Lupus
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects many parts of the body. Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system begins doing the opposite of what it is supposed to do, meaning that it does not recognize the body’s cells and begin attacking them as if they were invaders. There are different types of lupus and this paper will cover Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, the most common type of lupus. Despite being such a common disease, lupus is difficult to diagnose due to the fact that its symptoms mimic other diseases. On top of that, there is no known cure for lupus, but there are ways to keep it under control so that the people with it can live relatively normal lives. The cause of lupus is currently unknown, but thanks to the extensive …show more content…
This makes it difficult to recognize and diagnose (Multicultural Communities). Some of the most obvious exterior symptoms are rashes on the face usually on the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose, skin lesions due to sun exposure, hair loss, and digits turning blue or white when exposed to the cold (Sutton, pg.198). There are also symptoms inside the body, but the damage done there can lead to more severe issues. Someone with lupus affecting the lungs would have serious chest pain due to inflammation. Diagnosing lupus is no easy task because there is no single test that can give a certain diagnosis due to the variety of symptoms in each person. It can take years of tests before a doctor can give a confirmed lupus diagnosis. They must take a complete medical history and give many tests before they can come to the conclusion that their patient has lupus. One of the most common tests measure the level one’s blood count to see if the patient has anemia, or low white blood count, which is a symptom of lupus. Tests that identify autoantibodies in the blood are the most useful, but doctors may also take biopsies of a patient’s skin or liver. Doctors may also take X-rays of the lungs to check for inflammation or echocardiograms to check for lupus related heart problems (Mayo …show more content…
In a poll done among Americans among the ages of 18-34, 72% had no idea what lupus was other than the name itself. One foundation estimates that 1.5 million Americans suffer from some form of lupus as well as over 5 million people worldwide. Although lupus can affect anyone no matter their age or gender, it is more prevalent in people 15-44 years of age and it is more likely to develop in women than in men by ninety percent. On top of that two out of three of those women are women of color. The type of lupus focused on in this paper, systemic lupus, makes up 70% of all lupus cases. Due to the fact that genetics play such a role in the likelihood of being diagnosed with lupus, 20% of people who have lupus have an immediate family member who has or may develop lupus. There is also a 5% chance that children of a parent with lupus will also develop the disease themselves. Thanks to the improvements in medicine today, the majority of people treated for lupus go on to live a normal life span. Despite this, however, it is theorized that 10-15% of people with lupus will die prematurely from complications of the disease (“About
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects many parts of the body. Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system begins doing the opposite of what it is supposed to do, meaning that it does not recognize the body’s cells and begin attacking them as if they were invaders. There are different types of lupus and this paper will cover Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, the most common type of lupus. Despite being such a common disease, lupus is difficult to diagnose due to the fact that its symptoms mimic other diseases. On top of that, there is no known cure for lupus, but there are ways to keep it under control so that the people with it can live relatively normal lives. The cause of lupus is currently unknown, but thanks to the extensive …show more content…
This makes it difficult to recognize and diagnose (Multicultural Communities). Some of the most obvious exterior symptoms are rashes on the face usually on the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose, skin lesions due to sun exposure, hair loss, and digits turning blue or white when exposed to the cold (Sutton, pg.198). There are also symptoms inside the body, but the damage done there can lead to more severe issues. Someone with lupus affecting the lungs would have serious chest pain due to inflammation. Diagnosing lupus is no easy task because there is no single test that can give a certain diagnosis due to the variety of symptoms in each person. It can take years of tests before a doctor can give a confirmed lupus diagnosis. They must take a complete medical history and give many tests before they can come to the conclusion that their patient has lupus. One of the most common tests measure the level one’s blood count to see if the patient has anemia, or low white blood count, which is a symptom of lupus. Tests that identify autoantibodies in the blood are the most useful, but doctors may also take biopsies of a patient’s skin or liver. Doctors may also take X-rays of the lungs to check for inflammation or echocardiograms to check for lupus related heart problems (Mayo …show more content…
In a poll done among Americans among the ages of 18-34, 72% had no idea what lupus was other than the name itself. One foundation estimates that 1.5 million Americans suffer from some form of lupus as well as over 5 million people worldwide. Although lupus can affect anyone no matter their age or gender, it is more prevalent in people 15-44 years of age and it is more likely to develop in women than in men by ninety percent. On top of that two out of three of those women are women of color. The type of lupus focused on in this paper, systemic lupus, makes up 70% of all lupus cases. Due to the fact that genetics play such a role in the likelihood of being diagnosed with lupus, 20% of people who have lupus have an immediate family member who has or may develop lupus. There is also a 5% chance that children of a parent with lupus will also develop the disease themselves. Thanks to the improvements in medicine today, the majority of people treated for lupus go on to live a normal life span. Despite this, however, it is theorized that 10-15% of people with lupus will die prematurely from complications of the disease (“About