Lupus Essay

Some may include: Achy joints, Fever of over 100 degrees, arthritis, extreme fatigue, skin rashes, anxiety, kidney involvement, pain in the chest area or trouble breathing, rash, light sensitivity, hair loss, blood clotting problems, seizures, and mouth and nose ulcers. This is a giant list of symptoms, but many people who have Lupus do not experience more then one or two of these symptoms. (The Lupus Foundation of America, The Lupus Page)

Facial redness or a rash on the face appears in the shape of a butterfly. This rash is flat, patchy lesions can also occur on the face; these lesions are raised and rough to the touch. Some Lupus patients may lose their hair, and scarring on the scalp may be related to this. Lupus patients also experience photosensitivity, a harmful reaction to sunlight. Rashes can occur due to exposure to sunlight. People that have Lupus bruise easily. Ulcers may occur in the mouth, nose and throat ." #

One complication about lupus, is the flares that individuals will experience. People with this disease must have blood tests to predict these flares. When a lupus flare occurs, people will usually notice a return of the symptoms they experienced previously, but sometimes they will notice new symptoms. Some may be fever, swollen joints, increase in fatigue, rashes, sores or ulcers in the mouth or nose. A temperature over 100 degrees, not due to an infection, is often a helpful sign in identifying a flare. Other complications are it can cause insomnia, extreme fatigue, depression and poor body image. It also affects the central nervous system involvement which can cause memory and concentration difficulties. In some cases it can cause seizures. There are also risks in pregnancy such as stillbirth, or the mother may develop toxemia of pregnancy/preeclampsia which can cause things such as high-blood pressure, swelling and transient diabetes. Toxemia of pregnancy can be dangerous because it can cause spontaneous abortions or strokes. People with lupus also tend to get depressed because of the pain, fatigue and side effects from medication. The depression can be actually cause a flare in lupus in some cases.

“Lupus Foundation of America Commends FDA committee Decision to Approved Benlysta.” Medical New Today. 19 Nov 2010. 19 Nov 2010. <www.medicalnewstoday.com>

Juvenile lupus is a “disease in which the immune system is overactive and does not function properly” (College of Rheumatology). As with many autoimmune conditions, the immune system attacks healthy tissues. In the case of juvenile lupus the immune system attacks different organs in the body, which results in painful inflammation in the child (College of Rheumatology). There are multiple possible factors included in the cause of juvenile lupus, like hormones and the environment, but because the cause of lupus is still unknown, no one really knows how to prevent it from happening in children (College of Rheumatology). There is no cure for lupus, but there are many successful treatments to help children and teens with juvenile lupus (College of Rheumatology).

A woman comes into the hospital complaining of extreme fatigue that does not go away with rest, she has a fever over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and she has some skin sores and rashes, almost in a butterfly-shaped pattern across her cheeks and nose. After blood and urine tests, the signs and symptoms and physical examination findings leads to the diagnosis of lupus.

It is not rare for individuals with lupus to undergo muscle throbs and discomfort or have inflammation of certain muscle groups, which causes faintness and loss of intensity. More than 90 percent of people with lupus will encounter joint and/or muscle pain at some time during the path of their illness. In lupus, the immune system of the body raids its own cells and tissues. Precisely, the joints, skin, kidneys, lungs, heart, nervous system, and other organs of the body are affected. Lupus affects generally 10 times as many women as men. Most often, lupus develops in people 18 to 45 years old. (Lahita) Though lupus is most dominant among women, it also may affect men and children, as well as individuals of all ages. Lupus effects each person

The symptoms of Lupus can affect many parts of the body. These symptoms may develop slowly or appear suddenly; can be severe, mild, temporary,or permanent. The signs and symptoms depend on the part of the body Lupus affects. Some symptoms

The most common symptom of lupus is a butterfly shaped rash on the face (Web MD). It can also attack other organs and areas of the body. It also attacks the joints, similar to rheumatoid arthritis, causing them to be painful and swollen, and can attack the tissue that surrounds other organ systems causing complications (Web MD). Lupus causes all these problems because it mistakes healthy cells for diseased ones. This is because the body creates antibodies against its own cells, causing lymphocytes to attack and destroy healthy cells (St. Thomas Lupus

If one has or has had at least four of the preceding conditions, there is a strong chance that they may have lupus. Common symptoms of lupus as described by the Lupus.org website also include edema in the legs, feet, hands, and around the eyes, hair loss, abnormal blood clotting, Raynaud’s phenomenon, and painful or swollen joints. In a 2002 article from the journal Rheumatology about the long term complications of SLE, it is stated that although the

Systematic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune disease. This condition causes the body to mistaken its own tissues and organs as foreign bodies and begins attacking them causing continuing inflammation and pain. (Huether & McCance, 2012) The cause of SLE still remains unknown, but it is possible that is inherited as a complex trait or caused by environmental stimuli. (S) Anyone is at risk for Lupus, but is more common among women than men and is more prevalent of African Americans and Asians. (National Library of Medicine 2010, para 2) This condition can be difficult to diagnose, as a patient must present a number of the recognizable symptoms. Depending on the location that Lupus presents itself in the body, the symptoms

Most experts can agree that there are a number of factors that cause it; the causes of Lupus are from a combination of genetics and the environment. Sometimes people inherit what is called a “genetic predisposition” which means that they inherit the chance to eventually develop it. It is very hard to pinpoint one single source of cause that triggers Lupus like I mentioned before. Things in the environment like UV rays from the sun, or unrelated things like an infection or a pregnancy can trigger it. The symptoms of Lupus range from Extreme fatigue, headaches, photosensitivity, pain/swollen joints, and one clear indicator being a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheek or nose.

Lurking around the corner awaiting its next prey, Lupus will strike a person out of nowhere. Typically, Lupus searches for women and people of color. Lupus will aggressively attack the person’s body causing a profusely amount of pain, causing a ferocious load of fatigue, causing a domino effect of other disastrous maladies. Deceptive, Lupus masquerades as the other illnesses it induces; dubbing it the infamous “Great Imitator.”

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease marked by its effect on various parts of the body, including the joints, skin, blood, and kidneys. It is a condition in which the body's immune system attacks its own cells and tissues, resulting in pain, inflammation, and often damage to organs. Lupus involves the immune system. The immune system makes antibodies that work to protect the body against foreign substances like viruses and bacteria. Such foreign bodies are called antigens. When a person has lupus, his or her body is unable to determine the difference between antigens and the individual's cells and body tissues. As such, the immune system creates antibodies against the individual's own tissues. These antibodies are called autoantibodies. Depending on the type of lupus, a wide range of symptoms may be experienced, from rashes, hair loss, and achy, swollen joints to fever, anemia, and abnormal blood clotting. Though the disease can affect many parts of the body, individuals usually experience symptoms in only a few organs. There is no known cure for lupus. However,

For most people, Lupus is a mild disease affecting only a few organs. For others, it may cause serious and even life-threatening problems. People with Lupus are recommended to have regular medical appointments and take medications as prescribed. One of the most frustrating things for a Lupus patient is being sick. A person can look nice and healthy although they feel very bad inside. Another challenge is that there are no treatments for the most common complaint of Lupus patients: fatigue and memory loss.