Symptoms and treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a fairly serious disease, but you should not immediately tune yourself into the fact that a person’s life has ended. Most often at risk are girls and women, less often men and children. More recently, this disease was equated to fatal and incurable, and a person, having lived only five years, was dying, but today it is quite possible to overcome this pathology, it is enough to get acquainted with the main symptoms and treatment.

Why does lupus occur?

The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) refers to systemic lupus erythematosus as an autoimmune disease.

Naturally, not a single pathology arises on its own, so it is worth considering the main reasons. Systemic lupus erythematosus can occur in such cases:

1. First of all, people who like to sunbathe suffer.
2. If a person is in constant stressful situations during his life.
3. There is a disease due to hypothermia.
4. Excessive exercise can also cause lupus.
5. Diseases such as measles, flu, and rubella can ultimately lead to complications of lupus.
   
6. A disease can also be transmitted by heredity, for example, if someone from the family has already encountered this problem.

Neither doctors nor scientists can say exactly why the disease occurs, sometimes several causes are required for the manifestation of the disease.

What is a disease?

Systemic lupus erythematosus has several classifications, and each stage of this disease is accompanied by its own symptoms and has its own characteristics.

1. The disease can manifest itself in an acute form, in which case all the symptoms appear very quickly.
2. The subclinical onset of the disease is also distinguished, when the symptoms manifest gradually and are not always recognized at the initial stage.

Lupus erythematosus can flow in different ways. If all the symptoms began to manifest quickly, then they cannot be overlooked, so patients can tell you exactly in what period of time they noticed that they were sick. The first symptoms that accompany the disease are associated with fever and unpleasant joint pain. There is such a thing as a subacute course of the disease, in which case a sick person may not immediately notice that he is sick, and sometimes even think that he develops a common cold, until characteristic rashes begin on the skin.

No less dangerous is the chronic manifestation of systematic lupus erythematosus, but with such a course, prognoses for treatment are considered the most favorable, since the processes in the body do not cause lightning damage, but develop gradually, which means they can be treated.

Manifestations

If a person develops systemic lupus erythematosus, the symptoms may be as follows:

1. Most often, the main blow falls on the joints, so almost 90% of all sick people suffer from arthritis. It may be that all the joints become inflamed at the same time, or it may happen that the pains are wandering. The problem is that the disease affects small joints, so pain is given to the muscles.
2. Skin rashes are considered characteristic. The face begins to blush, first of all, redness appears near the cheekbones and on the nose. Redness can be observed in other areas of the skin, for example, on the neck, arms, legs in the decollete. Over time, redness may pass, and there will not even be a trace, but it can periodically appear, for example, from exposure to sunlight.
3. Together with the characteristic skin, problems with the hair cover can occur, for example, hair loss begins, nails change, they become brittle or, conversely, resemble plates affected by a fungus.
4. A disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, whose symptoms and complications should not be underestimated in the future, also affects internal organs. Sick people need to pay special attention to the cardiovascular system, different in nature of the lesions of the lungs and kidneys, but the most important thing is the defeat of the central nervous system, and a person can always be disabled.

If there is a suspicion of a disease, it is worth noting that the patient, in addition to the listed symptoms, can notice the following changes in the body: there is constant weakness, a person becomes irritable and suffers from frequent headaches, sleep disturbance, in especially severe cases there may be periodic convulsions.

How to diagnose the disease?

To determine precisely that the patient has a disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus, the diagnosis should include a large number of tests. First of all, the doctor should pay attention to such signs:

1. Rashes on the face, which are most localized in the nose and on the cheeks.
2. Peeling of the skin, which can leave scars after itself.
3. Sores can form in the oral cavity.
4. Lesions of small joints and the development of the inflammatory process in them are clearly expressed.
   
5. Any other deviations in the work of internal organs.

Of course, an external examination of the patient will not be enough, so additional tests are prescribed. Systemic lupus erythematosus is exactly the disease that is unlikely to be diagnosed by eye, because it can easily be confused with any other pathology associated with joint damage. All patients primarily turn to the therapist, who prescribes a huge number of tests, here are the main ones:

1. Be sure to have to pass a general blood test.
2. An ultrasound of the internal organs is prescribed.
3. An x-ray of the lungs and joints.
4. Liver and rheumatoid tests are taken for the presence of arthritis and rheumatism.

