In honor of Lupus Awareness month coming up, I wanted to take another opportunity to provide some facts about the disease. More than 2/3rd of people have never heard of lupus and I know before I was diagnosed, I had only heard of it once or twice. It did bring a small amount of comfort to me when I was diagnosed that it wasn’t foreign to me, so I hope to do the same for someone who has recently been diagnosed, will be, or know someone that has been diagosed.
What is lupus?
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that can damage the skin, joints and/or organs. Lupus causes the immune system to not tell the difference between foreign invaders such as viruses, bacteria, and germs and healthy tissue. This results in autoantibodies attacking and destroying tissue. It can cause inflammation and pain throughout the body. There is currently no cure.
What causes lupus?
Lupus is caused by a couple different interacting factors such as inherited genes, environmental exposures, which include certain medications, extreme exposure to ultraviolet rays and viral exposures at certain key times. Female hormones are also likely to play a role in the development of lupus.
Lupus sometimes appears in certain families and when there is no known relative with the disease, sometimes there is a relative that has another autoimmune disease.
What are the symptoms of lupus?
- Extreme fatigue (tiredness)
- Headaches
- Painful or swollen joints
- Fever
- Anemia (low numbers of red blood cells or hemoglobin, or low total blood volume)
- Swelling (edema) in feet, legs, hands, and/or around eyes
- Pain in chest on deep breathing (pleurisy)
- Butterfly-shaped rash across cheeks and nose
- Sun- or light-sensitivity (photosensitivity)
- Hair loss
- Abnormal blood clotting
- Fingers turning white and/or blue when cold (Raynaud’s phenomenon)
- Mouth or nose ulcers
Who gets lupus?
Lupus mostly affects women; however, men, children, and teenagers may develop it as well. The ages range from 15-44. Minority women are 2 to 3 times more likely to develop lupus than Caucasian women.
What is the leading cause of death in lupus patients?
Heart attacks and related cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in lupus patients. Kidney failure and serious infections can also be a cause of death.
Other things to remember…
Lupus is not contagious. It tends to be an invisible disease. Just because someone appears fine (i.e. you don’t see a rash), they may still be experiencing extreme fatigue, joint pain, and other symptoms you can’t see. It’s important for people suffering with lupus to get a lot of rest to prevent such flares from the disease. Severe flares can include damage to the heart, kidney disease, or kidney failure.
I hope these quick facts helped you learn a little more about lupus or even made you aware of the disease. Individuals with lupus can still live a full life if they take their medications, keep up with their doctor, and strive to live a healthy lifestyle by eating healthy and exercising.
All facts via www.lupus.org