Contents:
- Medical Video: How Lupus Attacks Immune System? | Lupus disease - Manipal Hospital
- How common is lupus in Indonesia?
- Lupus facts that you should know
- 1. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease
- 2. Lupus has various types
- 3. 90 percent of lupus patients are women
- 4. Difficult to diagnose
- 5. Treatment depends on the type of symptoms
- 6. The cause of lupus cannot be known with certainty
- 7. Patients with lupus can live a normal life
- 8. Tends to attack certain races
Medical Video: How Lupus Attacks Immune System? | Lupus disease - Manipal Hospital
Ever heard of lupus? Indeed, at a glance this disease is not as popular as cancer, diabetes, stroke, or high blood pressure. But, this disease is in fact no less serious than the disease mentioned earlier.Lupus or in the medical language called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is one of the most common diseases that attack humans. Even though it suffers quite a lot of people, knowledge about this disease is still minimal.
Curious? Find out all the facts of lupus in this article.
How common is lupus in Indonesia?
In Indonesia, the number of people with lupus is not known in detail. However, according to data from the Indonesian Lupus Foundation (YLI) quoted from Republika, the number of people with lupus in Indonesia in 2012 reached 12,700. This number then increased to 13,300 people in April 2013.
Lupus facts that you should know
Most people with lupus are very few who are aware of suffering from lupus. Apart from because the symptoms are difficult to know, the symptoms of Lupus also vary in each person, depending on the number and type of antibodies produced and the organs affected. Because public knowledge about lupus is still minimal, here are some facts about lupus that you should know.
1. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the connective tissue and can damage several organs. Lupus occurs when there is a problem with the immune system and then attacks the body. This can affect joints, skin, lungs, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, nervous system, and blood cells.
2. Lupus has various types
Lupus is divided into several types, namely:
- Systemic lupus erythematosus, the most common type of lupus that attacks joints and organs
- Discoid lupus, which attacks the skin, causing the rash on the skin to not disappear
- Lupus due to drug use
- Neonatal lupus, attacks newborns
- Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, causes the skin exposed to sunlight to hurt
3. 90 percent of lupus patients are women
This disease most often affects women, even women 10 times at risk for lupus than men. Most often, lupus develops in people aged 18 to 45 years. Although lupus is most common in women, it can also affect men and children, as well as people of all ages. In addition, pregnant women will also be more susceptible to lupus. If lupus occurs during pregnancy, caution, maternal and fetal health may be disrupted, especially if not treated quickly.
4. Difficult to diagnose
The diagnosis of lupus is not easy and often late because symptoms that arise resemble the symptoms of various diseases. That is why, lupus is known as a disease that has 1000 faces. Because the symptoms are difficult to know, this is a challenge for the medical world to find new ways to properly diagnose lupus early on.
There are laboratory tests that can help the medical team diagnose lupus, but the results are not very accurate. That is why, to diagnose this disease, doctors need a long time. Doctors usually make a diagnosis from a combination of symptoms that the patient naturally follows with a medical history, family and laboratory tests.
5. Treatment depends on the type of symptoms
Until now the treatment of lupus depends on the signs and symptoms it causes. For example, if diagnosed the cause is a disruption of the immune system in the joints, then that part will be treated by a doctor. Generally, doctors will prescribe a class of NSAID drugs, namely non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen if the symptoms are limited to joint pain, muscle aches, fatigue, and skin rashes.However, the doctor may prescribe a high-dose drug if there are complications in some organs. That is why, the drug can also cause extraordinary side effects.
6. The cause of lupus cannot be known with certainty
As with the symptoms, the exact cause of lupus is still unknown. Although research shows that gene factors play an important role, but that is not the only one. For example, many studies have shown that sunlight and drugs can also trigger lupus.
7. Patients with lupus can live a normal life
With extra careful monitoring of lupus and the right adjustment of treatment, most lupus patients can lead a normal life. The biggest enemy of this disease actually comes from within the patient, when the patient loses hope, loses his enthusiasm, and gives up causing frustration and even depression which gives a bad influence on his health.
8. Tends to attack certain races
Although this disease most often affects women, certain races have an increased risk of lupus. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, cases of lupus are found to be almost three times more common in people with African-American, Hispanic and Asian races than white people (Caucasians).
