What does lupus in the blood mean?

What does lupus in the blood mean?

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly referred to simply as lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease that can cause swelling (inflammation) and pain throughout your body. When you have an autoimmune disease, your body’s immune system fights itself.

Is lupus usually fatal?

With close follow-up and treatment, 80-90% of people with lupus can expect to live a normal life span. It is true that medical science has not yet developed a method for curing lupus, and some people do die from the disease. However, for the majority of people living with the disease today, it will not be fatal.

What is lupus and can it kill you?

Lupus can vary from a moderately disabling disease to a life-threatening one. Because it can lead to cardiovascular disease, lupus can kill women in their 20s by causing heart attacks and strokes, Gilkeson said.

How long do lupus patients live?

For people with lupus, some treatments can increase the risk of developing potentially fatal infections. However, the majority of people with lupus can expect a normal or near-normal life expectancy. Research has shown that many people with a lupus diagnosis have been living with the disease for up to 40 years.

How does lupus make you feel?

Lupus is a disease of flares (the symptoms worsen and you feel ill) and remissions (the symptoms improve and you feel better). Lupus symptoms include: Muscle and joint pain. You may experience pain and stiffness, with or without swelling.

Can you live with lupus without treatment?

If left untreated, it can put you at risk of developing life-threatening problems such as a heart attack or stroke. In many cases, lupus nephritis does not cause any noticeable symptoms. However, this does not mean the condition is not dangerous, as the kidneys could still be being damaged.

What should a person with lupus avoid?

Heart attack risk is 50 times higher in people with lupus, so patients with lupus should be extra vigilant against foods with known links to heart disease, such as red meat, fried foods, and dairy.

What are the 4 types of lupus?

When people talk about lupus, they may be referring to the most common form—systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, there are actually four kinds. Click or scroll to read more about each of them: SLE, cutaneous lupus, drug-induced lupus, and neonatal lupus.

What is the life expectancy of someone with lupus?

Thanks to advances over the past two decades, more than 95 percent of people with lupus survive 10 years or more, with the majority achieving a normal lifespan. Lupus was once much more deadly.

Is Lupus a life threatening illness?

Lupus is a chronic, debilitating and potentially life-threatening disease and treatment is often not totally effective. Finding effective treatments to help improve the quality of life for patients poses a major challenge.

How can lupus kill you?

Because it can lead to cardiovascular disease, lupus can kill women in their 20s by causing heart attacks and strokes, Gilkeson said. People with lupus also can die at young ages due to infections that are related to the immune-suppressing drugs taken to control the disease.

What is it like to live with someone with lupus?

Living With Lupus. For those living with lupus, an autoimmune disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack healthy organs and tissues, life includes chronic inflammation and pain (of the skin, joints, brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, and blood cells).