Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), also known as lupus, is a disease of the immune system, which is estimated to affect more than 20,000 people in Australia and New Zealand.
Gender: Even though anyone can get lupus, it most often affects women. They're nine to ten times more likely than men to develop it. Age: Lupus can occur at any age, but most are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s. Race: Lupus is two to three times more common in African-American women than in Caucasian women.
The most common type, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), affects about 200,000 US adults. Anyone can develop SLE, but it is more common in Black and Latina women and women of childbearing age (15–44 years).
Sunlight, stress, smoking, certain medicines, and viruses may trigger symptoms in people who are most likely to get lupus due to their genes. Hormones such as estrogen. Lupus is more common in women during their childbearing years when estrogen levels are highest. Problems with the immune system.
Exposure to certain factors in the environment – such as viral infections, sunlight, certain medications, and smoking – may trigger lupus. Immune and Inflammatory Influences.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) may coexist, and they are chronic complex disorders, with an autoimmune background, multifactorial etiology, multiple circulating autoantibodies, and variable prognosis.
Lupus is a lifelong disease that can affect many parts of your life. But, many women with lupus live long, healthy lives. You can take steps to control your symptoms, prevent lupus flares, and cope with the challenges of lupus.
With close follow-up and treatment, 80-90% of people with lupus can expect to live a normal life span. It is true that medical science has not yet developed a method for curing lupus, and some people do die from the disease. However, for the majority of people living with the disease today, it will not be fatal.
The symptoms may also appear suddenly or gradually. Many people with lupus do not receive a diagnosis straight away because it can mimic other conditions, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and various others that affect the same organ systems.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus.
Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms.
No one test can diagnose lupus. The combination of blood and urine tests, signs and symptoms, and physical examination findings leads to the diagnosis.
Although doctors haven't proven that stress is a direct cause of lupus, it's known to trigger flare-ups in people who already have the disease. Stressful events that can make symptoms worse include: A death in the family. Divorce.
Prevention Tips
Exposure to UV rays from sunlight and other light sources can trigger flares in many people with lupus. Staying out of the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., applying sunscreen every day, and wearing sun-protective clothing can prevent UV rays from triggering a lupus flare.
With age, symptom activity with lupus often declines, but symptoms you already have may grow more severe. The accumulation of damage over years may result in the need for joint replacements or other treatments.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.
Most people with lupus who are old enough to drink alcohol can do so in moderation. Be aware, however, that alcohol can change the way the body uses or metabolizes certain medications, rushing them into the bloodstream. This can intensify both the good and not-so-good effects of medications.
You may get rashes on any part of your body that is exposed to the sun, such as your face, arms, and hands. One common sign of lupus is a red, butterfly-shaped rash across the nose and cheeks. Chest pain. Lupus can trigger inflammation in the lining of the lungs.
Many lupus patients aren't able to do intensive physical work, like waitressing or working in a grocery store. Jobs that involve standing for long periods, like working a cash register, greeting customers, or being a hostess at a restaurant, can be physically tiring as well as rough on the joints.
Almost everyone with lupus has joint pain and swelling, but depending on what part of your body the lupus is attacking, you could have other symptoms too. If it's your skin, you might have a rash on your face and body. If lupus attacks your digestive tract, you might feel sick to your stomach.
Lupus is not a hereditary condition.
Lupus often causes skin rashes, arthritis, mouth sores, sun sensitivity, hair loss, or kidney problems, but these symptoms don't show up in MS. Even when lupus affects your nervous system, its most common symptoms are migraine, personality changes, seizures, or stroke, but these aren't typical for MS.