When someone has lupus they have a different outlook on life. For patients with this disease, even

     There are three different types of Lupus. They are: Discoid, Systematic, and Drug-Induced. Discoid Lupus only effects a persons skin. The only symptom of Discoid Lupus is a rash. Systematic Lupus is the most common form of Lupus. It effects

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 ." #

The most common symptoms are fatigue, rashes, or joint pain. Other symptoms that might develop are skin problems, sensitivity to light, neuropsychiatric problems, fever, changes in weight, hair loss, and/or swollen glands. Some specific skin problems are skin rashes, i.e., the facial butterfly rash. Raynaud’s phenomenon is often common, affecting the fingers, toes, ears, or tip of the nose. About 90% of lupus patients have fatigue in various degrees. Symptoms depend on what body organs are affected and how seriously they are affected. This disease can cause problems in nearly any system of the body, including the:

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.

Szuda, Stephanie “Health: Life with Lupus.” The Times. 11 Jan 2008. 19 Nov 2010. <Mywebtimes.com>

Lucci the patient had systemic lupus erythematosis, his silver eyebrows pointed to heaven, and he broke out into a big smile. When he asked me to explain why the patient had lupus, I named the fourteen manifestations of lupus and told Dr. Lucci the diagnosis of lupus was contingent on a patient's having at least four of the fourteen manifestations. His patient did indeed have five of the fourteen manifestations: non-deforming arthritis, Raynaud's phenomenon, in which the hands exhibit a two-phase color change when placed in cold water, alopecia or hair loss, oral ulcerations, and what appeared on the chest X-ray to be a pericardial effusion which suggested pericarditis.

ANA: test for these autoantibodies (very general); DsDNA (+): Making antibodies to and attacking own DNA; Anti-Sm (+): these antibodies generally interfere with the cells metabolism and are responsible for the symptoms specifically seen with SLE. Here, they are specifically targeted at smooth muscle. CRP elevated: also indicates presence of inflammation, but is more specific towards disease activity; ESR elevated: indirectly indicates the activity of the disease and presence of inflammation; C3 and C4 (decreased): C3 and C4 usually attack the membranes of viruses and bacteria, but in the case of lupus, they attack the own body’s cells. When C3 and C4 suggest the disease is active

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).

“The majority of people with Lupus are female, and most first develop signs and symptoms of the illness between the ages of 15 and 44.” (S.L.E. Lupus Foundation). Lupus discriminates against African American, Latina, and Native American Women. “African-American women are three times more likely to get Lupus than Caucasian women and the disease is two times more prevalent in Asian-American

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

A common example of CL is a rash across the bridge of the nose, known as the butterfly rash, and over the cheeks. In Cutaneous Lupus sores can develop in the scalp, and on the neck and face. Only ten percent of people who have Cutaneous Lupus will develop Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

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.

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,

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is a chronic autoimmune disease which causes inflammation of your joints, tissues, and organs. The inflammation presents itself as heat, pain, swelling and redness. SLE is a variable disease that doesn’t take any one particular course; therefore its unpredictability makes it even more devastating. No two people will experience the same disease symptoms or severity level. As S.L.E progresses there will be periods of very subtle to no symptoms at all called remission or an exacerbation of symptoms called flares.

Seems Lupus is getting disobedient ... It’s time to teach it some discipline. But, before that you have to bring it in your life.