Your immune system is supposed to be your body’s main defense against illnesses and infections that are trying to harm you. Unfortunately, certain diseases turn your immune system against you. When this occurs, it affects normal tissue and organs, resulting in a range of symptoms that can vary from mild to life-threatening. Although there are various treatment options for autoimmune diseases, doctors often resort to immunosuppressants to regulate the immune system’s behavior. Since there can be side effects, you have to learn how to stay healthy while taking them.
Why Doctors Use Immunosuppressants for NMOSD
Your doctor may use several treatment options to manage NMOSD. This can include anti-inflammatory drugs to control the inflammation in your body and a plasma exchange to strengthen your immune system. However, many people with an autoimmune disease are prescribed immunosuppressants. These may be given intravenously on a scheduled basis, or you may have pills that you take daily. In either case, you’re likely to need them for your entire life.
Immunosuppressants are necessary because they’re the only way to address the root cause of your condition. When your immune system has started to attack your body, these medications suppress its function so there’s no additional damage to your organs. They also reduce the occurrence of inflammation that an abnormal immune system can cause. Additionally, you should experience fewer or less severe symptoms from the disease. Sometimes, people who use immunosuppressants go into remission, where they no longer have any symptoms of their autoimmune disease.
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For NMOSD, it’s critical to choose the right treatment plan, as leaving the disease uncontrolled can lead to permanent damage.
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The Side Effects of Immunosuppressant Treatment
All immunosuppressants have the potential for causing side effects. While the specific ones will depend on which medications you take, the effects can include headaches, high blood pressure, uncontrolled shaking, thinning bones, chronic fatigue, acne, nausea, unexplained weight gain, and mouth sores. Some of them can also increase your risk of developing diabetes.
As you might expect, immunosuppressants affect your immune system’s ability to protect you. That means you’ll be more susceptible to blood infections like sepsis, skin infections like cellulitis, fungal infections like thrush, and respiratory infections like colds, flus, or pneumonia.
There are also complications if you don’t stick to your prescribed schedule of doses. Simply skipping a single dose could result in a flare in your condition, which means you’ll experience worsening of the symptoms associated with your condition. Once you catch up on your treatment, you should start to feel better again, but you don’t want to risk damaging your body.
10 Tips for Keeping Healthy
1. Get Your Vaccines
When you’re on immunosuppressants, you need all the help you can get to avoid getting sick. Vaccines can help you to do that. Live vaccines use a weakened form of the germ to spark a specific immunity, while inactive vaccines contain either a fragment of the germ or mRNA that will build a general immune response. There are advantages to both, so it’s best to ask your doctor which one is best for you. Some of the vaccines suggested for those on immunosuppressants are the flu, COVID-19, pneumococcal, shingles, Hib, and meningococcal.
If you’re traveling overseas, pay attention to which vaccines you may need. For example, you may need vaccines for measles, polio, diphtheria, tetanus, yellow fever, chikungunya, mumps, and chickenpox when travelling to Argentina.
RELATED: Flu Season & Immunosuppressants: 3 Things to Consider
2. Get Tested for COVID-19 Regularly
Most people who have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine may not have bad symptoms if they contract the illness. The same might not be true for someone who is immunocompromised. That’s why it’s important to get tested quickly to determine if you have COVID-19. Once you know, you can get any medical intervention you need.
3. Avoid Large Gatherings
It’s impossible to tell how healthy everyone else is when you’re in a crowd. Although being exposed to viruses might not affect some people, you catch illnesses a lot more quickly when you’re immunocompromised. It’s best to stay away from large gatherings and wear a mask when you’re going to be around other people.
4. Wash Your Hands Regularly
You can’t wash your hands enough when taking immunosuppressants. As you go about your day, it’s easy to accumulate microorganisms on your hands that can make you sick. You should wash your hands after using the bathroom, touching pets, handling animal waste, handling raw foods, gardening, being on public transportation, and changing dirty diapers.
5. Eat Safely
Taking immunosuppressants can mean that you won’t recover from a foodborne illness as quickly as others. To avoid this, you should be cautious of what you eat. You shouldn’t eat from any restaurants that you don’t trust, as their food practices might make you ill. When at home, you should store food at the right temperature, wash your produce, clean all food surfaces well, and cook food thoroughly. If you still feel sick in spite of all these precautions, then talk to your doctor as soon as possible. You should also avoid raw foods and any dishes that are known to have raw ingredients, such as raw vegetables, unpasteurized dairy products, unpasteurized fruit juices, and raw honey.
6. Stick to a Primary Care Provider
Having a primary care provider can make it easier for you to get treatment quickly when you need it. Since you have a chronic condition and are immunocompromised, it’s a good idea to have a primary point of contact who already knows about your health issues. They will also have access to all your medical information so they can identify any trends that might be concerning.
7. Enjoy a Diet That’s Rich in Nutrients
Your diet is one way to help your body fight infections. To accomplish this, doctors suggest staying away from restrictive diets and focusing on getting nutrients instead. Some great things to include in your diet are lean meat, eggs, fish, pasteurized tofu, pasteurized low-fat milk, and low-fat pasteurized yogurt.
8. Practice Proper Dental Hygiene
Your teeth are linked to different aspects of your health. If you don’t take care of your dental hygiene, you’re more prone to developing cavities and gum disease. These conditions can quickly spiral out of control in someone who is immunocompromised. To make things worse, studies show that poor dental health can lead to other conditions like heart disease, pneumonia, and endocarditis.
9. Get a Good Night’s Rest
Sleeping well is essential to your overall health. Although the relationship is complicated, studies show that a good night’s sleep can lead to a better immune system, fewer instances of catching respiratory illnesses, healthier blood pressure, better weight management, better stress management, lower risk of mental health issues, and a lower risk of heart disease.
10. Have Fun Carefully
Being immunocompromised doesn’t mean that you can’t have fun, but you have to be more thoughtful about it. You need to be careful not to get cuts or scratches while relaxing, and if you’re going swimming, you have to ensure that the water is clean. Some immunosuppressants can increase your sensitivity to sunlight, so it’s best to go outside in the early or late hours when there’s less sun exposure.
If you’re dealing with NMOSD, immunosuppressants may be a regular part of your life. While these medications are helping to manage your condition, they can have side effects that significantly affect your health. To ensure that you’re living well, follow these tips to take care of yourself.
