Owing to the fact that it involves damages to the body’s own tissues, cells, and organs with the immune system’s disability in determining the foreign organisms (antigens) with the body’s own cells and tissue, lupus is defined as an autoimmune disease.

The immune system is responsible for producing proteins called antibodies to protect your body against viruses, bacteria, and other foreign organisms (antigens).

The lupus disease causes inflammation and damage to vital organs such as skin, joints, blood, heart, lungs, kidneys, and even the brain.

Lupus is a rare condition where majority of people affecting with are women. You as a woman can affect with this disease in many different ways depending on the type of lupus present.Lupus

The types of lupus are systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), discoid lupus erythematosus, drug-induced lupus and neonatal lupus.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, (SLE) is the most common and serious type. Most often, the term “lupus” refers to the systemic form of the disease. The word “systemic” means the disease can affect many parts of the body.

The SLE causes a wide variety of unspecific symptoms, ranging from mild to severe. As no two people with SLE have identical lupus symptoms, it is very difficult to diagnose. Moreover, SLE often requires enduring combination treatments.

Although it is fact that SLE affects mostly women aged between 15-40, it also affects the very young or the elderly ones.

Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (cutaneous) is a type that mostly affects the skin. A rash that may appear on the face, neck, and scalp identifies it. Due to lack of proper treatment, the cutaneous can become systemic over the course of time.

In the primary stages of progression, cutaneous produces inflammation and rashes. Eventually, the rashes become prominent, thick, increase in size and may cause scarring.

Even if these rashes may recover or clear up completely with suitable treatment, they may tend to re-occur after a certain period of time.

Drug-induced lupus, a rare type, occurs in consequence of medication intolerance. Mostly, you experience lupus symptoms very similar to systemic lupus such as rash, strange fever, arthritis, and pulmonary and coronary infections.

On the other hand, this type of lupus symptoms often disappears completely once you stop administering the causative drugs.

The most common drugs identified for the cause of drug-induced lupus are: methyldopa (Aldomet), hydralazine (Apresoline), isoniazid (INH), procainamide (Procan), phenytoin (Dilantin), quinidine (Quinaglute) and carbamazepine (Tegretol).

Neonatal lupus, the last type, is a very rare disease affecting newborn babies of women with systemic lupus erythematosus or other similar autoimmune diseases.

If you are a pregnant with SLE or other related autoimmune disorders, then you need to be under a doctor’s care till your delivery because the infants affected with lupus often suffer from circulatory and congenital heart problems.

When your disease is diagnosed on time, then your infant’s life anticipation and the whole condition can be improved with treatment. Remember, on time medical contribution is more essential for those who suspected with neonatal lupus.