Diagnosis

Your doctor may diagnose morphea by examining the affected skin and asking about your signs and symptoms. Your doctor might also take a small sample of your skin (skin biopsy) for examination in a laboratory. This can reveal changes in your skin, such as thickening of a protein (collagen) in the second layer of skin (dermis). Collagen makes up your connective tissues, including your skin. It helps make your skin elastic and resilient.

It's important to distinguish morphea from systemic scleroderma and other conditions. So your doctor might have you undergo a blood test or refer you to a specialist in skin disorders (dermatologist) or diseases of the joints, bones and muscles (rheumatologist).

If your child has head and neck morphea, take him or her for regular comprehensive eye exams, as morphea may cause unnoticeable yet irreversible eye damage.

You might undergo ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging to monitor disease progression and your response to treatment.