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Brown Freckles On Feet Top Till Ankles. Treated For Crohn's Disease. Taken Salofalk. What Are These Freckles?

Posted on Mon, 16 Jul 2012

Question: My 26 year-old son has a lot of new freckles (brown spots) on top of his feet up to his ankles. They are brown in color, are not raised (they are smooth) and they do not itch. They appeared few months ago and cover most of the top of his feet. We just discovered the fact. My son has Crohn's disease and has been operated 3 years ago. They removed a section of his intestines (about a foot long). He is taking medicine (salofalk here in Canada) twice a day. A couple a months ago, he had an inflammated lymph node in the neck that lasted three days (just on one side). He also has thinner hair since he was diagnosed with Crohn's. He is 6'3 tall and 290 pounds. What could the freckles be? Do we need to worry about this? We heard of mycosis fungoides and schamberg's disease...

Answered by Dr. Rohit Batra (51 minutes later)

Dear,

Thanks for posting your query.

Multiple freckles on exposed area are common in people with fairer skin and is nothing to worry about but increase in number of freckles on unexposed sites needs a proper examination.

A systemic illness can give rise to freckles on unexposed area, as in your son’s case crohn's disease itself could have led this.

These can be dermatological manifestation of a systemic disease.

In case there is some other systemic ailment then it should be investigated for.

It is advisable to carry out an abdominal ultrasound by the treating doctor and look for any other pathology.

The two conditions mentioned by you do not cause freckles.

Please do write back in case you have follow up queries to ask.

Regards

Dr.Rohit Batra

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Shanthi.E

Follow up: Dr. Rohit Batra (1 hour later)

These are not ordinary freckles. His feet are not usually exposed to the sun. The brown spots look like the freckles a redhead would have and some are joinded, and cover most of the top of his feet, up to his ankles. Could this be caused by vitamin defiency, such as vitamin B12, or anemia? What kind of systemic disease could cause this sudden appearance of spots?

Answered by Dr. Rohit Batra (24 hours later)

Hi,
Thanks for writing back.
I would be in a better position to answer your query if you could please send in a couple of photographs of the affected area. You can use the upload your reports section on the right.
Vitamin B12 deficiency normally leads to burning of hands and feet. Zinc deficiency, folic acid deficiency can lead to hyperpigmentation. Purpuric lesions can occur as a result of systemic infection and leave hyperpigmentation.

Regards

Dr XXXXXXX Batra

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli

Follow up: Dr. Rohit Batra (5 hours later)

Answered by Dr. Rohit Batra (3 hours later)

Dear,

Thanks for the photographs.

After viewing the pictures sent, the lesions closely resemble that of "Schaumburg’s purpura" - a condition where there is leakage of blood from pooled capillaries.

This condition requires elevation of leg as much as possible, abstinence from collared socks and vitamin supplement - A, C and B. As this condition is chronic and recovery is very slow, I encourage you consult a competent dermatologist near your region as to have a closer look of your son's lesions and to confirm this possibility

Hope I was able to answer your query. Let me know if you need more information about this condition.

Regards

Dr.Rohit Batra

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Prasad

Follow up: Dr. Rohit Batra (8 hours later)

Thank you so much Dr. Batra. We really appreciated the time and interest you took in our problem and are really grateful for your guidance.

We'll see a dermatologist as soon as possible, but it is good to have a little idea of what it might be.

The XXXXXXX family

Answered by Dr. Rohit Batra (33 minutes later)

Hi,

I truly am glad that I could be of some assistance. Its my duty to serve you all.

Regards

Dr.Rohit Batra

Note: Hope the answers resolves your concerns, however for further guidance of skin related queries consult our Dermatologist.Click here to book a consultation

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli