What are the persistent rashes on both sides of my cheek with no other symptoms and positive ANA test results?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 20-year-old male. Over the last month or so, I have had this rash on my right cheek that has not gone away. I can also see a little bit of rash on my left cheek as well. I went to the hospital and came back with a positive ANA test 1:160 speckled. I thought it might be lupus, but I do not seem to have the symptoms aside from the rash. One of the symptoms is that there could be protein in my urine which I do see now because I have never paid attention to that before. Any advice is appreciated.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

Since you are ANA (antinuclear antibody) positive, we need to look at autoimmune diseases and must ensure that an appropriate diagnosis is made and treatment started. I need to know if it is also on the nose, as I cannot see from the image (the attachments are removed to protect the patient's identity), as that would be a butterfly rash characteristic of lupus. Also, does it worsen with sun exposure?

Moreover, I need to know if you have taken any drugs recently to determine whether they could be systemic lupus or drug-induced. The first symptom of lupus is usually just a facial rash. So we cannot rule that out. A single test will tell us whether it is lupus or not. Please get an anti-dsDNA (anti-double-stranded DNA) titer done if possible and let me know. I am very hopeful we can get to the bottom of this.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards.

What are the persistent rashes on both sides of my cheek with no other symptoms and positive ANA test results?

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