What Causes Bullae?

Discussion Bullae are fluid-filled epidermal lesions that are filled with serous or seropurulent fluid. They are > 1 cm in diameter and often easily rupture due to their thin walls. The differential diagnosis is different for bullae than for vesicular lesions with bullae being often more worrisome. However there is overlap and vesicular diseases can become large enough to be bullae. Drug toxicity and genetic problems are also more common in bullae whereas vesicles are more often caused by infectious diseases. Potentially life threatening conditions such as toxic epidermal necrolysis syndrome, Stevens Johnson syndrome or meningococcemia need to be recognized and treated aggressively. Symptoms may include skin sloughing, petechiae or purpura, fever and irritability, inflammation of the mucosa, urticaria, respiratory distress, and diarrhea or abdominal pain. As bullae can cover extensive amounts of the skin and are often fragile, they may need specialized skin treatment with dermatology and burn specialists. Other supportive treatments such as fluid management, antibiotics and even respiratory support may be needed. Vesicles are circumscribed, elevated, fluid-filled lesions < 1 cm in diameters on the skin. They contain serous exudates or a mixture of blood and serum. They last for a short time and either break spontaneously or evolve into bullae. They can be discrete (e.g. varicella or rickettsial disease), grouped (e.g. herpes), linear (e.g. rhus dermatitis) or irregul...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news