Symptoms and Management of Lupus as an Autoimmune Disease.

    • Symptoms and Management of Lupus as an Autoimmune Disease.

      Lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease, which occurs when the body's immune system attacks the surrounding tissues and organs resulting in inflammation. In fact, until now lupus has been suffered more by women than men. The incidence of lupus is also more common in Asians with blacks and using oral contraceptives. In addition, lupus affects many groups who experience menarche (first menstruation) faster than women her age.

      Lupus can be detected after several symptoms appear, such as:
      Fever, feeling tired quickly, pain and stiffness in the joints accompanied by swelling in some cases.
      Red rashes appear on the face area, around the cheeks and the edges of the nasal bones.
      Lesions appear on the skin that will get worse when exposed to sunlight.
      Shortness of breath, headache, and dry eyes.
      The emergence of inflammation of the joints or organs of the heart, lungs, and kidneys.
      Based on the severity of symptoms, lupus can be categorized into three viz
      Mild, if the symptoms that appear are limited to pain in the joints, red rashes appear on the skin, and often feel tired.
      Moderate, if mild symptoms appear followed by inflammation of the lungs, heart, and kidneys.
      Severe, if inflammation in internal organs endangers the health of the heart, lungs, brain, and kidneys, it can even endanger the lives of sufferers.

      The exact cause of lupus is unknown. Some of the factors that trigger the emergence of symptoms of lupus include sunlight, infection, and the use of drugs or medical therapy. Sun exposure can trigger skin lesions and other organ responses in the body. Infection in some people can trigger a recurrence of lupus. While the use of drugs to control blood pressure and antibiotics can trigger the emergence of lupus symptoms. Usually, when the use of these drugs is stopped, the symptoms that appear will disappear by itself.

      Protection from UV rays such as sunblock or sunscreen is very important for people with lupus, especially when outdoors. Preferably, the sunscreen or sunblock used contains SPF 50 or more. It is also important to always implement a healthy lifestyle, consumption of nutritious foods and regular exercise. To reduce the symptoms that appear, ibuprofen and corticosteroids are usually used as medical therapy from a doctor. It is also recommended for lupus sufferers to use special drugs to suppress the immune system so that the severity of lupus does not increase.