- Medical history
- Complete exam
- Blood tests
- Skin biopsy (looking at skin samples under a microscope
- Kidney biopsy (looking at tissue from your kidney under a microscope).
Treatments
You may need special kinds of doctors to treat the many symptoms of lupus. Your health care team may include:
- A family doctor
- Rheumatologists—doctors who treat arthritis and other diseases that cause swelling in the joints
- Clinical immunologists—doctors who treat immune system disorders
- Nephrologists—doctors who treat kidney disease
- Hematologists—doctors who treat blood disorders
- Dermatologists—doctors who treat skin diseases
- Neurologists—doctors who treat problems with the nervous system
- Cardiologists—doctors who treat heart and blood vessel problems
- Endocrinologists—doctors who treat problems related to the glands and hormones
- Nurses
- Psychologists
- Social workers.
Your doctor will develop a treatment plan to fit your needs. You and your doctor should review the plan often to be sure it is working. You should report new symptoms to your doctor right away so that treatment can be changed if needed.
The goals of the treatment plan are to:
- Prevent flares
- Treat flares when they occur
- Reduce organ damage and other problems
Treatments may include drugs to:
- Reduce swelling and pain
- Prevent or reduce flares
- Help the immune system
- Reduce or prevent damage to joints
- Balance the hormones.
In addition to medications for lupus itself, sometimes other medications are needed for problems related to lupus such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or infection. Alternative treatments are those that are not part of standard treatment. No research shows that this kind of treatment works for people with lupus. You should talk to your doctor about alternative treatments.
Possible Complications
Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many areas of your body, including your:
- Kidneys. Lupus can cause serious kidney damage, and kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death among people with lupus. Signs and symptoms of kidney problems may include generalized itching, chest pain, nausea, vomiting and leg swelling (edema).
- Brain. If your brain is affected by lupus, you may experience headaches, dizziness, behavior changes, hallucinations, and even strokes or seizures. Many people with lupus experience memory problems and may have difficulty expressing their thoughts.
- Blood and blood vessels. Lupus may lead to blood problems, including anemia and increased risk of bleeding or blood clotting. It can also cause inflammation of the blood vessels (vasculitis).
- Lungs. Having lupus increases your chances of developing an inflammation of the chest cavity lining (pleurisy), which can make breathing painful.
- Heart. Lupus can cause inflammation of your heart muscle, your arteries or heart membrane (pericarditis). The risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attacks increases greatly as well.
Having lupus also increases your risk of:
- Infection. People with lupus are more vulnerable to infection because both the disease and its treatments weaken the immune system. Infections that most commonly affect people with lupus include urinary tract infections, respiratory infections, yeast infections, salmonella, herpes and shingles.
- Cancer. Having lupus appears to increase your risk of cancer.
- Bone tissue death (avascular necrosis). This occurs when the blood supply to a bone diminishes, often leading to tiny breaks in the bone and eventually to the bone’s collapse. The hip joint is most commonly affected.
- Pregnancy complications. Women with lupus have an increased risk of miscarriage. Lupus increases the risk of high blood pressure during pregnancy (preeclampsia) and preterm birth. To reduce the risk of these complications, doctors recommend delaying pregnancy until your disease has been under control for at least 6 months.
When to Contact a Medical Professional
When to call a doctor:
- You are suffering from chest pain or
- Shortness of breath.
- Trips to the bathroom are occurring less often, and you are urinating in smaller amounts than usual. Note any blood, as well.
- A fever over 100.5 without recent exposure to the cold or the flu
- Numbness or tingling in your hands or feet
- Dizziness
- Muscle fatigue
- Swelling in your lower legs or feet
- An noticeable behavioral changes, like anxiety or depression
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of hair
- Skin rashes
- New mouth or nose sores
- Any worsening of previously known symptoms.
Preventions
There is currently no way to prevent lupus. But people who smoke may be more likely to develop lupus. Avoiding smoking and perhaps other tobacco products may decrease your risk of developing lupus.
Natural Remedies
(BlackDoctor.org) — A butterfly-shaped rash on the face may be the first visible sign of lupus. While causes of this autoimmune disease are not clear, treatments do exist. According to research or other evidence, the following self-care steps may be helpful:
What You Need To Know:
Get more omega-3s
Reduce lupus-related inflammation by frequently eating foods rich in omega-3s, such as flaxseed and fatty fish; take up to 20 grams a day of fish oil under a doctor’s supervision
Discover DHEA
Under your healthcare provider’s supervision, take up to 200 mg a day of the hormone dehydroepiandrosterone to improve lupus symptoms
Uncover food sensitivities
Work with a knowledgeable health professional to find out if certain foods aggravate your condition
These recommendations are not comprehensive and are not intended to replace the advice of your doctor or pharmacist. Continue reading the full lupus article for more in-depth, fully-referenced information on medicines, vitamins, herbs, and dietary and lifestyle changes that may be helpful.