All Things Lupus

Lupus is a chronic auto-immune disease that can cause inflammation and pain in various parts of your body due to your immune system attacking healthy tissue in the body.

Who gets lupus?

Lupus is more common in women, especially women between ages 15 and 44, but men, the elderly, and children can also develop lupus. Lupus is a tricky disease, the causes of lupus are unknown, but the medical community believes genetics, hormones, and environmental factors might play a role in who develops lupus. Lupus is not contagious and can not pass from person to person. 

How can I tell if I have lupus?

Lupus is notoriously difficult to diagnose because symptoms vary from person to person, come and go over a long time, change over time, and imitate other symptoms illnesses. While it is difficult to pin down lupus, here are a few symptoms to look out for:

• Severe, frequent fatigue
• Swelling or pain in joints
• Swelling in extremities or around eyes
• Headaches, migraines, or seizures
• Loss of color and feeling in extremities when cold or stressed
• Sensitivity to light
• Chest pain when breathing deeply
• A butterfly rash across nose and cheeks
• Nose and mouth sores ^1,2

Livin’ La Vida Lupus

Making Lupus Visible:

Paula Abdul

Entertainer and Lupus Warrior

Having lupus doesn’t mean slowing down or missing a beat, especially not for singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality, Paula Abdul. 

Paula Abdul has battled lupus for a long time. The star credits her doctor with keeping her condition manageable and has also talked about living with the pain, which has previously gotten in the way of her dancing abilities. At one point, her career was nearly destroyed by lupus. Some of her worst flareups made walking difficult and dancing seem almost impossible.

“When I was diagnosed, I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s finally caught up with me.’ (referring to her dancing career). But I don’t let this slow me down. I have a lot more living in me and a lot more performing that I want to do. I definitely needed to work through my diagnoses mentally.”

– From interview with Parade Magazine ³

Better Control Over Lupus

While there is no cure for lupus, there are many traditional and alternative approaches to helping you control lupus. ⁴

Alternative ideas and approaches:

Living an overall healthy lifestyle

Take care of your heath to best manage lupus.  Eating a balanced diet, getting adequate rest, using sunscreen, and getting daily movement can all help with flareups.

Medication to help with lupus symptoms include:

• Anticoagulants like Eliquis and Warfarin thin your blood to help prevent blood clots.
• Antimalarials like Hydroxychloroquine help protect your skin from rashes and UV light, and exposure.
• Immunosuppressives like Azathioprine, Mycophenolate Mofetil, and Methotrexate help keep your immune system from attacking the healthy tissue in your body.
• Steroids like Prednisolone helps with inflammation of the skin joints and other organs.
• Anti-Inflamatories like Diclofenac Sodium can also help with swelling and inflammation. ^5,6,7

Make GeniusRx part of your team.

Early diagnosis and proper medical treatment can significantly help control lupus. No two people with this chronic disease are the same, so the best treatment approach is with a health care team that will create a tailored treatment specific to your condition, and GeniusRx is ready to be part of your team. We can work with you and your health care team to offer FDA-approved medications that are tailored to your condition with fast and free delivery to your home.

Contact us today or visit our website for more information.

Data and information from: 

(1) Lupus.org (2) World Lupus Day (3) Parade Magazine (4) VeryWell Health (5) Lupus.org  (6) WebMD (7) Medical News Today