What autoimmune disease causes facial swelling?

Author: Federico Botsford  |  Last update: Sunday, October 5, 2025

Facial swelling with erythema represents quite an unusual manifestation of chronic cutaneous lupus erythematosus. Dermatomyositis, systemic lupus and Morbihan disease are the main differential diagnoses.

What autoimmune diseases cause a puffy face?

What causes a moon face?
  • Autoimmune diseases like lupus and Addison's disease.
  • Blood disorders like anemia.
  • Certain cancers like blood cancer and lymphoma.
  • Inflammatory diseases like arthritis and asthma.
  • Skin conditions like poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac.

What medical condition can cause facial swelling?

Causes of facial swelling may include:
  • Allergic reaction (allergic rhinitis, hay fever, or a bee sting)
  • Angioedema.
  • Blood transfusion reaction.
  • Cellulitis.
  • Conjunctivitis (inflammation of the eye)
  • Drug reactions, including those due to aspirin, penicillin, sulfa, glucocorticoids, and others.
  • Head, nose, or jaw surgery.

Can lupus cause swollen face?

Cutaneous involvement in lupus erythematosus (LE) is quite common and includes a broad range of manifestations. Although facial swelling with erythema is a common presentation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), it is quite an infrequent manifestation of exclusively cutaneous lupus.

What autoimmune diseases affect the face?

The most recognizable skin conditions are facial rashes. They typically lead to a diagnosis of Lupus or dermatomyositis, although other diseases could be possible or co-exist. The classic “butterfly rash” covers the cheeks and nose and is often a first sign of Lupus.

Top 10 Signs of Autoimmune Diseases - A Rheumatologist's Guide

What does facial lupus look like?

Lupus facial rash

A typical sign of lupus is a red, butterfly-shaped rash over your cheeks and nose, often following exposure to sunlight.

What is the hardest autoimmune disease to diagnose?

Vasculitis: Vasculitis involves inflammation of blood vessels, leading to various symptoms depending on the affected organs. The diagnosis often requires imaging studies and biopsies, making it one of the more challenging autoimmune diseases to identify.

What autoimmune disease causes fluid retention?

Lupus Nephritis. Lupus nephritis is kidney inflammation due to lupus, an autoimmune disease. Symptoms can include fluid buildup in your body and increased urine output. About half of adults and 80% of children with lupus will develop lupus nephritis.

What organ causes puffy face?

Your face can get a rounded, “moon-faced” swollen look from this rare condition. It happens when your adrenal glands make too much of the “stress hormone” cortisol for too long. You might also have more fat around your belly and neck, weaker muscles, and purplish bruises or stretch marks.

Is facial swelling a symptom of MS?

But other troubling, less common symptoms of multiple sclerosis can also develop — such as facial swelling. “My face and legs swell every day no matter what I do,” shared one MyMSTeam member.

What does cortisol face look like?

“Cortisol face” isn't an official diagnosis

It's a combination of fat accumulation and soft issue swelling, associated with thinning of the skin. All of this can lead to a more round-looking, puffy face with pinker cheeks.

What illness makes your face swell?

Common face swelling causes include: Allergic reactions, including hay fever, bee stings or food allergies. Drug reactions, including medication allergies and side effects. (Prednisone can cause facial swelling in some people, for example.)

What are the 11 markers for lupus?

The 11 criteria included were malar rash, discoid rash, photosensitivity, alopecia, Raynaud phenomenon, oral/nasal ulcers, arthritis (non-erosive arthritis involving 2 or more peripheral joints), serositis (pleurisy or pericarditis), renal disease (proteinuria greater than 500 mg daily or cellular RBC, granular, ...

How do you get rid of autoimmune swelling?

Historically, treatments include:
  1. anti-inflammatory drugs – to reduce inflammation and pain.
  2. corticosteroids – to reduce inflammation. ...
  3. pain-killing medication – such as paracetamol and codeine.
  4. immunosuppressant drugs – to inhibit the activity of the immune system.
  5. physical therapy – to encourage mobility.

What is lupus belly?

Lupus can also cause other problems in the abdomen, including peritonitis (inflammation of the abdominal lining) and ascites (a build-up of fluids in the abdomen). Symptoms of peritonitis and ascites include: Abdominal pain and swelling. Nausea and vomiting.

What is the biggest indicator of lupus?

Lupus involves periodic flare-ups, in which symptoms intensify, and remission, in which symptoms lessen or disappear. The most common symptoms include fatigue, painful and swollen joints, skin rashes—most notably, a butterfly-shaped rash across the face—unexplained fever, and mouth or nose ulcers.

What does lupus hair look like?

The most common type of lupus, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), can cause dry, coarse hair to develop along the hairline. These dry, coarse hairs break off easily, causing the sparse-looking hair known as lupus hair. Other types of hair loss also develop.

What is the Sjogren's syndrome?

The hallmark symptom of Sjögren syndrome is dry mouth and keratoconjunctivitis sicca (dry eyes). Vaginal dryness, dry skin, and dry nose may also occur. Other organs of the body may also be affected, including the kidneys, blood vessels, lungs, liver, pancreas, and brain.

What is often mistaken for lupus?

Other skin conditions that sometimes mimic the skin problems of lupus include melasma, psoriasis, eczema (atopic dermatitis), and facial seborrheic dermatitis. A dermatologist can diagnose these skin conditions. The symptoms of clinical depression can mimic lupus symptoms, and vice versa.

What are lupus fingers?

Lupus Symptom: Raynaud's

Their fingers and toes become painful, numb, and tingly in response to cold temperatures or emotional stress. This happens when small blood vessels spasm and restrict blood flow to the area. During an attack, the fingers and toes may turn white or blue.

What does lupus do to your back?

Inflammation of Joints and Tissues

Lupus-related inflammation can affect the joints and soft tissues of the spine, leading to pain and discomfort.

What is the rarest autoimmune disease?

Asherson's syndrome is an extremely rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the development, over a period of hours, days or weeks, of rapidly progressive blood clots affecting multiple organ systems of the body.

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