Having performed all tests, the therapist will be able to accurately determine whether a person has systemic lupus erythematosus (ICD-10 - M.32). Often the disease is severe, and most likely the patient will be redirected to a rheumatologist for treatment.

In addition, other doctors can engage in therapy, for example, it can be: a dermatologist, nephrologist, pulmonologist and immunologist.

How should a patient with lupus erythematosus behave?

Some people who have been diagnosed with lupus erythematosus, for some reason decide that life ends there, but this is not so, it’s enough to keep yourself in a good mood and set up to fight this disease, as a person can immediately feel improvement. Consider the main tips that you should listen to in order to alleviate your general condition:

1. First of all, you need to carefully listen to your body, for example, with severe fatigue, you should lie down and rest, you may need to develop a special regime of the day. If the human body is working for wear, then soon a relapse should be expected.
2. Be sure to get acquainted with all the signs of the disease, especially with how they can manifest themselves during an exacerbation. Do not expose yourself to stress and depression, avoid excessive rest in the sun. An aggravation can cause an ordinary cold or even eating foods that are prohibited.
3. If systemic lupus erythematosus is manifested in children, that is, the need to give the child adequate physical exertion, for example, from childhood, the baby can engage in quiet sports, you can choose swimming.
4. Adults need to get rid of bad habits, you can not smoke and drink alcohol.
5. We must set ourselves up so that the disease can be defeated, if not cured to the end, but made sure that it stops developing; for this, treatment must be carried out by a qualified doctor with extensive experience.

Relatives and friends in this case should support the patient. Only feeling support, it will be possible to say that it will be easier for a person to cope with this problem psychologically, which means that it will be possible to avoid unnecessary stress and depression. It should be clearly understood that systemic lupus erythematosus is not a sentence.

Foods That Shouldn't Be Used

It is possible to maintain the body in order if you eat right, which is why doctors advise against eating certain foods if a person has been diagnosed with lupus erythematosus. Consider the main dishes that should generally be excluded from your diet:

1. A sick person should forget about fatty foods forever, you should not visit fast foods where butter, vegetable and olive oil are used for cooking. Such foods can cause serious problems with the cardiovascular system.
2. If a diagnosis such as systemic lupus erythematosus has been made, recommendations exclude the use of different drinks, for example, it is forbidden to drink strong tea, coffee and anything that may contain caffeine.
3. The intake of salt is also considered dangerous, so all food should be with a limited amount. The fact is that salty foods can put a huge strain on the kidneys, which are already affected by the disease, and this, in turn, will provoke an increase in blood pressure.
4. To drink alcohol, a patient with lupus erythematosus should generally forget. All alcoholic beverages are harmful in themselves, and in combination with such a disease, the harm from them can be three times greater.

Despite the fact that the disease is one that requires special attention and has not yet been fully studied, systemic lupus erythematosus can occur in various forms, and some features of the disease have already been studied by scientists. In this regard, the nutritionist may make some exceptions, for example, allow a cup of coffee to be drunk once a week, but each patient should clearly understand that a lot depends on himself.

Diet for lupus erythematosus

In addition to the prohibited foods listed above, there are others that should be included in your daily diet:

1. It is important to ensure that vegetables and fruits are always present on the table of a sick person. They contain a huge amount of minerals and fiber. Such food can not only be useful, but also is relatively economical for the budget.
2. It is worth making sure that there are foods in the diet that contain vitamin D and calcium. The fact is that lupus erythematosus can cause osteoporosis complication, and with the help of these nutrients this problem can be prevented.
3. You should strive to ensure that the sick person consumes more dairy products, such as kefir, cheese, sour milk.
4. If you eat healthy cereal, you can provide your body with vitamin B.
5. In no case should you deprive a sick body of protein, because it helps to cope with the disease. Therefore, many doctors recommend that patients eat meat, but which does not contain fat. Chicken, veal, turkey and rabbit are ideal for this. Great for food and fish, for example, you can eat herring, tuna, pink salmon.
6. For a person who is sick with systemic lupus erythematosus, it is important to develop a drinking regimen correctly. It is advisable to drink at least eight glasses of liquid per day. It is forbidden to drink soda. Only purified water will help to improve the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract.

