Pemphigus vulgaris
There's currently no cure forpemphigus vulgaris (PV), but treatment can help keep the symptoms under control.
Most people will need to take steroid medication (corticosteroids) in addition to another immunosuppressant medication. These help stop the immune system damaging healthy tissue.
The main aims of treatment are to:
It can take a while tofind outthe best dose for you. It may take a few months to reach a balance between controlling your symptomsand limiting unpleasant side effects.
You may eventually be able to come off your medication if your symptoms disappear and don't come back when treatment is stopped. However, many people will need to keeptaking a low dose.
Steroid medicationcanhelpreduce the harmful activity of the immune system in a short space of time. It's usually taken as a tablet, although creams and injections are also sometimes used.
You usually start on a high dose to get your symptoms under control. This can lead to a noticeable improvement within a few days, although it usually takestwo to three weeks to stop new blisters formingand up to eight weeks for existingones to heal.
Once your symptoms are under control, your steroid dose will be gradually reduced to the lowest possible dose that can still control your symptoms. This will help reduce the risk of side effects.
If taken for a long time at high doses, steroid medication can have a range ofunpleasant side effects, such as:
Most of these side effects should improve if you're able to reduce your dose. However,osteoporosis can be alasting problem.
These are usually taken as tablets.
Like steroids, these medicines can make you more vulnerable to infection, so you will need to take precautions when taking them, such as:
Other possible side effects include:
Several other treatments are sometimes used in combination with steroid medication and other immunosuppressants if these medications alone don't fully control your symptoms.
These include:
These treatments don't tend to be used very often and aren't always widely available. For example,rituximab isrelatively expensive and some clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) may not fund it.
Read about pemphigus vulgaris (PV), a rare and serious condition that causes painful blisters to develop on the skin and inside the mouth.
Read about treatment for pemphigus vulgaris, which involves a combination of steroids and immunosuppressant medication.
Read the story of Penelope Sherwood, who was diagnosed with pemphigus vulgaris at the age of 44.She discusses her treatment and how she copes with her condition.