Out of the many disorders caused by calcium deposits on the body, one of the most serious issues is when it occurs on the face. Take a brief look at this story on what causes it and the treatments to remove these deposits.
Disclaimer: This story is for informative purposes only, and should not be used as a replacement for expert medical advice.
Calcinosis, or commonly known as deposition of calcium on the skin, is a disorder that develops hard calcium lumps on the body. These deposits are caused due to many reasons, one of which is tissue damage.
Tissue damage on the face and other areas can be because of autoimmune disorders like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, or scleroderma. These disorders promote the deposition of calcium in the areas where they are dominant.
Calcinosis can also be caused due joint injury or the presence of tumors around the facial area. The lumps formed by calcium are usually localized to the specific area of tissue damage, but some autoimmune disorders may cause additional lump formation. The information provided below briefly sums up the information about its causes and treatment options.
Causes
Basically, there are four main forms of calcinosis.
Dystrophic calcinosis
Metastatic calcinosis
Iatrogenic calcinosis
Idiopathic calcinosis
Out of these four, the dystrophic calcinosis is the most commonly observed calcium deposition disorder. In this type, a person doesn't have higher than normal level of calcium or phosphate in the blood.
The calcification tends to occur around the site of a recent surgery or wound, and a simple acne or minor cut could also cause the deposits. The other causes can be:
Failure or malfunctioning of the kidneys. The weak kidneys fail to get rid of the excess calcium and phosphates in the body, and eventually lead to the deposition of calcium residues on the skin. This can happen due to perspiration on the face as well.
Over-stimulation of the thyroid gland can also be one of the reasons as it has a tendency to create too much calcium and phosphates in the body. This later results in the deposition of these elements on the skin, and mostly on the face.
Ingestion of vitamin D may be a casual factor, and not necessarily a cause. But if you are taking supplements of this vitamin due to some other health problems, make sure you consult your doctor, if you observe these deposits on your face.
Diseases like the Paget's Disease of the bones or different bone cancers and tumors related to the bone, can also be one of the major reasons of this condition.
Treatment
Surgery is one of the best options, of course, recommended by a healthcare professional, to remove the deposits.. But if you have multiple deposits on the face which keep collecting, surgery is not the cure.
Treatment in these cases is quite difficult as there are many depositions on the face which cannot be removed through surgery.
You can investigate the causes of the underlying depositions consult with your doctor for necessary treatments.
Though these hard lumps can be very painful, they are not harmful to the body. You can use ice packs to reduce the pain.
Many oral medicines could be useful but use them only through prescription. Cortisone injections are advised to reduce the pain but this too should be used after prescription.
If the pain increase too much, always check if the depositions have increased and at this stage, surgery is the only treatment to remove the lumps from the face.
Possessing information about the causes and treatments, you can be sure to get relief from pain, but since this is a disorder for life, make sure you reach the root of diagnosis.