When a patient is diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus, clinical guidelines also play an important role.

How to treat lupus erythematosus?

We can definitely say that it is almost impossible to completely cure the disease, but it’s quite possible to stop the processes that destroy the internal organs and bones, for this it is worth listening carefully to your body and following the recommendations of doctors. As soon as a person has the first symptoms and suspicions that he has systemic lupus erythematosus, tests can either immediately confirm the suspicions or refute them, here you can’t do without specialists. The main goal of treatment is to suppress the autoimmune response of the body. As a rule, such drugs can be prescribed to patients:

1. A sick person must be prescribed glucocorticosteroids. With lupus erythematosus, it is impossible to do without hormonal drugs. The fact is that it is with their help that it is possible to remove the inflammatory process and suppress immunity. Thanks to the use of these funds, doctors have been able to significantly extend the life of their patients, so today the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus without glucocorticosteroids does not make sense. A person who carefully follows all the doctor’s recommendations and constantly monitors the intake of these drugs will be able to increase the periods of remission, which allows to make the patient’s general condition stable. First of all, doctors can prescribe the use of a drug such as Prednisolone to the patient. Some experts say that there are times when hormones can be ineffective. This happens if the patient is constantly taking drugs, the dosage was incorrectly selected, or the treatment was started too late, when the disease has already passed into a difficult stage.
   
   Cases are considered frequent when a woman or a child refuses to take hormonal drugs, as they affect weight or may appear in other side effects. But before you take such a risky step and refuse to take medication, you should carefully study all the clinical recommendations. Systemic lupus erythematosus cannot be treated without hormones. Naturally, their administration can cause such side effects as: stomach ulcers, increased pressure and increased blood sugar, but this will have to be fought in parallel.
2. Doctors must prescribe cytostatics to their patients. Such drugs are prescribed in parallel with hormonal drugs, they also help to suppress immunity. Cytostatics are recommended in particularly complex cases of the disease, for example, when the disease develops very quickly, internal organs are involved in the process, and dependence on hormonal drugs appears. Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus with cytostatics can be carried out using such means: Azathioprine, Cyclophosphamide. Taking these drugs will help reduce the onset of symptoms, the dependence on hormones will disappear, and the activity of the disease will decrease.
3. Non-steroidal drugs aimed at relieving inflammation are prescribed to the patient. In tablets, Diclofenac is allowed.

Sometimes plasmapheresis is additionally prescribed to the patient. During this procedure, metabolic products that provoke inflammation are removed from the blood of a sick person.

Preventative measures

Basic preventive measures are designed to prevent relapse. In many cases, you can simply determine that a person has systemic lupus erythematosus. A photo of the face of such a person can easily give out this disease, but if the patient is treated, then such signs may not be noticed. The main preventive measures include:

1. It should be constantly monitored by a specialist and take all the tests on time.
2. In no case do not skip taking the prescribed drugs without the permission of a doctor.
3. To be able to correctly allocate your time, develop a regimen when the body should rest, and when to work.
4. Make sure that the dream becomes full.
5. Adhere to a special diet and exclude many harmful products from food.
6. More to be in the fresh air, temper and play sports.
7. If there are skin lesions, then special ointments containing hormonal substances should be used.
8. Avoid prolonged exposure to the sun and use special creams for protection.

Using correctly all of the above recommendations, it will be possible to prevent the development of a disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus. Photos of the skin of the face of many sick people who are successfully undergoing treatment are no different from photographs of people who are not sick with this terrible disease.

Forecasts

Modern medicine gives patients a chance to live to a very old age. Naturally, a prognosis can be made only when it becomes known at what stage the disease is and how successful the treatment will be. , , , , . . , . , . . , , , , , , . , , , , , .