Cushing’s syndrome is a complex medical condition involving multiple organ systems. It causes stretch marks and thins the skin. Stretch mark therapy that uses skin creams won’t work in this condition. This disease also causes easy bruising of the skin and result in acne.
To understand how all this happens, we need to know what causes Cushing’s syndrome. Cushing’s syndrome is caused by excessive levels of cortisol circulating in the blood stream. The most common cause of this is a pituitary gland tumour. This tumour causes increase production of cortisol through the adrenal glands and result in multiple systemic effects. Skin manifestations of the disease are only part of a larger group of symptoms you can get from it.
It also causes poor wound healing. If you ever scratch yourself during the course of the disease, you’ll realize the scratch marks take a long time to heal. You will also begin to put on weight especially at the abdominal and back area. Some people will have a hump sort of formation at the upper part of their back, frequently called as “Buffalo Hump”. It also results in diabetes, osteoporosis, infertility and irregular menstrual periods in women.
The problem with Cushing’s syndrome is that it is not a condition that goes away overnight. As a result, stretch marks won’t go away overnight. The red or white stretch marks frequently seen on the thighs, abdomen and breasts will remain for a while. Laser therapy, microdermabrasion for stretch marks and cocoa butter also don’t work in people with Cushing’s syndrome. If you want to see it going away, you will first need to stop abnormal cortisol secretion. Although the majority of cases are caused by a pituitary gland tumour, you might find that an adrenal tumour can also cause that. Chronic use of steroids can also result in Cushing-like manifestations in a person.
If you are suffering from Cushing’s syndrome, go to your local doctor and find out what treatment options are there to help you.