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What 11 Common Criteria or Measures are used to diagnose Lupus?
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Causes of lupus
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Symptoms of Lupus
Lupus is said to be a great imitator – the symptoms of lupus could often be mistaken to be symptoms of other illnesses like blood disorders, diabetes, heart disease, kidney, bone, or lung disease. Hence why it has become even more important to be aware of this invisible underlying autoimmune condition that you could be totally neglecting and only treating symptoms of other illnesses.
No two people have the exact signs or symptoms, but most lupus patients have these symptoms in common:
- Fatigue – it is very important to recognize that a lupus fatigue is very different from a healthy person feeling tired.
- Butterfly shaped rash – many but not all lupus patients have this red rash on their cheeks and over the bridge of the nose. Lupus patients can have this red rash on their face, neck, chest or on other parts of their body as well. An interesting fact, it is this butterfly rash, that you can actually see, is said to be “one of the most visible symptoms of lupus”, that’s why butterfly is used as a symbol for lupus, a symbol for hope for lupus patients and lupus is denoted with purple colour. While the symbol for lupus is a butterfly, the word lupus itself a Latin word for ‘wolf’ and it was used to describe the erosive facial lesions that were similar of a wolf’s bite which were later referred to as discoid lupus. I guess back then anyone who survived a wolf’s bite would have been a real warrior, hence why lupus suffers are often called lupus warriors. Fascinating and equally confusing combination of a wolf and a butterfly to represent lupus.
- Joint pain, stiffness, and swelling – these were the first indicator for me in 2007.
- Anaemia – which is low count of red blood cells. Lupus is common in women and so is anaemia.
- Abnormal blood clotting is another sign – I experience that all the time. I usually find unexplained dark patches on my legs, highs, hands and it often looks like a bruise, but I can never recall getting injured.
- Hair loss – I have is thin, brittle hair, and lots of hair fall. Lupus damages hair follicles that causes hair to fall out and it can also be a side effect of lupus medication. For some lupus patients, they can get lupus flare on their head which could lead to alopecia – that is the total loss of hair (at one stage I had also ended up losing all my hair and I will give you more information on that in my upcoming videos, so keep watching).
- Other symptoms include having fever, skin lesions, fingers and toes turning white or blue when exposed to cold (Raynaud’s disease), shortness of breath, chest pain, mouth ulcers, dry eyes, blurry vision, could experience confusion, memory loss, weight fluctuation, depression, sun or just in general light sensitivity and so on.
Just like the causes of lupus, the symptoms of lupus are also quite broad. I would say, you know yourself, you know your body, if you are experiencing something unusual in your body for a prolong period of time and there is no good explanation for it, then I suggest you be proactive and see your GP.
Coronavirus and Lupus
We are all in the midst of a global coronavirus pandemic and I am sure you must have heard that people with underlying health issues are at a greater risk. What does that actually mean for a person with an autoimmune condition such as lupus?
I have lupus which means that my immune system which is supposed to protect me from viruses and infections, is actually confused and is attacking my own healthy tissues and organs. My body is producing a lot of white blood cells which are hyperactive. To prevent my immune system from damaging my own healthy tissues, I have to take immunosuppressant medications to say make it less hyperactive.
I take Azathioprine or Imuran and Prednisone as immunosuppressants in combination with an antimalarial medication called Hydroxychloroquine (mostly known as Plaquenil) which is widely used to treat lupus.
Do I boost my immune system against viruses and infections and let my hyperactive immune system land me on hospital bed with life threatening lupus complications? Or do I suppress my immune system for lupus and become more prone to everyday viruses and infections and end up being seriously ill. I can’t win in either case. To fight off this coronavirus I need to have a strong immune system but for lupus my immune system is purposefully “drugged” to be lethargic.
This is why people with autoimmune condition such as lupus are at a higher risk of catching this coronavirus because most of us are on immunosuppressant medications.
You must have heard that Hydroxychloroquine (or Plaquenil), was said to be preventing, treating or curing coronavirus. According to COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance Registry, this is not true and there is on-going research on this.
Also, if you have an underlying health condition or autoimmune condition such as lupus, then please be pro-active into identifying symptoms of sars-cov2. Lupus and coronavirus symptoms overlap so please pay extra attention to your body if you start experiencing fatigue, muscle pain, fever and at the same time dry cough, shortness of breath, loss of smell or taste, chest pain, etc.
For people with lupus, we should be strictly protecting ourselves from catching coronavirus and everyone else should be strictly preventing spread of coronavirus.
For us lupus sufferers, we could take these measures to prevent ourselves from catching coronavirus:
- Stay in one bubble and limit physical contact with people outside of your bubble.
- Learn to say no to visits, family gatherings or visits to a sick relative. Most importantly, you know what’s best for you and should be able to decide for yourself.
- For those of you who are working, talk to your employers to make work arrangements so that you are not compelled to board public transports at peak hours or be in crowded places.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help from family and friends to run errands for you like shopping or getting prescribed medications.
- It’s okay to focus on your own mental health and well-being. Do things to avoid physical or emotional stress.
- Pay attention to other lupus triggers and take pro-active steps to manage those. I am sure the last thing you would want is to sit in hospital waiting room full of other sick people.
- If you have to go outside, wear a mask, use hand sanitizers, maintain distance from others, and avoid touching eyes, nose, mouth or face.
- Even though we are practicing physical distancing, do stay connected with loved ones through your phones or computer, stay informed on the developments of coronavirus cases in your locality, exercise and be active, and eat healthy.
For those of you with lupus, if you do contract coronavirus, then continue to take your prescribed lupus medications and contact your doctor immediately.
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