Pemphigus is an autoimmune blistering disease of skin and mucous membrane, characterized by blisters and sores. The body’s immune system usually produces antibodies to destroy harmful bacteria and viruses, but in case of pemphigus the immune system attacks its own healthy skin and mucous cells.

As a result the skin cells get separated from each other and fluid gets accumulated in between the skin layers, causing blisters in the mucous membranes and skin.

The blisters may appear on the mucous membranes of the nose, mouth, eyes, throat and genitals. Sometimes the blisters may cover a wide area of the skin and may burst and cause painful erosions.

The disease won’t get transmitted through contact or placental route. Genetic makeup of certain people makes them more prone to pemphigus. Pemphigus can be diagnosed through physical examination, biopsy and blood test.For biopsy a sample of a blister is taken and tested with certain chemicals.

Pemphigus is a serious skin disease that can flare up suddenly, but can be controlled if treated during its initial stage. This disease is more common in children and in elders. Following are the treatments for pemphigus.

Treatments For Mild Pemphigus

The symptoms of pemphigus can be controlled easily if the treatment begins in the initial stage itself and the treatment methods depends mostly on the severity of the disease.

If the patient is in the early stages of the skin disease,then she/he can remain at home and continue the treatment, else the patient has to hospitalize.

Steroids are the common medications that doctors prescribe to treat mild pemphigus, but it is often associated with side effects such as mood swing, weight gain, hair loss, suppressed immune system, diabetes etc.

Immunosuppressant is other medication that can be used to treat mild pemphigus and these drugs suppress the immune system from attacking the healthy mucous and skin cells.

Usually immunosuppressant is recommended in conjunction with antibiotics to prevent skin infection and to promote the healing of sores. However Immunosuppresants also cause side effects like osteoporosis and infections.

Treatments For Severe Pemphigus

In case of severe pemphigus the patient should stay at hospital as the open sores are prone to infections and if the infection spreads to the blood stream, it becomes fatal.

In severe cases the sores ooze and the patient may lose the vital fluid which is essential to keep him/her hydrated. Hence doctors may prescribe fluids and electrolytes intravenously.

If the patients have too many sores in the mouth and have difficulty in swallowing, they are fed intravenously. But intravenous feeding can’t be proceeded for long, hence anesthetic mouth lozenges are recommended for those who have more sores in the mouth. This helps to control the pain and heal the sores.

Plasmapheresis is another treatment method which involves the separation of blood plasma from the remaining blood cells using a cell separator and replaces the plasma either with intravenous fluids or donated plasma.This helps to remove all the antibodies that attacks the mucous and skin cells from the blood and helps to control the pemphigus easily.

The symptoms of pemphigus disappear quickly in certain patients while some others may have to continue mild dose of medication for long period to prevent recurrence of the pemphigus symptoms.

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