Lupus

3 Pages 641 Words

Systemic lupus erythematosus, or simply lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease or immune system malfunction. A person's immune system normally protects the person from viruses, bacteria and other foreign materials. When a person has an autoimmune diseases like lupus, the immune system turns against itself and attacks itself.
Lupus does not have a known cause, and because of that it has no known cure. The exact cause of lupus is unknown, but scientists suspect that it is likely to be a combination of factors, people who contract lupus are probably genetically predisposed to lupus, and know that environmental factors such as infections, antibodies, ultraviolet light, extreme stress and certain drugs play a critical role in triggering lupus.
Managing lupus is different from person to person. Individuals with lupus can usually live a normal life span. Medications are usually prescribed to patients, although treatment is not required at all times, but most patients will undergo some treatment. Some medications that are often prescribed for people with lupus are nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), acetaminophen, corticosteroids, antimalarials and immunomodulating drugs. The treatment goal for lupus is to stop the immune system from attacking & destroying vital organs. Another popular treatment for lupus is simply exercising and eating right.
Since we have no known cause of lupus, you cannot prevent it. It is sometimes referred to as a chronic disease because there in no cure at the moment and if a person experiences lupus’ symptoms that person will have lupus forever.
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, ra...