Lupus Symptoms

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune connective tissue disease that can affect any part of the body. Most commonly lupus symptoms are seen during the childbearing years, between 15-45 years of age.  Common predominately to females, this is a disease that involves the immune system and affects about 1.5 million Americans, 90% of those diagnosed with the lupus are females.

As in any other autoimmune diseases, the immune system attacks the body’s cells and tissue, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage. Naturally, a person’s immune system works by producing immunity cells and antibodies, special substances that fight germs and infections. But when a person has lupus, the immune system goes into overdrive and cannot differentiate between some of the body’s normal, healthy cells and germs that can cause infection. So the immune system responds by making auto antibodies that attack the body’s normal cells. The auto antibodies are produced by inflammatory responses that occur when mistakenly directed against their own tissues. This mixed up reaction can occur in any organ, so recognizing the range of problems seen in lupus patients can be difficult and confusing and is best evaluated by a specialist.

There is no one specific cause of lupus. There are, however, a number of environmental triggers and a number of genetic susceptibilities. There is a genetic predisposition to developing an autoimmune disease such as lupus. Lupus can become present with symptoms for the first time in the setting of an environmental trigger such as an infection, medication, or sun exposure. These triggers can also cause a flare of lupus in those with the established disease. But most of the time we cannot identify the specific trigger for an individual patient. Sex hormones, such as estrogen, likely contribute to the appearance of the disease in the susceptible host.

There are many signs and symptoms of lupus. Most common lupus symptoms are joint pain or swelling, muscle pain, fever with no known cause, red rashes, often on the face also called the “butterfly rash”, pain when taking a deep breath, hair loss, pale or purple fingers or toes, sensitivity to the sun, swelling in legs or around eyes, mouth ulcers, swollen glands, feeling very tired. Other symptoms include decreased red blood cells count or anemia, headaches, dizzy spells, feeling sad or depression, confusion, and seizures. Lupus symptoms in women are ten times more common than in men in this age group however, younger and older individuals can also develop lupus.

Lupus symptoms are intermittent. The times when a person is having symptoms are called “flares”, which can be mild, moderate or severe. Symptoms may appear gradually as time passes. There is no one test to diagnose lupus, and it may take months or years for doctors to make the diagnosis. There is no cure for lupus, but medicines and lifestyle changes can help control it. The goals of health plans for lupus are to prevent flares, treat flares when they occur and reduce organ damage and other problems.