What causes Granuloma Annulare?

Posted by sanjay on Friday 20 Mar 2009

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What is Granuloma Annulare?
This is a skin disease that is chronic and lasts for a long time. You will find raised, small bumps on the skin and these bumps have a sunken/ normal center and a ring. Although Granuloma annulare or GA is a condition that commonly occurs, the cause for it is unknown. This normally affects teenagers, children or young adults. G.A. can affect any part of the body and in most cases, there is no itching.

In most affected people, patches occur in one or two places on the body such as elbows, rear of the hand and ankles. These rings grow to as maximum of 2” across and they will be purple and flat. They will disappear over a period of time.

What causes Granuloma annulare?
The reasons for the occurrence of granuloma annulare are not known; however, it has been found that it is not harmful to your health. Further, it is neither contagious nor causes allergy. Under normal circumstances, it affects young adults and children.

What are Granuloma annulare symptoms?
No symptoms are displayed by granuloma in most cases. Sometimes in a new area, itching occurs or it is tender. In the remaining cases the following symptoms might occur:
• One or multiple rings with bumps on legs, feet or hands.
• Yellow/ skin-colored bumps.
• Firm, nodule Granuloma annulare might appear under the skin on the legs and arms.
How to diagnose Granuloma?
Diagnosis is done by taking a biopsy wherein a sample tissue is removed from the affected area and examined under a microscope.

How do we treat Granuloma annulare?
Treatments given for Granuloma annulare may not be very effective. In many cases, the patch automatically disappears without any treatment. There may be cases where it persists and the following treatments can be prescribed:
• Psoralen and UVA treatment (PUVA) have been used successfully on some people.
• Cortisone injections are more beneficial than cortisone creams.
• Directly injecting steroids into the rings will also help.
• Some doctors use liquid nitrogen to freeze the wound.