It has been trendy news for some time now that an upcoming actress has been diagnosed with a certain life-threatening ailment, her colleagues have been trying to raise funds for her treatment, although I have wished her well, I have not really taken the time to understand what the ailment is, but after I saw her post this evening, where she wrote about starting treatment, I decided to read more about what the ailment could really be, that was when I found out, she was diagnosed of 'lupus'. This is the first time, I will be hearing about Lupus, so my curious mind really wanted to know more about this deadly disease.

The moment when an individual's immune system begins to attack the tissues and organs of the body, such an individual could be diagnosed with Lupus. Lupus usually causes inflammation and inflammation affect sensitive areas of the body like the skin, kidney, blood cells, heart, lungs, and brains.

Lupus could be triggered by genes, the disease may become more evident when there is a case of infection, intake of certain drugs, and even exposure to sunlight. The bad part about this disease is that there is no specific cure for it yet, but the symptoms can be controlled through certain treatments.  Lupus also has an extremely complex nature and as a result, it is usually known as a disease of a thousand faces. 

The symptoms of lupus vary greatly and while the symptoms may appear suddenly in some bodies, they appear rather slowly and gradually in other bodies. The symptoms and signs experienced by the body depend greatly on the affected region of body systems, but the highly common symptoms include; 

* Joint pain, swelling, and stiffness of the affected area.

* Extreme fatigue.

* Fever.

* Rashes on the face that extends to the cheeks, as well as the bridge of the nose, the rashes are usually butterfly-shaped rashes. 

* Fingers and toes that become blue or white whenever they are exposed to cold or stress.

* Shortness of breath.

* Dry eyes.

* Memory loss, headaches, and confusion.

* Chest pain.

* Skin lesions that become severe whenever there is sun exposure. 
[1](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/symptoms-causes/syc-20365789#:~:text=Lupus%20is%20a%20disease%20that,%2C%20brain%2C%20heart%20and%20lungs.)


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[pexels](https://images.pexels.com/photos/3768582/pexels-photo-3768582.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1600)</center>

There are different types of Lupus, let's find out what the types are and ways of differentiating them.
**There is a systematic lupus**, this type of lupus is the most common category of lupus that exists, systematic lupus alone takes 70% of lupus cases that exist, it is a systematic condition and what this means is that it has the possibility of affecting multiple organs in the body, it is not only the most common type of lupus, it is also the most severe type of lupus that exists.

Patients who have systematic lupus would experience inflammation in the; skin, kidney, lungs, heart, joints, blood, etc. The inflammation may either affect a single area at a particular time or affect different regions at the same time. 

Systematic lupus also has its patients going through circles of remissions and flare-ups, during the flare-up circle, the disease showcases itself in its most active form, bringing up its full symptoms, in the remission stage, however, the patient would not show any type of symptom whatsoever.

The second type of lupus is **Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE)**, this condition affects only the skin, the scalp and the face are basically the major targets even if other areas of the body are not left out such as inside the ear. The lesions are usually red and may even create a thick and scaly pattern around the affected area, if the scalp is in the affected area, there is a huge possibility that hair may never grow around that region again.

Studies have shown that ordinarily, DLE would not affect internal organs, but a certain percentage of people who have DLE later develop SLE in the long run.

Another type of Lupus is the, **Subacute Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus**, this is a skin lesion that affect areas on the body that are exposed to the sun, even if these lesions do not create scars on the skin, they cause skin discoloration.

**Drug-induced Lupus** is another type of lupus, it is an autoimmune condition that is caused by the intake of some type of medications, the symptoms of drug-induced lupus are closely similar to SLE but often, they are less severe. Recent research showed that over 100 medications have been identified to be the potential cause of DIL.

symptoms of DIL do not appear immediately, their appearance often takes months or years before manifesting. Once the drug has been identified and stopped, patients who have DIL, are usually free of the ailment after 6months of taking the medication.

