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A granuloma is something that many people have experienced at one time or another. They’re actually fairly common, especially after injuries or infections. But they can also be quite alarming to see. Many people who develop a granuloma might look at the red, inflamed skin surrounding it and assume that something is terribly wrong. But the truth is that they are relatively harmless in most cases.
But it’s always good to learn more about things that can affect the body. And you may want to know how to treat these types of growths. So, let’s talk about granulomas. What are they? What causes them? And how can you treat them?
What Is A Granuloma?
In a basic sense, a granuloma is a collection of immune cells that can occur anywhere on the body.
And these collections of macrophages form a granuloma. Granulomas can be large or small and occur anywhere where there is an infection. Often they are red or pink and look like little bubbles of skin. In some cases, they can look pretty disturbing, which explains why someone with a granuloma might be alarmed at first. But granulomas are usually harmless.
However, there are many different kinds of granulomas, and some can be a cause for concern.
What Causes Them?
Granulomas are your body’s natural way of dealing with foreign substances. If you suffer from an injury or infection, your body naturally sends small cells called antibodies to attack any foreign bacteria and destroy them.
But sometimes, like if you have a step on a sharp piece of wood and it leaves a piece behind, your antibodies aren’t able to destroy the foreign substance. In these cases, your body instead produces something called macrophages. These macrophages are cells that surround the substance, effectively walling it off from the rest of your body. This prevents it from spreading infection.
But granulomas are common in so many different types of diseases that it’s tough to say what’s causing any specific form. For instance, people with tuberculosis often from them in the lungs where the body tries to block off the bacterial infection that causes the condition. This collection of cells often surrounds dead tissue inside the lungs, preventing them from spreading. In these cases, the granuloma is said to contain “necrosis,” or dead tissue.
In addition, fungal infections frequently result in these sorts of growths. One of the most common sources of lung granulomas is a fungal infection called histoplasmosis, which is caused when fungal spores settle in the lungs, triggering your body’s natural immune response.
And finally, another common form is called granuloma annulare. In this condition, the growths develop into large, reddish bumps in a ring-like pattern that can spread over wide areas of the skin, typically on the hands and feet. No one is sure just what causes these growths, but there are a few possible explanations such as insect bites, hepatitis infections, vaccinations, sun exposure, or minor injuries to the skin.
Usually, this condition is not harmful and doesn’t cause any real symptoms. But the ring like patterns can be unsightly and last for up to two years, so you might be interested in finding ways to remove them.
How Can You Treat Them?
Most granulomas are diagnosed by a simple visual examination, at least when they occur on the skin. A doctor can look at a granuloma and determine what it is in most cases. But to be safe, they may wish to remove some of the tissue to examine under a microscope. This lets them rule out any other possibilities such as tumors.
For granulomas inside the body, often the only way to detect them is usually with x-rays. This is how most lung granulomas are diagnosed.
And the way that a growth is treated depends on where it is on the body. When they are on the skin, treatment is often fairly simple. And in most cases, treatment is completely unnecessary, as they tend to resolve themselves within a few weeks. But there are a few different medications commonly prescribed to treat these growths.
The first is corticosteroids. Corticosteroids are a hormone that your body naturally produces in response to inflammation. But you doctor can also prescribe synthetic forms of the hormone in the form of a topical cream that should provide relief of symptoms.
And in cases where the growths are widespread, or don’t go away on their own, the doctor may also prescribe antibiotics or even anti-malarial drugs, which help to calm your body’s immune response.
So, let us know, do you have frequent granulomas? How do you treat them? Tell us in the comments.
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