Lupus disease - causes and treatment of discoid and systemic forms of the disease

Lupus disease is an autoimmune problem. This is a disease of connective tissues, in which their systemic immune complexion is observed. In addition, the ailment adversely affects the vessels of the microcirculatory bed and can affect the condition of internal organs.

Lupus - What is this disease?

Today this disease is considered one of the most serious. Lupus - that this is a question requiring detailed study. With this disease, the human immune system is malfunctioning. Her own cells she begins to take for the alien and tries to fight them. It is accompanied by the development of substances that can damage many organs and tissues: skin, kidneys, lungs, heart, vessels, joints. In most cases, lupus erythematosus affects women.

Discoid lupus

This form of the disease is considered less complicated. Discoid lupus erythematosus - what is it? The ailment is characterized by the formation on the skin of flaky scaly red spots. Discoid SLE can occur in a localized and widespread form. If the disease is not detected in time and does not begin to fight it, it can develop into systemic lupus erythematosus, which is more severe and leads to more complications.

Systemic lupus

This is a chronic systemic ailment. Red Lupus - What is this disease? Symptoms of discoid and systemic forms of the disease are almost the same. The main difference lies in the severity of the course of the disease. Sick lupus systemic can lead to the defeat of various organs and systems, and therefore treatment of it, as a rule, turns out to be difficult and prolonged for a long time.

Is lupus erythematous?

For a large amount of time to answer the question of whether lupus erythematosus is contagious, neither specialists nor adherents of alternative methods of treatment could give. There were suggestions that the ailment was transmitted sexually, contact or by air, but none of them was confirmed. Scientists managed to prove that neither systemic, nor discoid lupus erythematosus from one person to another can not be transmitted.

Lupus causes

No scientist has so far succeeded in finding out the causes of red lupus disease. It is known for sure that the disease develops against the background of a genetic predisposition, but the presence of appropriate genes does not mean that a person will necessarily face SLE. To progress the disease, lupus erythematosus can be influenced by such factors as:

• ultra-violet rays;
• contact with chemicals;
• smoking;
• hormonal failures;
• low temperatures;
• stress;
• frequent bacterial and viral infections;
• taking certain medications (antibiotics, antiepileptic drugs, sulfonamides, drugs designed to combat malignant tumors).

As practice shows, Liebman-Sax's disease affects women more often. In the risk zone, more representatives of the fair sex of African-American descent from the age of 15 to 45. This is due to the negative impact of elevated levels of estrogen on the body, but sometimes lupus is diagnosed and in women during the menopause. Hormone therapy and oral contraceptives do not affect the development of the disease.

Lupus erythematosus - symptoms

Signs of lupus can manifest themselves acutely or for a long time in no way give out itself - in every organism the development of the disease occurs in its own way. The course of SLE, as a rule, is divided into periods of remissions and exacerbations. The reasons for this is not yet clear. The ailment of lupus symptoms has the following:

1. Joint and muscle pain. Most patients complain about them. Inflammatory processes can be single, and in some cases multiple lesions are observed. The first, as a rule, suffer from limbs. Patients complain of pain in the morning, puffiness. Sometimes SLE immediately leads to severe joint damage, arthritis .
2. Lowered leukocyte and platelet count. Many cases of lupus are accompanied by a decrease in the number of these blood cells. In rare cases, the disease leads to blood clots and swelling of the lymph nodes, but these symptoms are considered atypical.
3. Redness of the skin and rashes. Butterfly with lupus on the nose and cheeks is one of the most important signs of the disease. Often because of SLE, the oral mucosa becomes covered with sores, hair begins to fall out.
4. Pain in the chest. Appear because of the defeat of the superficial tissues of the lungs and heart.
5. The admixture of blood in the urine. Observed when the disease spreads to the kidneys. In especially severe cases, kidney failure may develop.
6. Depression and emotional discomfort. There can be both symptoms and the body's response to news of the disease.
7. Headache, migraine. Signs that appear when the brain is damaged.