**Neonatal Lupus** is a type of lupus that is transferred from birth, parents pass these antibodies through the placenta during pregnancy. Children with Neonatal lupus may have a skin rash, liver problems, and low blood counts at birth. Even if the skin rashes that appear in babes who have this condition disappear after a few weeks, some kids may develop congenital heart block. The occurrence of congenital heart block will make it difficult for the heart to regulate a normal and rhythmic pumping action, this will create a very serious complication for the child. [2](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323653#causes)

Lupus is not a gender-based disease, it can happen to anyone either male, female, or even newborn, but the condition is mostly seen in women than men. The symptoms of lupus could also be a sign of another serious medical condition, this way, there are so many people living with lupus, who do not get diagnosed with it all their lives. There is an increased risk of having lupus if there is a family member who has a similar case of lupus or another autoimmune disease. [2](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323653#causes)


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<center>[pexels](https://images.pexels.com/photos/3873179/pexels-photo-3873179.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&w=1600)</center>

#### Lupus may result in certain health complications and possibly death.

Lupus could result in serious damage to the kidney, kidney failure is one of the common reasons behind death amongst people living with lupus.

Lupus increases the risk of developing an inflammation of the chest cavity lining which could lead to painful breathing. 

Lupus can result in inflammation around the heart muscles, and the arteries of the heart membrane, and the possibility of having cardiovascular disease and heart attack increase greatly also.

If the brain is affected by Lupus, there will be a consistent feeling of dizziness, headaches, vision problems, strokes, and even seizures. Some people who have lupus usually have issues with the expression of their thoughts.

Lupus can also increase the risk of cancer and infections.

Pregnant women who have lupus, have a greater chance of having a miscarriage, doctors often advise patients with lupus to delay pregnancy until the disease has become controlled for at least six months. [3](https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/symptoms-causes/syc-20365789#:~:text=Lupus%20is%20a%20disease%20that,%2C%20brain%2C%20heart%20and%20lungs.)

#### Possible causes of Lupus.

The main cause of Lupus remains a mystery that has not been unraveled, but there are certain factors that contribute to the birth of Lupus. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), females between the age of 15 and 44 are more times more open to the possibility of having Lupus than males. Exposure to estrogen(a sex hormone produced more in females than males), leads to an increased risk of lupus in females.

Research shows that there is a greater possibility of a person developing lupus if a member of the family has it.

Environmental factors such as; smoking, extreme exposure to sunlight, infections, and air pollutants contribute greatly to this condition.[4](https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323653#symptoms)

Most cases of death associated with Lupus are not directly caused by Lupus itself, but it is caused by damages done to the organs of the body. Lupus is also not contagious and cannot be passed through a cough or physical contact.

#### Conclusion.
Even if Lupus in itself cannot be prevented, there are certain life changes that can help to prevent the possibility of having health complications.
* Try to avoid direct exposure to the sun, it is either you avoid going out when the sun is extremely hot or you put on protective wear to protect your skin.

* Try to stay in motion, sitting for long hours isn't too healthy.

* Make smart health choices every day, reduce stress, eat healthily and avoid intake of anything that will cause problems to your health. [5](https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4875-lupus) 

#### For further studies.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/symptoms-causes/syc-20365789#:~:text=Lupus%20is%20a%20disease%20that,%2C%20brain%2C%20heart%20and%20lungs.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323653#causes


https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/lupus/symptoms-causes/syc-20365789#:~:text=Lupus%20is%20a%20disease%20that,%2C%20brain%2C%20heart%20and%20lungs

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323653#symptoms

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/4875-lupus

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Hi, I am Tobi a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues, you can find my podcast channel [Here](https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy81OWUzMTI2MC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==) and I also have a [youtube channel](UChwx1ZfJxG3PtQ1tf6iUogw) where you can listen and watch any of any episode for free, do not forget to subscribe and share with friends.  I sincerely appreciate every love I get from members of the community and do well to keep them coming.