More Than a Number

The human body has many insane phenomenons that have taken medical scientists ages to understand. One of them is illnesses that attack the human body from the inside. A disease that is found in large numbers in the US is Lupus. This autoimmune disease affects roughly 1.5 million people in America alone. Sadly even with how common Lupus is, most people have either never heard of it. Or have but know little to nothing about the disease. Lupus is an internally damaging medical condition that affects those who have it for the rest of their lives.

While Lupus can affect men, it’s more so common in women who are entering the medical, “childbearing age”. It can be classified as a genetically inherited disease as 5% of people who have a parent or direct relative who havhasded up having the disease as well. Lupus can affect both the mother and her child in some cases, if a person tested positive for Lupus and becomes pregnant her child could be born with a temporary form of Lupus known as Neonatal Lupus.

In Neonatal Lupus the infant is born with a low blood cell count, a rash on their skin, and, even liver complications. Luckily in most cases after roughly 6 months the symptoms will go away and the child becomes healthy.

Some of the most common symptoms of Lupus are Fever, Joint pain, stiffness and swelling, a Butterfly-shaped rash on the face that covers the cheeks, and a bridge of the no,se, or rashes elsewhere on the body.

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Symptoms like the rashes don’t always last for long periods, in most cases with treatment the rashes temporarily recede and then reappear when the affected has a flare-up. A few tests ran to determine Lupus is the diagnosis are, CBC (Complete blood count), ERS (Erythrocyte sedimentation rate), Kidney and liver assessment, Urinalysis, Antinuclear antibody (ANA) test, Chest /R-ray, Echocardiogram, Skin Biopsy.

Patients who suffer from Lupus live a life of constant struggle and more often than not pain, both physical and emotional. There is no cure for Lupus only treatments to contain the symptoms. They spend their lives avoiding many situations to prevent flares, this means missing family outings, which can lead to other problems such as anxiety and depression. With these side effects, both the patient and their families are affected because oftentimes the patient loses connections with their family members because of the solitude that comes with avoiding major events and often sunlight.

As previously stated, there is no current known cure for Lupus, but some of the treatments used to mediate symptoms are, over-the-counter NSAIDs, such as naproxen sodium (Aleve) and ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin IB, others), medications commonly used to treat malaria, such as hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), Prednisone and other types of corticosteroids, azathioprine (Imuran, Azasan), mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept) and methotrexate (Trexall). Among these there are many others, a common natural medicine used to treat Lupus is CBD oils. CBD can be administered topically, or sublingually to reduce inflammation. It is recommended by most doctors that patients who suffer from Lupus also seek out mental health treatments such as support groups, and or therapy sessions to help prevent depression or anxiety from becoming too out of control,

Most patients that suffer from Lupus live on multiple pain medications and have to regularly check in with their doctor to monitor the disease. They often live on a month-to-month basis because there’s always a chance that the disease could worsen and attack major organs. While they live a constant battle, most patients who seek help and live a healthy life can remain resilient and positive despite the many hardships they will face.