the autoimmune professor

Lupus is a disease that many do not understand or are even aware of. The Lupus Foundation of America did a survey and found that 63% of Americans had never heard of lupus or know very little about it. This lack of awareness is one of the reasons why lupus awareness month is so important.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease where your immune system attacks the healthy parts of your body. Additionally, it can cause inflammation that will affect your skin, joints, blood, and organs. The inflammation and the attacks from your immune system can cause many different symptoms that include, but are not limited to, arthritis and joint pain, fevers, fatigue, rashes, sun sensitivity, heat and cold intolerance, hair loss, and swelling. Most people with lupus have periodic flare-ups where the symptoms worsen for a bit and then get better or even sometimes go away over time.

Because of the many symptoms as well as the flare-ups, it is very hard to get a diagnosis. The early stages do not usually exhibit a consistent pattern of symptoms. The cause is also not really well known, but doctors think that it is a combination of things that trigger your immune system to attack your body. These can include your genes, hormones, environment, and even medications.

There are more than one type of lupus. The most common form is systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and is where the faulty immune system inflames and attacks different organs. Lupus nephritis is inflammation of the kidneys due to SLE and can lead to kidney damage. Cutaneous lupus is where the immune system causes skin rashes or lesions, which includes discoid lupus, the most common form and is where the rash looks like a disc and is red or scaly. Drug-induced lupus is where medication causes a form of lupus; however, it is possible that symptoms will stop when you stop taking the medication.

There have been great strides in medications that treat the symptoms of lupus, but there is still no cure for the disease.