Women and Lupus
Studies tell us that there are over sixteen thousand new cases of Lupus see by doctors every year across the country. The most common type of lupus is called systemic lupus erythematosus. This disease can show up in any part of the body but generally it will be found in a few areas in each person. One patient might have a fever and swollen knees where another patients will show signs of kidney trouble and be tired all the time. Then there are those patients who will have only a few rashes. Symptoms of Lupus will typically develop slowly and these symptoms can stop and start again.
Lupus is a chronic, autoimmune disease. If you have chronic lupus then your symptoms have lasted longer than six weeks or maybe even years. This disease is a disorder of the immune system which is the system that fights of bacteria, viruses and other germs that invade your body. Autoimmune means that your immune system is no longer knowing which are invaders or which are healthy tissues and so it attacks them all.
There are many types of lupus and some that are not seen as often. Neonatal lupus is rare and is found in infants born to mothers who have lupus. These newborns could show a skin rash at birth, low blood cell counts or liver problems. These symptoms of lupus will fade away in a few months without any lasting effects. Doctors today can identify the mothers who are at risk of passing this disease to their babies. The infant can also be treated before it is born and live a healthy life along with its mom. Drug induced lupus is caused by prescription drugs. The symptoms are very similar to systemic lupus with major organs being rarely effected. Symptoms for this disease can show as a fever, joint pain or muscle pain and are generally mild. For most patients, once the prescription drug has been stopped, the symptoms will stop as well. This does not mean that everyone who takes this particular drug will show signs of lupus. It is known that nine out of ten people who get lupus are women and this disease is more common in Asian, Native American women and Hispanic women. Having lupus can also give the patient more of a chance to have heart disease and osteoporosis. The cause for lupus is unknown but seen more in women of child bearing years.
