LUPUS: "Butterfly Rash": Know the Signs, Causes, Treatment, & Diet

BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Lupus is a chronic and potentially life-threatening, autoimmune disease. It can damage any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and other germs ("foreign invaders," like the flu). Normally your immune system produces proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these invaders and your body's healthy tissues ("auto" means "self"). In lupus, your immune system creates autoantibodies, which sometimes attack and destroy healthy cells and tissues. These attacks by autoantibodies contribute to inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

CONTENTS: Definitions, Causes, Types, Complications, Drug-induced Lupus Erythematosus, Signs and Symptoms, Diagnosis, Conventional Treatments, Alternative Treatment, Diet, Risk Factors, Lupus in Pregnancy, Disease associated with Lupus, Quality of Life of People with Lupus, How to Cope with Lupus, Employment and Disability Act for Lupus, and Hope Through Research.