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Everything You Need To Know About Lupus – Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the organs and tissues in your body. It causes inflammation that can affect your skin, joints, blood, and organs like your kidneys, lungs, and heart. Your healthcare provider can help you find medications to manage your symptoms and how often you experience flare-ups.
Each person with lupus experiences a different combination and severity of symptoms, but these are the most common.
Everything You Need To Know About Lupus
Lupus is a condition that causes inflammation throughout your body. It’s an autoimmune disease, which means your immune system harms your body instead of protecting it. Depending on where your autoimmune system damages tissue, you may experience symptoms in your body, including:
What Do You Know About Lupus?
See your doctor if you notice new pains, rashes, or changes in your skin, hair, or eyes.
Health care providers sometimes call it systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This is the most common type of lupus and means you have lupus in your body. Other types include:
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Lupus causes symptoms throughout your body, depending on which organs or systems it affects. Each person experiences a different combination and severity of symptoms.
Lupus Disability Benefits
Lupus symptoms usually come and go in waves called flares. During a flare-up, symptoms can be severe enough to affect your daily routine. You may also have periods of remission when you have mild or no symptoms.
Symptoms usually develop slowly. You may notice one or two signs of lupus at first, and then more or other symptoms. The most common symptoms include:
Experts don’t know exactly what causes lupus. Research has shown that certain factors related to your health or where you live can trigger lupus:
A healthcare provider diagnoses lupus with a physical exam and some tests. They will examine your symptoms and talk to you about what you are experiencing. Tell your provider when you first notice symptoms or changes in your body. Your provider will ask about your medical history, including any conditions you may currently have and how you treat or manage them.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Symptoms And Treatments
Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because it can affect many parts of your body and cause many different symptoms. Small changes or problems that are unusual for you can also be the key. Don’t be afraid to tell your provider about anything you feel or sense—you know your body better than anyone else.
There is no single test that can confirm a diagnosis of lupus. Its diagnosis is usually part of the differential diagnosis. This means that your provider may use several tests to rule out other conditions and determine what is causing your symptoms before making a diagnosis of lupus. They can use:
Your healthcare provider will offer treatments for lupus that will manage your symptoms. The goal is to reduce the damage to your organs and how much lupus affects your daily life. Most people with lupus need a combination of medications to help prevent inflammation while reducing the severity of symptoms. You may need:
You may need other medications or treatments to manage the specific lupus symptoms you have or other health conditions it causes. For example, if lupus is causing these problems, you may need treatment for anemia, high blood pressure (hypertension), or osteoporosis.
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You can’t prevent lupus because experts aren’t sure what causes it. If one of your biological parents had lupus, talk to your health care provider about your risk.
You can prevent and reduce lupus flare-ups by avoiding activities that trigger your symptoms, including:
Lupus is a lifelong (chronic) condition. You should expect to manage your lupus symptoms for the rest of your life.
Lupus can be unpredictable and its effects can change over time. You should visit your health care provider regularly so they can monitor changes in your symptoms.
Everything You Need To Know About Lupus
As you learn to live with lupus, you will likely work with a team of providers. Your primary care provider will recommend specialists who can help with specific problems or symptoms. You may need to see a rheumatologist—a health care provider who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of autoimmune diseases. Which specialists you should visit depends on how the symptoms affect your body.
There is currently no cure for lupus. Your healthcare provider can help you find a combination of treatments to manage your symptoms and hopefully put your lupus into remission (a long period of time without symptoms or flare-ups).
See your healthcare provider right away if you notice any new or changing symptoms. Even small changes in what you feel and experience can be significant.
If your treatment doesn’t seem to be controlling your lupus symptoms as well as it used to, talk to your provider. Tell your provider if you have frequent flare-ups or if flare-ups cause more severe symptoms. They will help you tailor your treatments as needed.
Lupus: Causes, Symptoms, And Research
Go to the emergency room or call 911 (or your local emergency number) if you experience any of the following symptoms:
Lupus can be a frustrating, debilitating condition. The pain, inflammation, and irritation in your body can be very tiring. But don’t forget to value yourself. Living with a chronic illness is hard work, and you deserve credit for managing your symptoms every day. If you think talking to someone about how you’re feeling might help, ask your provider about mental health resources and support groups.
Don’t be afraid to talk to your provider and ask questions. Even small changes in your symptoms or health can be signs that lupus is affecting you differently. Remember, you are the best judge of when something is wrong with your body. Living with a chronic illness can be difficult, especially when the condition is poorly understood by the majority of the population. This mainly applies to autoimmune diseases.
An autoimmune disease is a disease in which your body’s immune system causes inflammation and destruction of its own cells. Lupus, a complex autoimmune disease that affects millions of people worldwide, is one such disease.
Lupus 101: What You Need To Know
If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with this disease, it is important to understand the basics of lupus, its symptoms, causes, diagnosis and treatment.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), another name for lupus, is an autoimmune condition in which healthy tissues and organs are mistakenly attacked by the immune system. When you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system fights itself. The immune system is designed to protect the body from potential threats, such as infections, but in such cases it attacks healthy tissue.
It can cause inflammation of the skin, joints, kidneys, heart, lungs, brain, and blood cells and damage other parts of the body. Although the exact etiology of lupus is still unknown, scientists suspect that a mixture of genetic, environmental and hormonal factors contribute to the onset of the disease.
Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms are similar to other diseases. Because no test can definitively rule out lupus, health care professionals often combine a medical history, physical exam, blood tests, and imaging studies to make a diagnosis.
Lupus: Signs, Symptoms, And Complications
For a definitive diagnosis of lupus, at least four of the eleven criteria developed by the American College of Rheumatology must be present.
Treatment and Treatment Although there is no known cure for the disease, advances in medical research have produced effective medical treatments that can help patients manage their symptoms and avoid complications.
Coping With Lupus Coping with lupus involves not only physical management, but also emotional and psychological well-being.
Planning ahead and communicating with medical professionals is important for women with lupus who are considering becoming pregnant. Many women with lupus can have successful pregnancies and healthy babies with the right medical care. The risk of problems can increase with lupus, so constant monitoring is necessary during pregnancy.
Lupus Vs. Myositis: Differences In Symptoms And Treatments
The underlying mechanisms, possible causes, and new treatments for lupus are still being discovered through ongoing research in the field. Researchers are studying how lupus develops and how genetics, immune system disorders, and environmental factors play a role. Tailored medicines and improved disease management may result from these developments in the future.
Living with lupus comes with its challenges, but with the right information, support, and medical care, people with lupus can live happy lives. Contact Access Health Care Physicians for more information and to begin your healthcare journey.
The root cause of lupus is still unknown, as medical researchers are still trying to find its trigger. The autoimmune disease lupus can affect your entire body. Here’s information on common lupus conditions and how to prevent and manage them.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that occurs when your immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Lupus inflammation can affect many parts of the body, including the kidneys, brain and central nervous system, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and more.
Lupus And Your First Rheumatologist Visit
Lupus affects different people differently. Symptoms may appear suddenly or worsen over time. They can be light or heavy. Most cases of lupus are characterized by flare-ups, where symptoms temporarily worsen and then improve or disappear for a period of time.
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