Common Autoimmune Disease Symptoms Fatigue. Joint pain and swelling. Skin problems. Abdominal pain or digestive issues.
Many types of autoimmune diseases cause redness, swelling, heat, and pain, which are the signs and symptoms of inflammation. But other illnesses can cause the same symptoms. The symptoms of autoimmune diseases can come and go. During a flare-up, your symptoms may get severe for a while.
Unfortunately, during an AI flare, the regulatory T cells (also called Tregs), which are designed to control immune responses and maintain tolerance of the body's OWN antigens, are not functioning properly to prevent this immune system attack. As you can imagine, this causes a lot of inflammation in the body.
Factors that spur autoimmune disease flare-ups include stress, diet, drugs, pregnancy, changes in microbial populations, and seasonality [1, 2]. During a flare-up in autoimmune diseases, such as arthritis or lupus, a person's immune system attacks the body, leading to signs and symptoms.
These are your absolute best bet. Antioxidant foods: Berries, green leafy vegetables, citrus fruits, cruciferous vegetables (kale, cabbage, etc.), beans, tomatoes and beets. Omega-3 fatty acids: Olive oil, fish oil, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts or soybeans. These help reduce inflammation and the need for pain meds.
The exact cause of autoimmune disorders is unknown. One theory is that some microorganisms (such as bacteria or viruses) or drugs may trigger changes that confuse the immune system. This may happen more often in people who have genes that make them more prone to autoimmune disorders.
Having an autoimmune disease
The reason is unknown, but it is likely due to a combination of genetics and environmental factors.
The Link Between Autoimmune Disease and Women
Doctors aren't sure why autoimmune disease happens in the first place or why women are affected more than men. One theory is that higher levels of hormones in women, especially during the childbearing years, could make women more susceptible to autoimmune diseases.
Most autoimmune diseases cause inflammation. But the symptoms they cause depend on the body parts affected. You can have pain in your joints or muscles. Or you may experience skin rashes, fevers, or fatigue.
Psychological stress is reported to be a risk factor for autoimmune diseases, including Graves' disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Different types of stress and the length of time that stress is present might also affect the presentation of inflammatory autoimmune disease. There is no one known cause for autoimmunity.
Why autoimmune disease and fatigue go hand-in-hand is not entirely understood, although inflammation may explain some of it. Other possible factors include pain, poor sleep, inactivity, and depressed mood. If you experience fatigue that completely saps your energy , it's not a sign of weakness.
You may experience pain, fatigue, dizziness, rashes, depression and many more symptoms.
Causes and risk factors
While many people develop autoimmune disease without any identifiable cause, risk factors include being a woman of childbearing age, having a family history of autoimmune disease, being exposed to certain environmental irritants and being of certain races/ethnic backgrounds.
Autoimmune diseases can appear with a variety of symptoms. “Some of the common signs are joint and muscle pain, swelling, fatigue and weakness.
Although numerous studies have shown that fibromyalgia is not an autoimmune disease (conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, whereby the body attacks healthy tissues), reliable research concurs that this condition does weaken your immune system by causing various abnormalities and irregularities.
Avoid high doses of vitamin C, beta carotene, cat's claw, echinacea and ginseng, among others. Why add fuel to the fire? Doing so may cause you to slip out of remission and into more misery.
To this end, these studies have found that coffee intake can reduce the risk of Rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune thyroid disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, autoimmune liver disease, inflammatory bowel disease, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
Physical activity has been shown to help reduce inflammation, so regular exercise may help alleviate symptoms of autoimmune disease while boosting your physical and mental health. On the other hand, the body needs adequate rest to rejuvenate and repair itself, so make sure you're getting enough sleep.