SearchExclusive.com

First Symptoms of Lupus to Watch Out For

Lupus is a complicated and often debilitating condition. Catching the first symptoms of lupus early is important for initiating treatment of this condition. Lupus is a collection of autoimmune disorders, rather than one single disease. In an autoimmune disorder, the body’s immune system attacks the body itself. Lupus is a chronic condition, and the most severe and most common form of lupus is Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.

The first symptoms of lupus can manifest in a variety of ways. Since the autoimmune reaction causes inflammation to a number of different areas like the joints, skin, heart, kidneys, and lungs, it becomes hard to pinpoint one specific indicator as a sign of lupus.

These vague first symptoms of lupus also make it hard to diagnose the condition accurately, since it can mimic a number of other diseases and conditions. The first symptoms of lupus manifest in early adulthood or the late teens, but some late-onset cases develop in the 30s. More instances of lupus occur in women than men.

People with lupus experience flare-ups of the condition, followed by periods of remission that can last for months, or even years, followed by more flare-ups. This can make it easy to overlook the first symptoms of lupus.

First Symptoms Of Lupus

The first symptoms of lupus can manifest in many ways depending on the part of the body that is affected. These are a few of the more generalized first symptoms of lupus:

Fever
Joint pain
Fatigue
General discomfort
Hair loss
Swollen lymph nodes
Sensitivity to sunlight

Other Symptoms of Lupus

Butterfly rash

The butterfly rash is the most common indicator of lupus and is quite specific to this condition. However, in a few rare cases, the rash may not develop at all. The rash is red and bumpy and extends from the bridge of the nose across the cheeks, which gives it the appearance of butterfly wings. The rash almost always occurs only on the face but can manifest elsewhere on the body like the chest. This rash worsens when exposed to sunlight.

Mouth or nose ulcers

Some people may develop painful ulcers on the tissue of the oral or nasal cavity. One possible cause of mouth ulcers is that lupus decreases saliva production, leading to dry mouth and mouth ulcers.

Hair loss or thinning hair

Hair thinning is often one of the first symptoms of lupus that people notice. The thinning or hair loss may be uniform, or in patches. The scalp may also become dry and scaly. The hair becomes dry, brittle, and takes on a ragged appearance. Some people also start to lose hair on other parts of their body including the eyebrows, eyelashes, and other body hair.

Fatigue

Fatigue is a rather vague symptom that can be caused by a number of reasons, but it is still one of the most important first symptoms of lupus. Since lupus causes inflammation in almost the entire body, this leads to a lot of physical and emotional stress. About 90% of people afflicted with lupus experience some level of fatigue. In some cases, this fatigue can be crippling, but it’s important to try to maintain some level of activity.

Frequent infections

Since lupus is an autoimmune condition, the immune system is compromised, which leaves patients at risk of catching an infection. This lowered immunity means that one of the first symptoms of lupus is an abnormally frequent and recurrent proneness to infections.

Joint pain or stiffness

Joint stiffness and pain, especially in the morning, often start months or years before any other symptoms manifest. This makes it an important first symptom of lupus to watch out for. Joint problems are often widespread, with a number of joints throughout the body being affected.

95% of people with lupus develop symptoms akin to arthritis in their joints.

Sensitivity of the extremities

The tips of the fingers and toes may turn blue during periods of stress or when exposed to cold. This is known as Raynaud’s disease. There may also be generalized sensitivity, and pain in the fingers and toes.

Chest pain

Lupus can affect the lungs and cause inflammation in the lungs, the blood vessels in the lungs, and the diaphragm. This causes a painful or a burning sensation when breathing, which is another early indicator of lupus.

Kidney inflammation

Kidney inflammation is one of the more serious symptoms of lupus. It can cause low blood pressure, swelling in the legs, darker urine, blood in urine, and other complications. Lupus is relatively rare but if you have a family member with lupus, or if you’re particularly susceptible, you should watch out for the first symptoms of lupus. There is no cure for lupus but the condition can be managed with medication and support. It is important to see a doctor and start treatment as soon as the first symptoms of lupus start to appear. This will help reduce the severity of the condition.

