Autoimmune diseases are when your immune system attacks your own body instead of foreign invaders. There are more than 100 autoimmune diseases, including conditions such as celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and psoriasis. These occur when the immune system mistakenly attacks parts of the human body.
Symptoms
Generally speaking, an autoimmune disease symptom checklist includes:
- Fatigue
- Pain and swelling in the muscles, connective tissues, and/or joints
- Skin rashes
- Stomach ache
- Swollen glands
- Recurring low-grade fever.
- Trouble concentrating
- Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet.
Causes
The precise cause of autoimmune diseases is unknown. However, there are risk factors that may increase your chances of getting an autoimmune disease. Risk factors include:
- Some medications. Talk to your healthcare provider about the side effects of medications for blood pressure, statins and antibiotics.
- Having relatives with autoimmune diseases. Some diseases are genetic — they run in families.
- Smoking.
- Already having one autoimmune disease. You’re at a higher risk of developing another.
- Exposure to toxins.
- Being female — 78% of people who have an autoimmune disease are women.
- Obesity.
- Infections.
Treatments
There are no cures for autoimmune diseases, but symptoms can be managed. Everyone’s immune system, genetics and environment are different. That means that your treatment must be unique.
Medicines
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