What is Lupus by Rhonda Childs

Lupus is a disease that causes your own immune system to aggressively attack the major organs and tissue in your body. This disease can have a serious impact on the major organs in your body which cause inflammation in many areas like your joints, brain, heart, lungs, skin, kidneys, and blood cells. Lupus is a disease that is very serious and can become fatal if it’s not treated and recognized at its early stages. This disease is more prevalent in women than in men and mostly prevalent in African Americans, and possibly in Hispanic, Asian, and Native American women and less in Caucasian women.

Lupus is a disease that is very hard to diagnose because the signs and symptoms are so common to other diseases, which causes problems when doctors are trying to diagnose the disease, that’s why it is very important not to leave out anything when describing your symptoms to the doctor. There are some signs that are only common in lupus but those signs do not always show up in every person who is diagnosed with this disease. The cause of this disease is unknown and research that is being done on lupus is telling us that our genes play a major role. It is more than genes that determine whether or not you will get this disease because there are many things that can trigger this disease.

When doctors are running tests, be aware that there is no one test that will diagnose lupus and that it may take many months or years before you are diagnosed with lupus. When you start to experience signs and symptoms that you have never experienced before make an appointment to your doctor.  This does not mean you will be diagnosed with this disease but what it will do is keep you aware of changes that are occurring in your body. Many of us don’t realize and recognize the changes that are occur in our body and sometimes it becomes too late and now you are in the most fatal stages of this disease or any other disease.

Trying to cope with lupus or any other disease is not easy but there are something’s that you can do to help you deal with it from day to day. One of the things you can do is try and maintain a healthy diet, ask your doctor about healthy foods to include in your diet and what are something’s you should avoid. Also exercising is very important in dealing with the stress that can come with being diagnosed with lupus or any other disease. Relaxations are another way to coping and having a great support group there to support you through your time of difficulty is also helpful. Families and support groups can help you come up with other ways to cope. Being diagnosed with any disease can be a challenge to any one that’s why it is very important to do your research, recognize the changes that are occurring in your body, and remember to tell your doctor all the signs and symptoms that you are experiencing because you are the key to helping your doctor find the right diagnoses and treatment.

References:

MayoClinic.com

CDC-Center for Disease Control and Prevention

WebMD.com

NIH-National Institute of Health

Lupus Foundation of America