What is Lupus Disease?

Lupus disease can be described as an auto immune disorder that affects the skin and many other internal organs like heart, kidneys, lungs, brain, etc. Both men and women can suffer from this disease. However, for some unknown reason, women are at a higher risk of getting lupus disease. It has also been observed that women of African American, Asian and Hispanic origin are more prone to this disease. It can occur to people of any age group but it is found more commonly in those who are in the age group of 15-45 years. In the following sections of the article we have discussed what is lupus disease more elaborately.

What is Lupus Disease

When our body is in healthy condition, the immune system releases specific antibodies, a specific type of protein, that helps to destroy the viruses and the bacteria that are harmful for our body. When the lupus disease develops, then the body fails to distinguish between germ infected cells and healthy cells. As a result, the antibodies produced by the immune system starts attacking those cells and tissues which are healthy.

Now that we know what is lupus disease, let us see what are the different types of lupus. When we talk about lupus disease, in general, we refer to Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE. This is the most serious form of the disease and it affects many parts of the body including the skin, joints, tendons and even vital organs like heart lungs, kidneys etc. When talking about lupus disease, you must have heard people asking about 'what is lupus of the skin'. Medically, it is known as cutaneous lupus which is further categorized into two subtypes. One is discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE) that causes scarring on the skin while the other one is Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus (SCLE) that does not give any kind of scars. Usually, they do not affect any other organs of the body, except the skin. In some cases, people with discoid lupus may get SLE in future. There is also a drug induced lupus which is triggered by certain medicines. Its symptoms are often the same as that of SLE, which usually goes once the intake of the specific medicine is stopped. A rare form of lupus is neonatal lupus where the autoantibodies are passed on by the mother to the fetus.

What are the Causes and Symptoms of Lupus Disease

So far, what causes lupus, is not clearly known to us. In some people it is a hereditary condition and it runs in their family. In others it could be triggered by certain external factors like mental stress, side effects of medicines, some viral infection, exposure to sunlight or some chemicals and so on. As more number of women tend to get affected by it, there is a possibility that certain hormones can be responsible for causing the disease.

There are a large number of symptoms of lupus disease and they vary with each individual case. Some of the most common signs and symptoms are as follows:

• Pain and swelling in the joints of wrist, elbow, knees, ankles, etc.
• Skin lesions that appears on the face, neck, back, arms, etc.
• Malar rash which are red colored rash that appear like a butterfly and mostly occur on the nose and cheeks.
• Photosenstivity or extreme sensitivity towards ultraviolet rays. As a result, lupus symptoms tend to get aggravated with exposure to sunlight.
• Mild to severe kidney problems.
• Blood clotting problems.

How is Lupus Disease Treated

Diagnosis of lupus disease is not at all easy. It may take several months to diagnose the disease. It requires thorough physical examination, studying of the medical history, blood test, skin biopsy to identify the disease. Unfortunately, this disease cannot be cured completely. Therefore, the aim of the treatment for lupus is to reduce the severity of the symptoms. Lupus rash treatment involves application of corticosteroid creams which have a soothing effect on the lupus rash. Anti-inflammatory medicines are prescribed to bring down the pain and inflammation of the joints. For other serious problems that are related to kidney, blood clotting, specialists need to be consulted.

Hope, you have clearly understood what is lupus disease and what causes it. As the disease is incurable, the lupus patients have to bring about changes in their lifestyle to prevent flaring up of the symptoms. It includes eating well-balanced meals, exercising regularly and avoiding sun exposure as much as possible. Getting a good amount of rest is also essential to keep the mind and body free from stress.