Understanding Autoimmune Diseases

Understanding Autoimmune Diseases – Autoimmune disease is a condition in which an individual’s immune system attacks its own cells. More than 80 types of diseases fall into the autoimmune category. Some of them show similar symptoms, such as fatigue, muscle aches and fever.

Understanding Autoimmune Diseases

roskapital – Normally, the immune system functions to protect the body from attacks by foreign organisms, such as bacteria and viruses. When the body is attacked by a foreign organism, the immune system produces proteins known as antibodies to fight and prevent disease.

However, in individuals with autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakenly recognizes the body’s healthy cells as foreign substances. As a result, antibodies produced by the immune system attack these healthy cells.

Factors Causing Autoimmune Diseases
The exact causes of autoimmune diseases are still not fully understood. However, there are several factors that are thought to increase a person’s chances of contracting this type of disease, namely:

– Family history of autoimmune diseases
– Having an infection by bacteria or viruses, for example Epstein Barr virus infection
– Exposure to chemicals such as asbestos, mercury, dioxins or pesticides
– Smoking habit
– Suffering from being overweight or obese

Signs of Autoimmune Disease
Based on the types, many autoimmune diseases have similar initial symptoms, such as:

– Often feel tired
– Tense muscles or joint pain
– Rash on the skin
– Fever that comes and goes
– Swelling in the joints or face
– Hair loss
– Difficulty in concentrating
– Tingling sensation in the hands or feet

Although some autoimmune diseases show similar initial symptoms, each disease has its own unique symptoms; for example, type 1 diabetes causes symptoms such as excessive thirst, fatigue, and significant weight loss.

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The following are examples of several autoimmune diseases and their symptoms:

• Lupus
  Lupus can affect almost any organ in the body. Symptoms include fever, joint and muscle pain, rash, sensitive skin, mouth ulcers, swelling in the legs, headaches, seizures, chest pain, shortness of breath, paleness and bleeding.
• Graves’ disease
  Symptoms of Graves’ disease include sudden weight loss, bulging eyes (exophthalmos), hair loss, racing heart, anxiety, and insomnia.
• Psoriasis
  This disease can be recognized by the appearance of thick red, scaly patches.
• Multiple sclerosis
  Symptoms that can occur include numbness on one side of the body, impaired vision, stiff and weak muscles, decreased coordination, and fatigue.
• Myasthenia gravis
  Symptoms felt due to this disease can include drooping eyelids, blurred vision, muscle weakness, difficulty breathing, and difficulty swallowing.
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
  Symptoms that appear can include sudden weight gain, sensitivity to cold, numbness in the hands and feet, fatigue, drowsiness, hair loss, irregular menstruation, and difficulty concentrating.
• Ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease
  Symptoms that may be experienced include abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloody stools, fever, and weight loss.
• Rheumatoid arthritis
  This disease causes sufferers to feel pain, redness and swelling in the joints, especially in the fingers.
• Guillain Barré Syndrome
  Symptoms experienced can include muscle weakness, tingling, weakness, and balance problems which, if they get worse, can lead to paralysis.

Vasculitis can be recognized by fever, sudden weight loss, fatigue, loss of appetite, and skin rashes.

Autoimmune Disease Diagnosis
To determine autoimmune disease, the doctor will conduct an interview regarding the patient’s symptoms and health history and explore the history of the disease in the patient’s family. After that, the doctor will perform a thorough physical examination.

The challenge for doctors is to diagnose autoimmune diseases, because although there are distinctive characteristics in each disease, the symptoms that appear often appear the same. For this reason, the doctor will usually carry out the following supporting examinations to confirm the diagnosis:

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– ANA (antinuclear antibody) test, to measure the activity of antibodies that attack the body
– Autoantibody test, to detect the type of antibody in the body
– Complete blood test, to count the number of red blood cells and white blood cells
– C-Reactive protein test, to detect inflammation in the body
– Erythrocyte sedimentation test, to assess the severity of inflammation in the body

Treatment for Autoimmune Diseases
Most diseases in the autoimmune category still cannot be cured, but the symptoms experienced can be controlled and prevented so that flares do not occur.

Treatment for autoimmune diseases is determined based on the type of disease, symptoms that appear, and severity. Some treatment methods include:

Drugs that can be given to treat autoimmune diseases include:

– Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen and naproxen, to treat pain and fever
– Drugs that suppress the immune system, such as corticosteroids, to prevent disease progression and maintain the function of body organs
– Anti-TNF drugs, such as infliximab, to prevent inflammation caused by rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis

Hormone replacement therapy
This therapy is carried out if the patient experiences an autoimmune disease that inhibits the body’s hormone production. For example, insulin injections to regulate blood sugar levels for people with type 1 diabetes, or administering thyroid hormones for thyroiditis patients.