Lupus - diagnosis

The first thing to do when suspicion of a disease of lupus is to conduct a special blood test. The presence of antinuclear bodies and antibodies with double-stranded DNA does not yet confirm the diagnosis, but it helps to get an idea of ​​the general state of human health. Sometimes, in addition to tests, the patient needs ultrasound of the heart and abdominal organs, X-rays.

Lupus erythematosus - treatment

It is recommended to start therapy immediately, as soon as systemic lupus erythematosus, its symptoms, is confirmed. The treatment program for each patient is developed individually. Very often, patients who are diagnosed with mild illness are treated without special treatment. They are assigned supporting therapeutic measures.

In the mild form of lupus surgical treatment does not involve. The operation is necessary only when there is a serious damage to the kidneys - one that can endanger the patient's life. In such cases, drug therapy, as a rule, is accompanied by a large number of side effects, and the treating physician has to choose between dialysis and kidney transplantation.

Is it possible to cure lupus?

This is an urgent issue, the answer to which is still negative. At the moment, drugs that can once and for all save a person from manifestations of SLE have not been invented. That is, the disease of lupus erythematosus is still incurable, but there are special therapeutic methods by which the symptomatology and the clinic of the disease can be greatly facilitated.

Preparations with lupus

The mild form of SLE - in which there is still no damage to the internal organs - involves taking:

• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ;
• corticosteroids (in small amounts);
• antimalarial drugs.

Treatment of lupus by hormones is performed in acute form. In addition, in such cases, patients are prescribed immunosuppressants. The most popular of them are:

• Mycophenolate mofetil;
• Azathioprine;
• Cyclophosphamide;
• Methotrexate;
• Cyclosporine.

Some patients face such problems as thrombosis - blood clots can be found in both veins and arteries - or antiphospholipid syndrome, which increases the risk of blood clots. To avoid complications in such cases, patients are prescribed anticoagulants. The latter are intended to prevent blood clotting.

Treatment of lupus with folk remedies

Alternative medicine can also help in the fight against lupus, but before resorting to it, you need to consult a specialist. The doctor will help you choose methods that will only benefit and will not harm the body. In addition, the doctor will be able to select the optimal dosages and determine the ideal duration of the treatment course.

Treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus with herbal decoction

Ingredients :

• calendula - 1 tsp;
• Tartar - 1 tsp;
• burdock - 1 tsp;
• the root of the hemorrhage - 1 tsp;
• water - 1 liter.

Preparation and use

1. All ingredients are crushed and mixed in a single vessel.
2. Pour dry mixture with water and put on a small fire.
3. Bring the medicine to a boil and keep on the fire for another 30 minutes.
4. The resulting broth filter (it is most convenient to do this with gauze).
5. Drink a few tablespoons 1 - 2 hours before eating.

Ointment for lupus from birch buds

Ingredients :

• birch buds - 1 glass;
• fresh interior fat - 500 ml.

Preparation and use

1. Kidneys grind and mix thoroughly with fat.
2. Every day for a week to withstand the mixture for 3 hours in the oven at low temperatures.
3. The resulting mixture lubricate the place of rashes.
4. The medicine can be taken and inside before meals, previously mixed with 100 ml of milk.

Lifestyle with red lupus

Change in lifestyle is an important condition for remission. The patient should try to avoid stressful situations, do not overload at work, regularly perform light physical exercises. To attend the gym is not necessary - there will be enough daily walks. During the day, the patient will not be prevented from short breaks. Special attention should be paid to caring for the skin. It is desirable to hide the epidermis from direct sunlight, in the summer, you should always use a protective agent.

It is extremely important diet with lupus. In the diet of a person with SLE should include dishes that have been spared of thermal or chemical treatment. It is undesirable to eat fried, fatty, spicy. Specialists strongly recommend to give up sweet or replace sugar with stevia , bee products. Dairy products are very useful for lupus.