Systemic Lupus is an autoimmune disease that occurs when your body’s immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems and organs such as kidneys, liver, heart, and eyes to list a few.

Symptoms

When you have lupus, something happens to your body’s natural defense system (immune system) to make it work erroneously. Instead of only targeting bad elements like viruses and bacteria, it also attacks healthy cells and tissues of one’s body. As pointed out above, lupus will attack your vital organs and tissues.

Causes of Lupus

Doctors do not know what exactly causes lupus. They think genetics, hormones, and environmental factors may be involved. It is an interplay of nature and nurture debate as to whether the gene pool is more at play or the environmental paradigm.

Your body’s immune system protects you from bacteria, viruses, flu, and other ‘foreign invaders’. Under normal conditions, the body’s immune system fights it back. However, in Lupus, your own immune system mistakenly attacks your own body.

You could be born with a predisposed gene that makes you more likely to get lupus. You might also be exposed to something in your environment that triggers the disease. Your genes are the sets of instructions that tell your body how to work. Changes to your genes can sometimes lead to this disease as well.

Types

The symptoms you have depend on what areas of your body the lupus is affecting. However, the most common ones include:

• Intense fatigue
• Fever
• Severe joint pain and muscle aches
• Skin rash on the face
• Extreme sun sensitivity
• Weight loss
• Chest pain on taking a deep breath
• Nose, mouth, or throat sores
• Enlarged lymph nodes
• Poor circulation in fingers and toes
• Bald patches and hair loss

Diagnosis

Lupus is a difficult disease to diagnose because its symptoms can be vague. Unlike some other diseases, it cannot be diagnosed with a single lab test. However, when certain clinical criteria are met, lab tests can help confirm a diagnosis of lupus. Your neurologist and rheumatologist have a very important role to play in the diagnosis of Lupus. Your motor functions, viral tendencies, and such medical metrics indicate if something is wrong with the immune system. Obviously, the competence of the consultant is of critical importance.

Treatment

Patients of Lupus can cope well with Lupus and live long and healthy lives. Although there is no cure for lupus, there are treatments and lifestyle changes that can help you manage your symptoms.

Treatment for Lupus or Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) depends on your symptoms and how severe they are. Treatment can help:

• Ease your symptoms
• Bring down inflammation
• Prevent and relieve flares (relapses)
• Prevent organ damage and other health problems

If you need healthcare assistance for a patient living with lupus, we are here to help. Contact Holistic Healthcare Services at 03 111 678 679 for information regarding home health care services. We serve in major cities including Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Sialkot, and nearby cities. We provide patient care and nursing services to patients, the elderly, and disabled people in the comfort of their homes.