As the old saying goes, "good health is the most valuable asset", and now the fast-paced lifestyle has made more and more social groups realize how important physical health is, and more and more people know about immune diseases.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a representative immune disease, and butterfly erythema is its signature manifestation, but this manifestation alone cannot be regarded as a skin disease.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is one of the autoimmune diseases that has a more serious impact on the human body and can affect the health of the whole body.
So what is an autoimmune disease?
Autoimmune diseases are diseases in which the autoimmune response destroys the components of one's own tissues and cells, leading to tissue damage and organ dysfunction.
Most of the autoimmune diseases are related to heredity, coupled with external factors that cause immune abnormalities and cause diseases, autoimmune diseases are mainly divided into organ-specific autoimmune diseases and systemic autoimmune diseases, systemic lupus erythematosus is a kind of systemic autoimmune disease, once it occurs, lifelong medication is required.
1. Systemic lupus erythematosus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a disease that mainly targets connective tissue damage, and is mostly affected by women, and it can affect all connective tissue in the body.
In this condition, a large number of autoantibodies are formed in the patient's body, which attack the patient's own healthy tissues, causing damage to various organs and tissues. So, what exactly does SLE damage to organs or tissues?
(1) Skin and mucous membranes
The skin surface will appear on the surface of SLE's unique sign - saucer-shaped erythema, mainly distributed on the bridge of the nose and cheekbones, SLE is also prone to hair loss, and the situation will lead to alopecia areata, which is permanent, and the situation is still relatively unacceptable. The mucous membranes are prone to ulceration, especially during the active phase of SLE, oral ulcers and nasal mucosal ulcers may occur, but they are basically painless.
(2) Muscles and joints
Joint pain caused by systemic lupus erythematosus is a relatively common presentation, and arthralgia is a symmetrical pain that occurs in the knuckles, wrists, and knees. SLE requires long-term glucocorticoid therapy, which can cause necrosis of the femoral head, resulting in limited hip function and mobility. SLE also tends to affect the muscles to complete myositis.
(3) Serous membrane
Serous involvement is very common when systemic lupus erythematosus invades patients, often resulting in effusions in the pericardium, chest, and peritoneum. Symptoms of pleural effusion include chest pressure, shortness of breath, and difficulty breathing.
Pericardial effusion, although it may also cause breathing problems, is more typically due to heart failure due to compression of the heart, which may manifest as shallow breathing, seated breathing, purple skin, and possibly even generalized edema. The presence of ascites causes the abdomen to distend and may indirectly affect the patient's appetite.
(4) Kidneys
Systemic lupus erythematosus basically damages the kidneys, and the early symptoms are not obvious, and as the disease worsens, proteinuria, hematuria, edema, and blood pressure will rise. When renal insufficiency occurs in the kidneys, it is generally in the middle and advanced stages, and it is necessary to be vigilant that SLE will further aggravate the condition and cause renal failure.
(5) Nervous system
The nervous system is more complex, and systemic lupus erythematosus involves nerves, and its manifestations and symptoms are more diverse, such as lack of concentration, epilepsy, facial paralysis, headache, vision loss, dementia and other phenomena, and even the feeling of trigeminal nerve pain.
(6) Blood system
Blood disorders caused by systemic lupus erythematosus include a decrease in red blood cells, white blood cells, and thrombocytosis. Erythrocytopenia is characterized by pallor, dizziness and fatigue, leukopenia predisposes to weakened immunity and infection, and thrombocytopenia causes bleeding tendency.
(7) Cardiovascular system
Systemic lupus erythematosus causes four types of cardiovascular disease: endocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis, and coronary artery abnormalities. Endocarditis will cause vegetations on the side of the valve, once it falls off, it will produce organ embolism and form corresponding complications; myocarditis is mainly manifested as symptoms of cardiac insufficiency such as palpitation and shortness of breath; pericarditis is mainly manifested in the precordial area, which is related to the respiratory system, chest tightness, dyspnea, shortness of breath, Edema is a symptom of cardiac insufficiency, and coronary artery abnormalities are usually caused by long-term use of glucocorticoids, resulting in more pronounced coronary arteriosclerosis symptoms, and the final manifestation is coronary heart disease, the most typical manifestation of which is precordial discomfort and angina, which can radiate to the left arm, left shoulder, and neck.
(8) Respiratory system
The respiratory system is mainly responsible for pulmonary fibrosis and pulmonary hypertension. Pulmonary fibrosis is an interstitial fibrotic lesion characterized by dry cough and shortness of breath, and pulmonary hypertension is characterized by chest pain, dizziness, and dyspnea.
(9) Digestive system
Intestinal lesions are the most common manifestations of the digestive system and can develop into intestinal obstruction, intestinal bleeding, intestinal necrosis, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.
(10) Eyes
Systemic lupus erythematosus can cause eye diseases, including conjunctivitis, iritis, optic neuropathy, vision loss, visual field reduction, and long-term use of glucocorticoids can also lead to glaucoma and cataracts.
Systemic lupus erythematosus damages organs and tissues throughout the body, and the above are more common, and some rare and potentially harmful may be more serious if they damage the body.
At present, there is no cure for systemic lupus erythematosus, and the disease can only be controlled by appropriate means, which basically requires lifelong medication. In my opinion, although systemic lupus erythematosus is an immune disease, it is the same as ordinary cancer, and it makes people suffer in all kinds of ways.
SLE is not only a concern for patients and their families, but also a direction for the whole society to pay attention to and continue to work on, and the study of SLE can not only help patients and their families, but also help understand other immune diseases, which is a great encouragement to the whole society.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is not cancer, it is even more frightening than cancer, it causes irreversible damage to organs and tissues throughout the body, and it is painful. A small number of tumor diseases still have a chance to be cured, but SLE does not even have a chance at all, which makes people realize the fragility of life and the harm of immune diseases.
summary
Systemic lupus erythematosus is an immune disease, not a simple skin disease, in addition to harming the skin, but also has a deep impact on the respiratory system, digestive system, nervous system, cardiovascular and other systems, good tissues and organs of the whole body will be affected by systemic lupus erythematosus, the development of its disease is still being studied, there is no radical cure, can only be controlled by some means, need to take medication for life.
Once the diagnosis of SLE, we must adjust our mentality, although SLE cannot be cured, the disease can still be controlled and can live a normal life, the terrible thing is that the patient's psychological tolerance is poor, SLE has received social attention, the country is also actively researching, I believe that there will be a breakthrough in the near future, which is beneficial to all immune diseases.