Lupus Symptoms and Treatment
By: Mark MonteiroTotal Views: 45, Word Count: 695,
Many people search online as to what is lupus, as the concept of this disease is still not clear. It is an autoimmune disease which can damage any body parts may be skin, organs, or joints. Chronic means the symptoms and signs that can last for a long time, may be more than six weeks or several years. In lupus, your immune system faces some trouble to fight against bacteria, virus, and germs like flu. Usually, our immunity system makes proteins which act like antibodies that protect our body from these invaders.
What is Lupus?
If you are still not clear with the lupus concept, then below is a brief description about this disease, which can help you to understand it in a better way.
Types of Lupus
The common lupus is known as systematic lupus erythematosus or SLE. Other types of this problem are drug-induced, discoid (cutaneous), subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, and neonatal.
- Discoid lupus erythematosu results in skin rash that doesn't go away
- Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus results in soreness of the skin of the body which is exposed to sun.
- Drug-induced lupus usually is a side effect caused due to certain medicines
- Neonatal lupus is a rare type of lupus which usually targets new born babies.
Areas where it affects the Most
The immunity system protects our body by fighting against certain foreign substances in the body. If you have lupus problem, then you will notice problem with your immune system where it will attack healthy tissues and cells. This can damage your body parts like:
- Brain
- Blood vessels
- Joints
- Heart
- Kidneys
- Skin
- Lungs
Causes of Lupus
The exact cause of this problem is not known yet. However, according to research made, genetics are a key factor that can result in this problem. Nevertheless, genes do not play a role alone. There are other factors as well that affect your immunity system.
Some health care experts consider that lupus gets stimulated by factors like UV lights or viruses. Sometimes, symptoms of lupus make your immune system weak in such a way that your body gets easily affected to UV rays.
Other factor resulting in lupus is hormones. These body messengers help in smooth functioning of your body. Usually sex hormone called estrogen plays an important role in lupus.
Symptoms of Lupus
People with the problem of lupus will show symptoms in certain organs. For many people, lupus is manageable, while others face severe and serious problems which can be life threatening.
- Swelling in legs or around eyes
- Pain or swelling in joints
- Muscle pain
- Red rashes, most often on the face
- Mouth ulcers
- Chest pain when taking a deep breath
- Sensitivity to the sun
Diagnosing Lupus Problem
To diagnose this problem, your health care expert will tell you to perform certain physical exam, and ask you for your medical history. Many health care experts will look for certain signs and symptoms which can give you the information of functioning of the body’s immunity system.
Treatment for Lupus
There is a specific treatment to cure this problem. Medicines are given depending on its severity. However, research is still going on certain medicines which can fasten the curing process for this illness. If the problem is diagnosed at an early stage and proper medical attention is given to cure it, this can control the signs of this problem significantly. To treat lupus problem, doctors will try to improve your immunity system and control its symptoms. Medicines like high-dose of corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs like cyclophosphamide and azathioprine are also advised.
If you are still not clear about the concept of what is lupus, then make sure you talk to your doctor about this.
About the Author
Dr. Mark Monteiro is graduated from the Hazard University and done his MBA from the he University Of Illinois College Of Medicine. Currently he is working as general physician at Elmhurst Loyola Center for Health. For over 15 years he has been a pioneer in the field of physician health. He has contributed to the treatment of many diseases like- ASTHMA, TUBERCULOSIS, HIV, HEPATITIS AND ITS TREATMENT.
Advice Rating: Not yet rated
Login to vote