3 Types of Sweet's Syndrome

Certain medications and medical conditions can have adverse effects on the body and this may cause other illnesses. These illnesses can be mild or severe depending on the part of the body that is affected and the underlying conditions. Sweet's syndrome is one of these illnesses. Fortunately it is one of the less severe illnesses.

Sweet's syndrome was first described in 1964 by Dr. Robert Douglas Sweet, a British Dermatologist, as Acute Febrile Neutrophilic Dermatosis. It is characterized by a sudden high fever, increased white blood cell count and a rash that causes painful skin lesions on the face, neck, back and arms. Although the syndrome can be painful and uncomfortable, it usually isn't serious.

Sweet's syndrome mainly occurs in women between the ages of 30 and 50 years, but it can occur at any age and in both males and females. There was a case of a 10 day old baby with Sweet's syndrome. This is the earliest age of onset that is recorded. The syndrome can last from one week to several years and it will usually clear up on its own, but there are treatments that will speed up the healing time.

Symptoms of Sweet's syndrome are a sudden skin rash, high temperature, tiredness, aching joints, headaches and sore eyes.

There are three types of Sweet's syndrome that are grouped together based on the causes.

Classic or idiopathic Sweet's syndrome is often preceded by an upper respiratory infection, but the cause isn't always known. Classic Sweet's syndrome accounts for more than 50% of cases.

Malignancy-associated Sweet's syndrome is usually more severe. An average of 20% of patients with Sweet's syndrome has an associated cancer. The most common cancer that is associated with the syndrome is Myeloid Leukemia. It may also be associated with myelodysplasia and chronic myelogenous leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin's disease. Although it is very rare, osteosarcoma, head and neck cancer and rectal cancer have also been associated with Sweet's syndrome. It has also been associated with prostate cancer, but only one case was proved that this type of cancer was the actual cause of the Sweet's syndrome.

Drug Induced Sweet's syndrome is caused by certain prescription drugs. There have been reported cases that Sweet's syndrome has been caused by using the drugs Hydralazine (used to treat high blood pressure), Minocycline (antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections), Norflaxin (antibiotic), Furosemide (potent diuretic), lithium (used to treat manic depression) and Trimethoprim/Sulphamethoxazole (antibacterial combination drug). It can also be caused by oral contraceptives (birth control pills).

Sweet's syndrome is uncommon but not rare, although it is listed as "rare disease" by the Office of Rare Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. A disease is considered "rare" by the Office of Rare Diseases if it affects less than 200,000 people in the United States population. There have been several hundred cases reported in medical literature.