Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system attacks the body’s own tissues, causing a range of health problems. Treatment involves immunosuppressant drugs, supportive medications, physical therapy, and lifestyle changes. These diseases can be difficult to manage and require lifelong medical care.
An autoimmune disease is a medical condition characterized by an overactive immune system that attacks the body, mistaking the body’s normal tissues for harmful substances. A huge number of genetic and acquired conditions fall under the umbrella of autoimmune diseases, and there are numerous approaches to treatment and management. People with such conditions usually require lifelong medical care, often from a team of doctors who can provide support from a variety of angles.
Normally, the immune system is used to identify harmful substances by latching onto antigens on their surface. Once the immune system identifies something that shouldn’t be in the body, it sends out an army of white blood cells to destroy it before it has a chance to hurt the body. In people with an autoimmune disease, the immune system misidentifies a part of the body as a dangerous antigen and begins attacking the connective tissue, glands, skin, nerves, or blood vessels in the body.
Some examples of this condition include: Wegener’s disease, scleroderma, alopecia areata, multiple sclerosis, Graves’ disease, Hashimoto’s disease, lupus, interstitial cystitis, Crohn’s disease, and Chagas disease, among many others. Some of these diseases are the result of exposure to various pathogens, while others are genetic in nature, and some just appear one day, for no apparent reason. These conditions can cause a number of related health problems, including fatigue, endocrine dysfunction, digestive difficulties, and changes in skin color or texture.
The first step in treatment is an accurate diagnosis to explore the cause behind the immune system activity. Patients are also often given immunosuppressant drugs which will reduce the activity of the immune system so it cannot cause further damage. Supportive medications such as hormones can be used to compensate for the damage caused by the immune system and the patient may also need to undergo physical therapy or modify their diet and lifestyle to cope with the changes caused by the autoimmune disease .
These diseases can be very frustrating and difficult to manage. The drugs used to control them can have serious side effects and many patients suffer from the need to take very expensive and intense lifelong drugs to keep the disease under control. These diseases can also cause friction in workplaces and schools as people try to lead normal lives with a chronic autoimmune disease which can sometimes make it difficult to engage in ordinary activities.
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