While there are many diseases in the world, there are few diseases that are likely to affect females rather than male. This is due to the presence of the female hormones and the reproductive system. You may have heard more of breast cancer and ovarian cancer affecting females in disastrous ways when left untreated or diagnosed at a late stage. However, there are another disease that often affects females and rarely any medical supplements can significantly treat this condition. This disease is lupus.

Lupus or well known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that involves several body systems which in general is associated with high number of morbidity and mortality. An autoimmune disease means the immune system of a person attacks its own body tissue causing great inflammation and damage. SLE is not easy to diagnose as there are numerous unspecific signs or symptoms leading to SLE. SLE is a disease that can never be cured in total but the complications can be controlled. Hence, it is important to know signs of a lupus to help a person get medical advice immediately and to help treat the disease better. By getting diagnosed early on and prompt treatment, chances of survival are high and a patient’s quality life can be enhanced. Here are top 5 signs of lupus that should be noticed:

1-     Extreme fatigue

If you are easily feeling tired all the time and you realise you have not done much for the day, you may want to get medical advice as it can be a sign of a disease. This sign can easily be missed and taken lightly. You may eventually realise this extreme fatigue even after a long rest that could not help with the tiredness.

2-     Pain or swelling of the joints and muscle

This can easily be spotted when you do not even do any strenuous activity or are pretty sure that you did not face any trauma to the limb. The pain and swelling is usually felt at the shoulder, upper arms, hips and thighs. The pain and swelling is caused by the inflammation attacking the kidney. When the kidney is unable to work well, it leads to fluid build-up and high blood pressure. In the end, this fluid leads to swelling or oedema.

3-     Skin rash

Rashes often happen to the face, especially the cheeks and nose. Healthcare professionals usually call it a butterfly-shaped rash. It is considered one of the obvious signs of a SLE.

4-     Sensitivity to light

When a patient’s skin is exposed to a light source such as a sun ray or even fluorescent lamp, it can easily cause rash to the skin. The rashes cause sore skin, red scaly rash and round in shape. Usually, the rash can be seen on the face, neck, arm and leg due to the light exposure.

5-     Fever

A simple yet most common sign of SLE is a fever. The fever is caused by the inflammation of the disease itself. Fever can be mild or even a really high temperature. Sometimes a person may be losing weight unintentionally due to fever as fever may contribute to loss of appetite.

Lupus itself is actually difficult to diagnose right away. A healthcare professional may be suspecting a person with SLE when patients show signs as mentioned above. Further tests such as the antinuclear antibody (ANA) blood test can help doctors detect if the autoimmune antibody is present in the body. Doctors will do further evaluation on the other body system before prescribing medicine and provide advice on how to live with SLE because SLE itself is a long-life medical condition. Get Vaccinated