Scleroderma Research Paper

Scleroderma is a long term autoimmune disease which is a chronic hardening and tightening of the skin and the connective tissues that affects eyes and other organs. This is a disease that can have devastating and lasting impacts on families and patients due to its uncommon effects. Scleroderma is not contagious, infectious, or cancerous. Scleroderma is classified as an autoimmune disease, which means that a person’s immune system works against itself. “The normal immune system protects the body by fighting off foreign invaders such as viruses and infections. In an autoimmune disease, the immune system mistakes a person’s own tissues as foreign invaders and set up a protective attack that backfires to cause problems”. In early 2009, my grandmother life as well as my life has changed forever when she was diagnosed with this Disease. It caused many changes in her, physically and mentally.
Scleroderma symptoms include joint pain, skin rashes, swollen blood vessels in the skin or ulcers. Common symptoms of this autoimmune disease are acid reflux, chronic cough, difficulty swallowing, dry mouth, …show more content…
Scleroderma is an ongoing research and scientists are still trying to find a cure for this autoimmune disease along with where it stems from. There are a few treatments that patients can receive to have it reduce any immediate pain. There are treatments for the bowel, to redirect the flow of blood, and to slow down the process of hardening the skin (Once it start it cannot be stopped). “Exercise may help improve your overall health” rendering to WebMD/scleroderma.com. Some doctors treat patients on the specific problem; physical therapy, ibuprofen, steroids, referring them to a dermatologist. Unlike other illnesses with once cure or one medication to fix the issue, scleroderma have many different solutions to