Granuloma Annulare

Granuloma Annulare – General Information

Granuloma Annulare – Symptoms

Granuloma Annulare – Treatment

In most of the cases, doctors diagnose the Granuloma Annulare disease by simply examining the part of the affected skin. Usually, doctors perform a procedure, also known as KOH test, to see if the patient suffers from a fungal infection. This procedure consists in scraping a part of the affected skin using a glass slide which also helps to collect the dead skin cells. The patient’s skin cells are next mixed with potassium hydroxide solution. After the doctor has mixed the cells with the solution, he them examines under a microscope to find out the cause and type of the infection. In some cases, to confirm the diagnosis of Granuloma Annulare the doctor can also perform a skin biopsy. This kind of procedure consists in taking a small sample of the affected skin, which will be eventually examined with a microscope to see if the patient indeed suffers from this kind of disease. In most of the cases, the doctor can prescribe no treatment for the disease, because the lesions caused by the condition can go away on their own in few months to two years. Depending on the patient’s preferences, the doctor can prescribe a treatment trial which can consist in corticosteroid creams or ointments, corticosteroid injections and freezing the lesions, therapy called cryotherapy.

There are cases in which the doctor can recommend a treatment trial with corticosteroid topical creams to reduce the symptoms of the Granuloma Annulare disease. The most common cream used by the doctors is clobestasol propionate, prescribed as Temovate, which has the effect of helping to speed up the disappearance and improving the appearance of the patient’s lesions. These treatments depend on the thickness of the lesions and the strength of the cream. In cases in which the lesions are in an advanced stage, the doctor can recommend covering the applied cream with certain bandages or adhesive patches. Such actions can help the cream to become more potent. There are cases in which the doctor can prescribe corticosteroids injection to treat the disease. These injections are used when the patient’s skin lesions are thicker and his signs and symptoms are greater. The most common used injection is the one with triamcinolone, which is applied directly in the affected skin helping the lesions to heal faster. To treat this disease the doctor can also perform a cryotherapy, or freezing the lesions, which consists in applying liquid nitrogen to the affected part of the skin using a cotton applicator or using a small instrument designed for this kind of procedures. This kind of operation usually lasts for just few seconds. The liquid nitrogen freezes the lesions which has the effect of removing them and stimulating a new growth of healthy skin cells. Another way to treat Granuloma Annulare disease is the light therapy, which is generally used in severe cases of the disease, and uses a special type of ultraviolet therapy also known as psoralen plus ultraviolet A. This kind of treatment trial consists in combining exposure to the ultraviolet light with medicines that help make the patient’s skin become receptive to the effects of the therapy.