Related Reading

Tips for Buying the Best Dog Food

Most of the dogs do not have a food fuss and may eat almost anything that you feed them. Dogs are not choosy at all when it comes to food and nutrition. Hence, it is important to make sure that the food that you are purchasing for your dog is healthy. The landscape of dog food has been developing by leaps and bounds in recent times. There is a wide variety of options to choose from in the online and offline market. Given the wide range of options that are available today, buying the best dog food might seem to be a confusing task indeed. All the commercial pet food that is available in the market today is regulated by the FDA. Therefore, most of the products do contain nutritious, healthy, and safe ingredients. But it does help to know certain basic factors you should look for while buying food for your dog. Prioritize on the nutritional guarantee The best dog food, which meets the dog’s needs adequately has a statement written on the label of the product, from the Association of American Feed Control Officials. Buy from some of the best dog food brands, such as Fromm Family Foods, Earthborn Holistic, Nature’s Variety Instinct, and The Honest Kitchen.

Different Types of Kitchen Cabinets Available for Your Home

The most important aspect when designing your kitchen is deciding on the type of cabinets. In addition to functionality, kitchen cabinets score on aesthetics as well. Once the layout is planned, you can go ahead with choosing the cabinets. If you’re remodeling your home or just the kitchen, what you need to consider are the types of cabinets that furnish your kitchen. Here are a few types of kitchen cabinets that you can choose from. Base cabinets These kitchen cabinets are mounted on the floor and they are placed after checking out the floor plan. A major part of your job in the kitchen is on these base cabinets, which hold and support the countertops. These base cabinets are combined to carve out kitchen islands. A number of base cabinets are fused/set against one another and installed on site. The base cabinets, in addition to supporting the countertops, serve as drawers to hold your cutlery and appliances. Wall cabinets Mounted on the walls, these cabinets can store everything, right from your cookware to cookbooks. In terms of design, they offer utmost flexibility. Wall cabinet kitchen is available in varying heights, multiple widths, and custom depth options. This customization helps you to fit in your stuff of varying shapes and sizes into the wall cabinets.

How to Pick the Right Dog Food for a Sensitive Stomach

In today’s world, where you are presented with over a dozen choices for every item you would purchase for your own kitchen, it is not surprising that you have an equal number of options for your dog’s food. However, choosing the perfect brand and formula for your dog out of a range of options in the market is not an easy job. Your pet depends on you and trusts you to make the right choice for them. Therefore, it is imperative that you do your research about the products available in the market, understand what your dog needs, know what might be your pet’s problems, and then make a sound decision. What is a sensitive stomach? Dogs are known to have voracious and large appetites. Keeping that in mind, it is normal to assume that they have strong stomachs. They can eat close to anything be it sweets, bakes, chewy gum, hard leather or even woolen socks for that matter! It always so happens that the strongest of them are prone to allergies and can develop a disorder which is medically translated as a sensitive stomach. This might be due to a sudden change in the food habits or even due an infection picked up from somewhere.

All You Need to Know about Cat Food

For cat owners, cat food is a hot topic. You need to think about it in different aspects. The best thing is to know which ingredients are good for cat food and which are harmful. If you are aware of this, you can get an idea about the quality of the cat food just by going through the label. It is always sensible to stick to one brand of cat food. However, you may also want to try and prepare cat food yourself. There are also various options for wet cat food as well. Cat’s love for fish is universal, so you can do without going for expensive cat food. Nevertheless, whether you buy it or prepare cat food at home, you need to ensure that the food contains enough nutrition and calories. You would need to have some idea about the ingredients that must be present in cat food and make a worthy selection for your cat. Basic ingredients present in good cat foods Cats need a variety of nutrients to stay healthy and active; they need various vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, and oils. The following is a brief explanation of the basic ingredients that should be present in cat foods.