Crest and Scleroderma (part 2 of 2)

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Severe Symptoms

While Raynaud’s and calcinosis are the two most common symptoms of CREST, severe cases would show different symptoms. People with limited scleroderma could also experience esophageal dysfunction since blood flow is limited to the esophagus, also limiting its function. Another is sclerodactyly which is characterized by thick and hard skin similar to scar tissue. This can occur anywhere from the hands, chest, face and abdomen.

Another symptom of which people with scleroderma can suffer is telangiectansia which is a collection of blood vessels on the surface of the skin which would appear as red marks. People with limited scleroderma could also have limited lung activity, high blood pressure and other autoimmune diseases such as lupus and polymyositis.

What Causes It?

While there is no proven cause of scleroderma yet, medical experts refer to reliable theories that refer to very possible causes of it. One theory is that limited scleroderma is genetic and that genetic defects would make people more susceptible to scleroderma. Another is hormones, this of which medical experts think could be the reason why females are more susceptible than males and environmental influences such as viruses or bacteria that may cause it.

Another theory is that pregnancy can cause it. The fetal matter that is left over after pregnancy that still circulates in the mother’s bloodstream can cause scleroderma even after decades after pregnancy, this theory has been aligned with the statistics that the common patients for scleroderma are women between the ages 30 and 60.

All of these theories however have not been proven and the cause for scleroderma still remains unknown.