Scleroderma

Scleroderma (pronounced, skler-uh-dur-mah) is a hereditary, systemic, auto-immune disease that makes the body produce excess collagen. Scleroderma can effect almost every part of the body, but mainly the arms, hands, feet and face as well as the heart, lungs, esophagus, and kidneys causing a thickening and hardening of the skin. Symptoms include numbness and pain in the extremities, acid reflux causing sore throats, swollen fingers, thickened patches of skin, and tightening of the skin on the face, hands, and around the mouth. There is no cure for scleroderma, but there are treatments. For more information please visit the scleroderma foundation: www.scleroderma.org