What are the risk factors?
Some people are born with a predisposition for developing lupus, which can be triggered by infections, drugs or sunlight. Among the risk factors for developing lupus:
Gender: Lupus is more common in women than in men but can be diagnosed in either gender.
Age: Lupus can attack people of all ages, but it’s most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 40.
Race: While the disease can strike anyone, regardless of race, it is more prevalent in African Americans, Hispanics and Asians.
What are the signs?
While no two lupus patients will experience the same sets of symptoms, if you develop any combination of the following 10 signs, you may want to talk to your doctor about whether you may have developed the disease.
Butterfly Rash
The most distinctive sign of lupus is a facial rash that resembles the wings of a butterfly unfolding across both of a patient’s cheeks. According to the Johns Hopkins Lupus Center, about 50 percent of all lupus patients develop this rash, which can appear spontaneously or appear gradually and after exposure to sunlight. In some patients, the rash is the symptom that indicates that a flare-up is imminent.
Skin Lesions
Lupus sufferers develop skin lesions that appear or are aggravated by sun exposure (photosensitivity). These non-itchy lesions can appear anywhere on the body, and some patients will experience regular hives.
Raynaud’s Phenomenon
Lupus sufferers may have fingers or toes that turn white or blue when exposed to sun or during stressful periods. This is a symptom called Raynaud’s phenomenon.
Shortness of Breath
Lupus sufferers may find that their lungs have become the disease’s target, and the complications may be life-threatening. The disease may cause inflammation of the lining around the lungs, called pleurisy. When this happens, patients experience shortness of breath, even when sitting still, pain in the lungs, a dry cough, or wheezing or coughing that brings up blood. These symptoms are serious, and if you experience them, get immediate medical attention by dialing 911 or visiting an emergency room.
Chest Pain
Also a result of pleurisy, patients with lupus may experience chest pains that come on quickly and without cause. The disease may cause inflammation of the pericardium, the sac that surrounds the heart.
Hair Loss
Thinning hair is often one of the earliest signs of lupus and is brought on by inflammation of the skin and scalp. While some patients may experience rapid hair loss, where hair falls out in clumps, most patients experience a slow thinning of the hair, as well as thinning of beards, eyebrows, eyelashes and other body hair. Lupus also can affect the appearance of hair, causing it to appear ragged, feel brittle and break easily -- earning it the nickname “lupus hair.”
Fatigue and Fever
As many as 90 percent of people living with lupus experience some level of chronic fatigue. For some, taking an afternoon nap is enough to recharge the body and help refresh them, while others find themselves sleeping often during the day and developing insomnia overnight. If fatigue affects your life, talk to your doctor because some causes of fatigue can be easily and successfully treated.
For many lupus patients, a low-grade fever (under 101.5) without any apparent cause is an early indicator. The low-grade fever may come on in a cyclical pattern and can be a sign of inflammation, infection or an imminent flare-up.
Joint Pain, Stiffness and Swelling
Lupus can cause inflammation, pain, stiffness and visible swelling of the joints, which can be particularly noticeable in the morning. For some patients, this swelling may come on gradually, becoming more obvious and painful over time, and as with other symptoms, the joint pain and stiffness can come and go with flare-ups.
Headaches
Lupus can attack both the central nervous system (CNS), comprising the brain and spinal cord, and the peripheral nervous system (PNS), which includes all the nerves that run throughout the body. About 20 percent of lupus patients suffer migraine-like headaches, and others suffer from what has been termed a “lupus headache,” which is caused by active lupus. While migraine medications and diet changes can ease or prevent these migraine-like headaches, true lupus headaches often require corticosteroids for treatment. If you suffer from headaches, your doctor can perform various tests, including a lumbar puncture, also called a spinal tap, or a blood vessel study to determine whether or not you suffer from lupus headaches.
Confusion and Memory Loss
The expression “lupus fog” is well known to lupus sufferers. The phenomenon expresses itself in patients having difficulty completing once-familiar tasks, like remembering names and important dates, keeping appointments, balancing a checkbook, or completing thoughts. Symptoms may be continuous or may come and go with flare-ups and can make school or work difficult or impossible. These symptoms of cognitive dysfunction may be caused by abnormalities in blood flow, which may result in decreased oxygen flow to parts of the brain.
If you experience any of these symptoms, it’s important to make an appointment with your doctor, who can help you rule out a number of other illnesses with similar symptoms and come to an accurate diagnosis. While there is no cure for lupus, there are treatments that have been shown to be effective in treating symptoms and minimizing flare-ups.