Living Well With Autoimmune Disease

The human body is not the epitome of perfection and just like any system, it is subject to mishaps here and there every once in a while. Our bodies have natural immunity which prevents disease by guarding our bodies against the agents of disease in the form of viruses and bacteria. The immune system senses the presence of bacteria and viruses in the body and destroys them. There is a catch however, in that the immune system may sense a threat in non-threatening agents and attack the body thereby causing auto immune diseases. An auto immune disease has no cure in medicine, and the only way of managing an auto immune disease is by minimizing the effects of the disease.

One of the commonest auto immune diseases is lupus which has increased its occurrence amongst the American population in the recent past. If lupus is not discovered in time, the effects are life threatening. People suffering from this auto immune disease are more likely to have kidney failure and extensive damage to the other organs of the body. Damage to the brain by lupus causes seizures and psychosis. The lack of proper diagnosis of lupus is the main reason why it has spread wildly over the last few years as patients will more often than not treat the symptoms of the disease than the disease itself. The lack of cure of auto immune diseases may bring with it depression amongst patients.

Other auto immune diseases include Rheumatoid arthritis; which leaves a good percentage of the sufferers disabled, Grave's syndrome, Addison's disease and the Guillain-Barre syndrome. Most of these auto-immune diseases are genetically passed from one generation to the other and so it is vital for you to know if you are genetically predisposed to any autoimmune disease.

Dealing with auto immune diseases is a challenge to many. The sufferer needs to take a lot of medication to reduce the effects of the symptoms of the disease. Most of them are over the counter medication like aspirin. Depending on the disease you have and the symptoms of it; you may need occupational therapy and physical therapist if you have rheumatoid arthritis. You will need to check all your internal organs every once in a while to see if they are functioning and if they need any medication. A counselor will also help you to live with the disease and minimize depression.

Discuss It!