Lupus Mid Atlantic

I recently participated in the Lupus Mid-Atlantic Community Walk. I have Lupus, but Lupus does not have me.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is a chronic,inflammatory disease in which the body's immune system fails to serve its normal protective functions and instead forms antibodies that attack healthy tissues and organs. You can think of it as your body being allergic to itself.

Causes of Lupus? the cause of Lupus is unknown. While scientists believe there is a genetic predisposition to the disease, it is known that certain factors also play a critical role in the setting off the disease:

infections

antibiotics ( especially those in the sulfa group) or certain other medications

pregnancy

ultraviolet lights

extreme stress

Who gets Lupus? Between 1.2 and 2 million people have been told by a doctor they have lupus,making it more common than AIDS, cerebral palsy,multiple sclerosis, sickle-cell anemia and cystic fibrosis combined!

Lupus can occur at any age and in either sex, although it appears at least 10 times more frequently among adult females that among adult males. The symptoms of the disease are the same in men and women. People of Hispanic, African, Native American and Asian origins are thought to develop lupus more frequently than Caucasians.

TYPES of LUPUS. There are 3 types of : Cutaneous, Systemic, and Drug induced lupus.

Cutaneous lupus is limited to the skin and is identified by a rash that may appear on the face, neck, or scalp. Sometimes lupus first appears only in the skin,but goes on to become systemic( throughout the body).

Systemic lupus is usually more sever than cutaneous lupus and can affect almost any organ or system of the body. The skin,joints,lungs,kidneys, brain, blood or other organs and tissues may be affected. generally , no two people with lupus will have identical symptoms. Lupus may include periods in which few, if any, symptoms are evident( remission) and other times in which the disease becomes active ( flare).

Certain prescribed drugs can create a lupus-like syndrome called drug-induced lupus, which is similar to systemic lupus. The drugs most commonly connected with drug-induced lupus are: hydralazine( used to treat hypertension) and procainamide( used to treat irregular heart rhythms0> not everyone who takes these drugs will develop drug-induced lupus. When these medications are discontinued, the symptoms of lupus usually fade.