Editing Erythema multiforme (section)

== Signs and symptoms ==

The condition varies from a mild, self-limited rash ([[erythema multiforme minor|E. multiforme minor]])<ref>{{DorlandsDict|three/000036713|erythema multiforme}}</ref> to a severe, life-threatening form known as '''[[erythema multiforme major]]''' (or '''erythema multiforme majus''') that also involves mucous membranes.<ref>{{cite journal |vauthors= Leaute-Labreze C, Lamireau T, Chawki D, Maleville J, Taieb A
|date= October 2000 |title= Diagnosis, classification, and management of erythema multiforme and Stevens-Johnson syndrome
|journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood |volume=83 |issue=4 |pages=347–352 |doi=10.1136/adc.83.4.347 |pmid= 10999875
|pmc=1718505 }}</ref>
Consensus classification:<ref>{{EMedicine|article|1122915|Erythema Multiforme}}</ref>
* Erythema multiforme minor—typical targets or raised, edematous papules distributed [[wikt:acral|acrally]]
* Erythema multiforme major—typical targets or raised, edematous papules distributed acrally with involvement of one or more mucous membranes; epidermal detachment involves less than 10% of [[total body surface area]]

The mild form usually presents with mildly itchy (but itching can be very severe), pink-red blotches, symmetrically arranged and starting on the extremities. It often takes on the classical "target lesion" appearance,<ref name="pmid17168345">{{cite journal |vauthors=Lamoreux MR, Sternbach MR, Hsu WT |title=Erythema multiforme |journal=Am Fam Physician |volume=74 |issue=11 |pages=1883–8 |date=December 2006 |pmid=17168345 |url=http://www.aafp.org/afp/20061201/1883.html |access-date=2008-08-19 |archive-date=2021-08-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210828075049/https://www.aafp.org/afp/2006/1201/p1883.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> with a pink-red ring around a pale center. Resolution within 7–10 days is the norm.

Individuals with persistent (chronic) erythema multiforme will often have a lesion form at an injury site, e.g. a minor scratch or abrasion, within a week.  Irritation or even pressure from clothing will cause the erythema sore to continue to expand along its margins for weeks or months, long after the original sore at the center heals.{{citation needed|date=June 2015}}

{{Gallery
|Image:Target_lesion_1.jpg|Target lesion
|File:Erythema Multiforme target lesions on the leg, Nell Brigham, 2011.jpg|Erythema Multiforme target lesions on the leg
|File:Erythema multiforme tongue.jpg|Erythema multiforme of tongue
|File:Riehl Zumbusch Tafel XXIX (2).jpg|Erythema multiforme of head and limbs
}}