Lupus is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune disease.
Nine out of 10 people with lupus are women.
Lupus symptoms can change over time and vary from person to person.
Symptoms include:
mild or severe
come and go
It lasts for a short time or a long time.
lupus flares
A flare, or flare-up, is when your lupus symptoms get worse or new symptoms appear.
Symptoms of redness include:
- Fever or flu-like symptoms that are not due to infection
- Joint pain or swelling
- fatigue
- Rash, tingling, or numbness of the skin
- Inflammation or ulcers in the mouth or nose
- my legs are swollen
Lupus triggers
Some common triggers that trigger lupus symptoms for the first time or worsen existing symptoms include:
- Sunlight and certain indoor lighting
- Fluorescent or halogen bulbs
- Ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun or tanning booths
- medication
Some drugs, such as hydralazine, procainamide, and quinidine, can cause drug-induced lupus.
- physical stress
- infection
- injury
- major physical changes in the body, such as pregnancy
- infection or disease
- parvovirus
- shingles
- Epstein-Barr virus
- certain bacterial infections
- emotional stress
- nursing
- job stress
- financial problems
- sadness or loss
- Discrimination and Harassment
Childhood trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are closely linked to lupus.
- fatigue or lack of sleep
- air pollution
- performance
- smog
- Silica dust, ozone and other particulate matter
- exposure to heavy metals and toxins
Tracking your symptoms can help you identify and avoid triggers and prevent lupus flares.
This training material was created with support from Merck.
