore.

“The UV radiation damages the cells in the skin, and that exposes antigens that the immune system recognizes, and that leads to an immune response in the skin,” says Dr. Stojan. An antigen is any substance that causes the immune system to react, often by producing antibodies to fight against it. “The immune response targets the skin cells and causes inflammation that leads to the rashes,” he says.

Lupus rash and skin changes often accompany other symptoms of lupus, which can include fatigue, pain and swelling in the joints, and swollen glands. “The outward manifestations of lupus on the skin can be a window into what’s going on systemically,” says Victoria P. Werth, MD, a professor of dermatology at the hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.