Introduction
Leukemia is a malignant disease of the blood in which there is an uninhibited production of immature cells and a decrease in functional blood cells. This disease is also known as blood cancer. It can manifest itself through a variety of, initially mostly unspecific symptoms.
Among other things, it can lead to skin changes such as a rash. Get more specific information about leukemia. However, a skin rash can have many different causes.
In most cases they are harmless and only in extremely rare cases is it a sign of leukemia. In addition, there is no typical skin rash that can provide information about the possible presence of this disease. If there are no other symptoms besides the rash, leukemia is usually not to be feared. Find out what other causes can trigger a skin rash.
Causes of the rash
Skin rash is one of the most common human complaints. In the vast majority of cases it is harmless and goes away after a while. Only in extremely rare cases is leukemia the cause.
However, even if leukemia is present, a skin rash rarely occurs. The constellation of a skin rash caused by leukemia is therefore extremely rare. In principle, all organs can be affected by leukemia. The cause of a skin rash can be that the leukemia cells penetrate the skin. However, the most common causes of a rash in general are infections caused by viruses and bacteria, side effects of medication or allergic reactions.
Diagnosis of leukemia as the cause of a skin rash
In order to make a diagnosis of a skin rash, questions should first be answered, such as when and where the changes occurred, how they developed and whether there are any other symptoms. The doctor will also look at the rash and look for typical patterns. If the rash is the only complaint, there is usually no reason to perform tests to exclude or detect leukemia.
Only if the patient reports additional complaints such as reduced performance, unintentional weight loss or increased susceptibility to infections, the doctor may consider a malignant disease such as leukemia as a rare but possible cause of the rash and the other complaints. Do these symptoms apply to you? If the doctor finds evidence of such a disease from the interview and examination, he or she may take blood samples to determine or rule out further evidence of leukemia or other serious disease.
If the blood count is indeed suspect of leukemia, the next step is to take a sample from the bone marrow to make a diagnosis. However, if the interview and examination do not reveal any evidence of a dangerous disease such as leukemia, it is often advisable to refrain from further diagnosis and to wait and see. Newly occurring rashes often disappear on their own after some time.
If the physician finds indications of such a disease from the conversation and the examination, he or she will take blood samples, if necessary, to determine or exclude further indications of leukemia or another serious disease. If the blood count is indeed suspect of leukemia, the next step is to take a sample from the bone marrow in order to make a diagnosis. However, if the interview and examination do not reveal any evidence of a dangerous disease such as leukemia, it is often advisable to refrain from further diagnosis and to wait and see. Newly occurring rashes often disappear on their own after some time.
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