Scleroderma is a disorder where your skin and connective tissues tighten and harden. Scleroderma is a long-term progressive disease, which means it gets worse. This disorder is also thought to be an autoimmune condition, in which the body’s own immune system attacks the body’s tissues. This starts to result in your body making extra collagen, a protein that forms the basis of connective tissue. Thickening, or fibrosis, and scarring of the tissue results from scleroderma.
There are many different types of scleroderma, some are quite serious, but others are much less serious. Knowing what type your child has is the best place to start. Doctors have divided childhood Scleroderma into two forms with very different features: localized and systemic. Localized scleroderma is the most common form seen in children. This kind can damage the skin, muscle, bones and joints. This type is very unlikely to cause damage to your child’s internal oran systems. Systematic Scleroderma, can cause internal organ damage and could take a more severe course.
To find out which kind your child might have you should contact your child’s doctor. For even more detail on treatments and the different types of Scleroderma visit this website.