Do you have painful lumps on your shin or a lump causing shin pain? You may be experiencing erythema nodosum.
Erythema nodosum causes painful lumps, most often over or around the shin bone. Although, these lumps of pain can arise elsewhere as well.
This deep layer skin condition is inflammation of adipose tissue, aka panniculitis. And the resulting lump on shin is painful when pressed and often accompanied with what appears to be a bruise.
Erythema nodosum painful lumps start looking red and then in a couple of days turn purple. And a yellowish color means the lump is on the road to shin recovery.
Other symptoms you may have with your adipose tissue skin condition include:
- fever
- arthralgia
- leg or other lumpy area swelling
What caused your lump on shin erythema nodosum may never be known. However, sometimes these adipose tissue lumps of pain are associated with an infection, medications or other health conditions.
The most common cause of erythema nodosum relative to an infectious disease is a streptococcus infection, the pathogen that causes strep throat, cellulitis, impetigo and scarlet fever. A couple other infections known to cause these painful shin lumps are:
- leprosy
- syphilis
- yersinia
- tularemia
- chlamydia
- hepatitis B
- psittacosis
- tuberculosis
- leptospirosis
- mycoplasma
- histoplasmosis
- mononucleosis
- intestinal infection
- cat scratch disease
- coccidioidomycosis
- viral, bacterial pneumonia
A sensitivity to certain drugs is another causative agent for this adipose tissue health condition, including:
- progestin
- sulfa drugs
- some antibiotics
- oral contraceptives
Other health conditions associated with this skin condition involve:
- leukemia
- lymphoma
- pregnancy
- sarcoidosis
- Behcet’s disease
- inflammatory bowel disease ~ colitis, Crohn’s disease
Treatment for erythema nodosum starts by identifying and treating any underlying infection or health condition. If a drug is the cause of your adipose tissue skin condition, then you may be instructed by your health care professional to stop taking the offending medication.
A few of the options for treating the adipose tissue lump itself or pain and inflammation caused by the lumps are:
- analgesics for pain
- NSAIDs for pain & inflammation
- anti inflammatory for inflammation
- cold, warm compresses for discomfort
- oral potassium iodide solution for lumps
- corticosteroids, salicylate drug reduces inflammation
- limit activity & shin elevation reduces pain & swelling
Erythema nodosum skin lumps should be gone inside of 6 weeks. Unfortunately, another flare up of painful shins can occur.