Healthy Living

What You Don’t Know About Lupus

Purple ribbon representing lupus awareness

About 2 million people live with lupus here in the United States, and while it’s a disease that most people have heard of, it’s also one they don’t know much about. There’s a sense that people with it have to hide—probably related to the fact that sunlight can be a trigger for symptoms. Many understand that it’s serious, without really knowing why.

Who’s at risk
Women between the ages of 16 and 55 of Asian, African American, Caribbean and Hispanic origin are at the highest risk for lupus. Although men can have the disease, some estimates say it’s about nine times more common in women. Many probably also don’t realize that about 20 percent of lupus cases happen in children younger than 16.

“We don’t know what the cause is,” said Dr. Walter Moore, a rheumatologist with Augusta University Health, “but we do know that women in their childbearing years do have an increased risk for developing the disease, which reflects the role of estrogen.”

With lupus, the disease essentially tells your body’s self-defense system—the autoimmune system—to go on the attack. But the target isn’t bacteria or other germs. It’s the body’s own healthy tissues, everything from your joints, skin and blood cells to your kidneys, brain, heart and lungs.

As a result, people with lupus can experience a wide range of symptoms, including:
• Extreme fatigue
Joint pain, stiffness or swelling
• Chest pain
• Shortness of breath
• Headaches, confusion or memory loss
• Skin lesions, including the disease’s signature butterfly-shaped rash, which spreads across the cheeks and over the nose

You can’t “catch” lupus—it’s believed that those who have it are predisposed to it, often due to family history. The disease usually kicks off after some event triggers it. For some, it’s sunlight, something as simple as a long weekend at the beach. For others, the trigger is an infection, certain medications such as antibiotics or those for blood pressure or seizures, highly stressful or emotional events such as surgery, or life-changing events such as pregnancy or miscarriage.

Hard to diagnose, harder to accept
The catch-22—because the symptoms are so vague, it can be hard to diagnose. But early diagnosis can help limit symptoms and possibly prevent serious complications affecting the kidneys; heart, blood and lungs; and nervous system.

For someone experiencing lupus symptoms, the best advice is not to wait but to go ahead and talk to a doctor, said Moore, especially if you have a family history of the disease.

Your physician can talk to you about what’s going on and compare your symptoms and test results to the 11 criteria for a clinical diagnosis of lupus. “It’s like putting a puzzle together,” Moore said. “When you do a puzzle, you start with the four corners. For us, we look for four of the 11 criteria currently defined by the American College of Rheumatology.”

Our rheumatology team is here to help you. To make an appointment and learn about our services and providers, call us at 706-721-2273 or visit augustahealth.org/rheumatology.

About the author

Augusta University Health

Based in Augusta, Georgia, Augusta University Health is a world-class health care network, offering the most comprehensive primary, specialty and subspecialty care in the region. Augusta University Health provides skilled, compassionate care to its patients, conducts leading-edge clinical research and fosters the medical education and training of tomorrow’s health care practitioners. Augusta University Health is a not-for-profit corporation that manages the clinical operations associated with Augusta University.

1 Comment

  • The Md. told me I have Lupus at 86 years old one year ago.Have anyone ever heard of this?