Lupus facts that many people may not know

Have you ever heard of lupus? Indeed, at first glance this disease is not as popular as cancer, diabetes, stroke, or high blood pressure. However, this disease is no less serious than the aforementioned diseases. Lupus or in medical language is called Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is one of the diseases that most often attacks humans. Although quite a lot of people suffer, knowledge about this disease is still minimal.

Curious? Get to know all the lupus facts in this article.

How common is lupus in Indonesia?

In Indonesia, the number of people with lupus is not known in detail. However, according to data from the Indonesian Lupus Foundation (YLI) quoted from Republika, the number of lupus sufferers in Indonesia in 2012 reached 12,700 people. This number then increased to 13,300 in April 2013.

The lupus facts you should know

Most people with lupus are very little aware that they have lupus. Apart from the fact that the symptoms are difficult to know, the symptoms of lupus also vary from person to person, depending on the number and type of antibodies produced and the organs affected. Because public knowledge regarding lupus is still minimal, here are some lupus facts that you should know.

1. Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes inflammation of the connective tissue and can damage several organs. Lupus occurs when there is a problem with the immune system and then attacks the body. This can affect the joints, skin, lungs, heart, blood vessels, kidneys, nervous system, and blood cells.

2. Lupus has various types

Lupus disease is divided into several types, namely:

• Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, the most common type of lupus that affects joints and organs
• Discoid lupus, which attacks the skin so that the rash on the skin doesn't go away
• Lupus due to drug use
• Neonatal lupus, affects newborns
• Subacute cutaneous lupus erythematosus, causes skin exposed to sunlight to feel sore

3. 90 percent of lupus patients are women

This disease most often affects women, even women are 10 times more likely to experience lupus than men. Most often, lupus develops in people aged 18 to 45 years. Although lupus is most common in women, it can affect men and children, as well as people of all ages. In addition, pregnant women will also be more susceptible to lupus. If lupus occurs during pregnancy, be careful, the health of the mother and the fetus can be disturbed, especially if not treated quickly.

4. Difficult to diagnose

Diagnosis of lupus is not easy and is often late because the symptoms that appear resemble those of various diseases. That is why, lupus is known as a disease that has 1000 faces. Because the symptoms are difficult to know, this is a challenge for the medical world to find new ways to be able to diagnose lupus early on precisely.

There are laboratory tests that can help the medical team diagnose lupus, but the results are not very accurate. That is why, to diagnose this disease, doctors need a long time. Doctors usually make a diagnosis from a combination of the patient's symptoms along with medical history, family and laboratory tests.

5. Treatment depends on the type of symptoms

Until now, lupus treatment depends on the signs and symptoms it causes. For example, if the cause is diagnosed as a disorder of the immune system in the joint, then that part will be treated by the doctor. Generally, doctors will prescribe a class of NSAID drugs, namely non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen if symptoms are limited to joint pain, muscle aches, fatigue, and skin rashes. However, the doctor may prescribe a drug with a high dose if there are complications that occur in multiple organs. That is why, these drugs can also cause extraordinary side effects.

6. The cause of lupus is not certain

Just like the symptoms that are caused, the exact cause of lupus is still unknown. Although research has shown that genes play an important role, they are not the only ones. For example, many studies have shown that sunlight and drugs can also trigger lupus.

7. Lupus patients can lead a normal life

With extra careful monitoring of lupus and appropriate treatment adjustments, most lupus patients can lead normal lives. The biggest enemy of this disease actually comes from within the patient, when the patient loses hope, loses enthusiasm, and gives up, causing frustration and even depression which actually has a negative effect on his health.

8. Tend to attack certain races

Although this disease most commonly affects women, certain races have an increased risk of lupus. According to the Lupus Foundation of America, lupus cases are found to be almost three times more common in African-American, Hispanic and Asian people than white (caucasian) people.