Page 10 September 30, 2021 Berthoud Weekly Surveyor
What exactly is lupus?
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Health h • Fitness • Mind • Spirit piri p irit • Medicine dicine • Well-Being W
clotting, mouth sores, anemia, and memory problems such as confusion and forgetfulness. The symptoms typically come and go, since there are flares or episodes where they worsen, and periods of remission with improvement or where symptoms completely disappear for a period of time. Some flares can be mild, By Shelley Widhalm while others are more serious and require medical attention. The Surveyor ew symptoms can develop, while others may happen less often. The sympMy cousin, who lost her life to lupus at age 18, had the characteristic toms can come on suddenly or begin slowly, be mild or severe, and be tempobutterfly-shaped malar rash, plus fatigue and pain was a child, but never rary or permanent, according to the ayo linic. forgot the rash and how it didn’t detract from her beauty. To diagnose the disease, there isn’t a conclusive test to give answers, but it About half of people with lupus experience a red rash or color change across can be identified in other ways. Some methods include a medical history and their cheeks and bridge of the nose in the shape of tracking of symptoms, a review of family history of lupus a butterfly, according to the enters for isease and other autoimmune diseases, a complete physical ontrol. They have many other symptoms like exam, blood and urine tests, and a skin or kidney biopsy. prolonged fatigue, muscle and joint pain, fever, upus can be managed with treatment to help imshortness of breath and hair loss. prove symptoms, address them when they occur, reduce The disease’s many symptoms make it hard to organ damage, and prevent flares and the other probdiagnose since they can mimic and be mistaken lems caused by the disease, according to the . Treatfor symptoms of other diseases the symptoms also ment might include medications that reduce swelling vary from person to person, according to the . and pain, prevent the immune system from attacking the upus is caused by a combination of genetics organs and other tissues, reduce or prevent damage to and environmental influences and can be triggered the joints, and prevent organ damage, the states. by infections, certain medications and sunlight, The disease can cause death, though the improved according to the ayo linic. t is a chronic autotreatments allow those with the disease to live long, immune disease with no cure where the body’s imPhoto from Pinterest.com healthy lives. mune system attacks its own tissues and organs. The butterfly-shaped malar rash is a characteristic Other ways to keep the disease under control are to The disease is more common in women and af- indication of lupus. learn how to tell when a flare is coming, reducing stress, fects people of all ages, though it’s most commonly limiting time spent in the sun, eating a healthy diet, exdiagnosed between the ages of 15 and 45, accordercising moderately with doctor approval, and getting enough sleep and rest, ing to the ayo linic. upus also is more common in African Americans, according to the . Hispanics and Asian Americans, the clinic states. Alternatively, lupus flares can be triggered by stress, working too much, not The disease can affect any part of the body as it causes widespread inflamgetting enough rest, being out in the sun, having an infection, getting injured mation and tissue damage, most often in the joints, skin, blood vessels, brain, and stopping taking lupus medications, the states. arning signs can lungs and kidneys, according to the Lupus Research Alliance, the largest include worsening of symptoms or getting new symptoms like tiredness, pain, nongovernmental nonprofit funder of lupus research. a rash, fever, stomachache, severe headache and dizziness. Other symptoms of the disease can include sun or light sensitivity, skin The key to dealing with lupus is understanding the disease and how to lesions that appear or worsen with exposure to the sun, chest pain, blood manage it as a chronic condition.
