Autoimmune diseases occur when the body’s immune system strays from its intended function of protecting the body from diseases and foreign invaders and malfunctions, attacking healthy cells. Autoimmune conditions that affect the skin may result in pustules, rashes or other uncomfortable conditions. In other cases, symptoms of the skin may be warning signs of a more serious disease. Types of autoimmune skin disorders includes psoriasis, scleroderma, bullous disorders, and alopecia areata.

One of the most common autoimmune skin disorders called psoriasis is a chronic condition. Symptoms include thickened, itchy skin with red or pink scaly patches. The condition occurs when the process of cell renewal in the body becomes disrupted and the body produces new cells faster than it can cast off old cells. While not a serious condition in and of itself, scratching or picking at outbreaks may cause serious infections.

Compared to other autoimmune skin disorders, scleroderma has a higher potential of becoming serious, or even life threatening. The disease attacks connective tissues throughout the body and results in hardening of the skin, blood vessels and organs. Symptoms include paleness in the extremities, feeling cold, pain and inflammation. Skin thickening in the hands and feet are a common occurrence as well. The disease may progress to serious complications, such as kidney damage, hypertension and heart issues.

Bullous autoimmune skin disorders include a wide variety of conditions that typically are chronic and caused either by autoantibodies or genetic defects. Types include bullous pemphigoid, epidermolysis bullosa acquisita, paraneoplastic pemphigus, and dermatitis herpeti-formis, among many others. The specific type of bullous typically is determined by the location on the body where the disease manifests.

The most prominent feature of this family of autoimmune skin disorders is blisters, which cause eruptions on the surface of the skin as well as itchy rashes or hives in the affected area. These skin eruptions sometimes resemble serious burns and can develop anywhere on the body. Blisters typically develop in one area on the body, such as the arms, inner thighs, groin or abdomen. In some instances, however, they may appear over the entire body.

Alopecia areata is a skin disorder that results in hair loss, which can be isolated to the scalp or in some cases, total hair loss over the entire body, which is called alopecia areata universalis. The condition arises when the immune system attacks hair follicles. The condition most commonly presents during childhood and can effect both genders. The cause is unknown, but studies indicate a genetic influence followed by some sort of environmental trigger, such as a virus, might be responsible.