An uncommon chronic skin disease, mainly affecting elderly people, in which large, sometimes itchy, blisters form on the skin.
Pemphigoid is thought to be an autoimmune disorder.
Diagnosis is made with a skin biopsy, and treatment is usually a long-term course of corticosteroid or immunosuppressant drugs.
(bullous pemphigoid) n. a chronic itchy blistering disorder most common in the elderly. The blisters most commonly occur on the limbs and may persist, unlike those of *pemphigus. Pemphigoid is an *autoimmune disease and responds to treatment with corticosteroids or immunosuppressant drugs. Ocular pemphigoid is a potentially blinding disease in which there is dryness, blistering, and scarring of the conjunctiva, leading to shortening of the *fornices due to adhesions (*symblepharon).
(pemphigoid gestationis) a rare autoimmune condition (1 in 10,000–1 in 60,000 pregnancies) that usually starts in the second trimester with itching preceding a widespread *polymorphic eruption with vesicles and blisters. It is associated with *intrauterine growth restriction and preterm delivery.... pemphigoid gestationalis
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