Skin Issues
Have RA for 25 years now. I take methotrexate and simponi infusions. Blood work has been good. Has anyone had skin issues with the RA? I seem to get a pink flaky patch now and then on my leg and it looks a bit blistery and it is not skin cancer. Takes a while to go away.
Hi
. There are a number of skin issues that may occur with RA. Our patient leader Carla wrote about a number of them here: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/skin-in-the-game. I can also tell you that my wife, Kelly Mack (a contributor here), was diagnosed with a form of psoriasis, which is another autoimmune condition and can be comorbid with RA. Of course, only a doctor can do the proper diagnostics. A dermatologist might be helpful on this front. Hopefully others will chime in with their experiences. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team) 
Thanks for sharing! I saw you were trying to message Betts. You can tag a community member by pressing the "at" symbol and a dropdown will appear where you can select the person you are trying to tag. In this case I did it for you so sees it! When you tag someone, their username will appear in green. Warmly - Reggie, RheumatioidArthritis.net team member 
I'm crossing my fingers Orencia does the trick for you! How are your psoriasis symptoms and cough. Will the Orencia help with those symptoms as well? (We do also have a sister site for those living with psoriasis, if you're interested, https://plaquepsoriasis.com/) Please, if you're comfortable keep us posted. Sending you gentle hugs. -- Warmly, Christine 9Team Member)
Thank you!
The major skin issure I have is very slow healing ever since taking the biological. Enbrel study group confirmed their skin became slow to heal. Not sure if this is documented.
I do have some persistent (low level) scaling in right eyebrow and onto the low forehead adjacent. I wonder if it is psoriasis, too.
The medications prescribed can cause slow healing times for sure as the immune system is suppressed. Have you talked to your doctor about this and what they would suggest? -Effie, team member Hi
. You may have seen me mention above that my wife, Kelly Mack, was diagnosed with a form of psoriasis. It was after many years of RA and her doctors did mention that her biologic may have been the trigger for it presenting, but there is no sure way to know. The main thing was getting the diagnosis and treatment. In her case the dermatologist did a biopsy to confirm what he thought. We have a sister-site for psoriasis and here is an article on the diagnostic process: https://plaquepsoriasis.com/how-diagnosed. You may also want to poke around the site some (the drop down "Menu" button at top left may be helpful). I will tell you that, in Kelly's case, it took the dermatologist to do the diagnosis. She developed a skin infection and ended up in the hospital and other doctors, including an infectious disease specialist, failed. Then she got to see her dermatologist and he diagnosed her in a couple of minutes and did the biopsy for confirmation. This is one of many reasons Kelly is a big fan of seeing specialists for the various aspects of her care (she wrote about that here: https://rheumatoidarthritis.net/living/specialist-treatment). Hope this information is helpful. Best, Richard (RheumatoidArthritis.net Team)
Thank you, Richard. Sounds like great advice.
