What Are the Different Types of Lupus?
Lupus is a disease of the immune system that causes inflammation of certain parts of the body. There are a wide range of different types of symptoms of Lupus, and the disease seems to affect people in different ways. Some people notice a few mild symptoms of Lupus at any given time, but some people suffer from extremely severe symptoms.
The cruel part of the disease is that it often affects people in their youth, including children, but can also affect people right up into adulthood, and beyond. Once a person has contracted the disease, they may be subject to recurring bouts of the illness, followed by remission periods of unknown length of time.
What are the Symptoms of Lupus
Because several symptoms such as joint pain, chronic tiredness and inflammation are similar to many other illnesses, we highly recommend that you consult with a Doctor for an accurate diagnosis as soon as possible, which may involve getting a blood test from a phlebotomist. Just because you develop one or more of these symptoms does not mean you will contract Lupus.
There are several kinds of lupus, and we need to be aware of the variations in the sysmptoms.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
Also known as SLE for short, this form of Lupus is probably the most familiar of the variants. When most people talk about Lupus, then they are referring to the symptoms and features of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus. The term systemic refers to the fact that the disease occurs throughout the body and can affect any part of the immune system within the body.
SLE can present as a range of different symptoms and the onset can occur through a wide range of age brackets. The symptoms can range from mild to quite serious, and can first be detected anywhere from the age of 10 up to 50 years.
Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE)
Discoid lupus erythematosus is another form of Lupus which presents mainly as a chronic skin rash. This form of Lupus causes a distinctive red inflamed rash. This Lupus rash is particularly noticeable when it appears on the face, where it can be known as “butterfly rash” as it appears across the top of the nose and across both cheeks. The Lupus rash can also appear on the scalp, or neck and other parts of the body, and can be annoyingly itchy, scaly and there is risk of scarring and ongoing skin damage.
DLE can erupt at any time, unexpectedly, and the results can last anywhere between a week and several months. As with any Lupus condition, the rash can recur at any time, although avoiding strong sunlight is a good way to prevent recurring problems.
Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus (SCLE)
Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus is yet another variation of the Lupus disease, which causes the sufferer to break out with nasty lesions on the skin and seem to coincide with those areas of the skin which are commonly exposed to sunlight.
The problem with DLS and SCLE is that these conditions may develop into Systemic Lupus Erythematosus in the future, but this is not well understood, and there is no guarantee of if or when this can happen.
Lupus during pregnancy
There is another form of Lupus that seems to develop during pregnancy, with the onset of symptoms occurring pre-natally. Unfortunately, due to the developing fetus, there are limited treatments that Doctors can provide with the safety of both mother and baby in mind. The symptoms of Lupus will often become full blown after birth, and the development of the symptoms will often progress into the development of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.
What Are the Symptoms of Lupus and How Is it Diagnosed?
Lupus can be difficult to diagnose, because it shares symptoms with many other illnesses and not everyone who has Lupus will demonstrate the same symptoms. Lupus is found to imitate other illnesses, and the problem is that until the full range of the symptoms of the disease has become obvious, then sometimes Lupus can be overlooked as the initial diagnosis.
With no known cure, and potentially serious side effects, this is one of the most serious illnesses that one can contract, with nasty consequences if left untreated.
Fortunately there is a wide range of treatments that can be used to overcome the symptoms of Lupus. We highly recommend that you seek medical advice, which may involve taking blood, and take steps to deal with Lupus as soon as you have a suspicion that you have the symptoms. Read more at our Blog – How do you get Lupus?
