Autoimmune Diseases

Your Creator has given your body an immune system that protects you from disease and infection. Sadly, your immune system may attack itself in the form of autoimmune diseases, which can affect many parts of your body, including your nerves, muscles, endocrine system (the system that controls your body’s hormones and other chemicals), and digestive system.

Essentially, autoimmunity can affect almost any organ or body system. The exact problem you may have with autoimmunity depends on which body tissues are targeted by your immune system. For example, if your skin is targeted, you may have skin rashes, blisters, or color changes; if your thyroid gland is affected, you may feel extremely tired, sensitive to cold, and muscle aches; if your joints are attacked, you may have severe joint pain, stiffness, and loss of function.

There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis, and myasthenia gravis, among many others. (Read my web page Diabetes.)

There are many diseases out there, which many people do not know about, such as mesothelioma. To get more information on mesothelioma, contact a trusted mesothelioma attornney to get the best information.

Many of these diseases associated with autoimmunity are often chronic, requiring lifelong care and monitoring.

                                             Who are at risk?

· Most of these diseases strike women more than they do men, particularly women of working age and during their child-bearing years.

· Stress is a major factor triggering the onset of an autoimmune disease, especially if you already have an over-stressed or a weakened immune system.

As you age, your stress may increase with increased limitations on your life. In order to cope with daily living, you need to conquer your stress.

Conquering Stress helps you get back your life by overcoming stress, depression, and anxiety, without the use of drugs and medications. These ailments and disorders are commonly associated with aging.

Also, visit my website World Religions on Stress Control to find out what world religions have to say about stress control.

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· The genes you inherit may predispose your susceptibility to developing an autoimmune disease.

· Viruses may also contribute to the development of an autoimmune disease.

(Read "Fungal infections" in Cancer. Also, go to my website Cancer Treatment Resources.)

                   What are the most common symptoms?

Though they may share some common symptoms, it is often difficult to diagnose which type of autoimmune disease you may be having. Many of them often do not show a clear pattern of symptoms at first. In addition, these symptoms may come and go (known as remission).

Diagnosis, however, can usually be made by using:

· Medical history (the genetic factor)

· Physical examination (obvious signs of physical and muscular weaknesses)

· Medical tests (blood sample for autoimmunity antibodies)

                                    Conventional treatments

Treatment depends on the type of autoimmune disease you may have, and the severity of the symptoms.

Since autoimmunity takes many forms, treatments may require different specialists, for example:

· A dermatologist to treat alopecia areata, psoriasis (problems of skin, hair, and nails)

· An endocrinologist to treat type 1 diabetes mellitus and thyroid disease (problems of glands and hormones)

· A gastroenterologist to treat Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis (problems of digestive system)

· A hematologist to treat pernicious anemia and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (problems of blood)

· A nephrologist to treat lupus (problems of kidneys)

· A neurologist to treat multiple sclerosis and myasthenia gravis (problems of nerve)

· A rheumatologist to treat lupus and scleroderma (problems of arthritis)

Generally, all medical treatments aim at:

· Relieving symptoms through the use of drugs

· Preventing further damage to organs affected: e.g. insulin injections to regulate your blood sugar if you have type 1 diabetes mellitus; drugs to control your inflamed kidneys if you have lupus

· Suppressing the immune system through immune-suppressing drugs

Your immune system is your body’s most specialized defense mechanism to protect you from any foreign invaders, such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. As such, it requires an intricate network of optimum functioning of many different cells in your body.

Conventional treatments aimed at suppressing your immune system in order to prevent further destruction of self-tissues may limit some symptoms and, at best, even manage pain, but do not result in a permanent cure. There are no miracle cures for autoimmune diseases.

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Copyright© by Stephen Lau

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