Henoch Schonlein Purpura

Is there treatment that has been effective for children with Chronic Henoch Schonlein Purpura. Is there some type of medicine that helps with the severe abdominal pain associated with this disease. Prednisone has been given almost every other month for the last two and 1/2 years and it does seem to help some, however the pain is not being controlled. What is the correct type of doctor to be treating chronic HSP?

My daughter had HSP at age 19 but did not develope the chronic form of this multisystem disease. I was told to see a nephrologist first, a gastointestinal doctor second, and a dermatologist third while we were in an acute stage. We saw the nephrologist first and he prescribed prednisone which gave my daughter almost immediate relief from the abdominal pain. Fortunately there was no kidney involvement. There has been no recurrence to date. If my daughter had a chronic form of the disease, I would have her seen at a major hospital in the closest city, Philadelphia - department of rheumatology since this is an autoimmune disease. If abdominal pain was the symptom, I would also take her to a gastrointestinal doctor - but again, at a major hospital. I continue to read online about HSP, various papers that have been published by doctors, etc. Many of the writings contradict each other so you must be discerning before jumping to conclusions. That being said, one article that I read said that there was statistical correlation between treatment with cortisteroids and recurrences of HSP.

hi, my name is eva, my son had hsp when he was 5 years old. im afaid it will return, you just got it at 19, how is it feeling?

I got an acute case of HSP when I was 5. I am now 35. I spent 3 months in the hospital and it has returned several times a year for the last 20 years. My 2 brothers both had mild cases and they havenever suffered a recurrance. It depends on the severity and what parts of the body were affected.