Autoimmune Disease Means The Body Is Self-Attacking

Autoimmune diseases occur when the immune system attacks healthy cells in the body. In fact, the immune system should be a stronghold for the body to fight disease and foreign cells such as bacteria and viruses.
Immune disorders can affect many parts of a person's body. So far, there are 80 types of autoimmune diseases with many of the same symptoms. This makes it difficult to know whether someone is suffering from this disorder or not and what type. Meanwhile, the cause of autoimmune disease is still unclear.

Autoimmune diseases are usually seen

Among the many types of autoimmune diseases, various lower autoimmune diseases are often found, including:

rheumatoid arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is an autoimmune disease that is often encountered. The immune system produces antibodies that attack the joint lining. The following attacks of antibodies are inflammation, swelling and pain in the joints. Severe inflammation can also cause damage to other parts of the body, such as the skin, eyes and lungs.
Untreated, this disease will cause permanent damage to the joints. To prevent damage, people with rheumatoid arthritis are usually oral drugs or injections that work to reduce the activity of the immune system.

lupus

Other autoimmune diseases that are often heard are systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or call lupus. This disease causes the formation of antibodies that actually affect almost all tissues of the patient's body. Some parts of the body that are most often attacked are the joints, lungs, kidneys, skin, connective tissue of the body, blood vessels, bone marrow and nerve tissue. So far there is no cure for lupus. Lupus treatment is usually intended to suppress the immune system, reduce inflammation and prevent further damage to organs.

Type 1 Diabetes

Usually this disease is diagnosed from an infant or an adult. Type 1 diabetes is caused by the body's immune system attack pancreatic cells that have the task of producing insulin. This causes a disruption in insulin production so the body cannot control blood sugar levels.
If this does not stop, the risk of causing damage to various organs such as kidneys, eyes, brain, heart or blood vessels. For treatment, patients with type 1 diabetes will receive insulin injections. In addition, patients are also asked to track blood sugar levels, carry out a healthy diet and exercise regularly.

Multiple sclerosis (MS)

When the immune system of a person attacks his own nerve cells, some symptoms appear because of a terrible risk. This condition is commonly known as MS alias multiple sclerosis. Some of the symptoms that can occur are pain, blindness, impaired body coordination, and muscle spasms. Other symptoms that may occur are tremors, numbness in the leg area, paralysis, difficulty speaking or difficulty walking.
To treat it, some drugs can be used to suppress the immune system. Physiotherapy and occupational therapy can be done to help MS patients in their daily activities.

Graves' disease

Graves' disease is an autoimmune disease that causes the thyroid gland to become overactive. People who suffer from this disease are likely to experience various symptoms that can interfere with daily activities. Insomnia, easily ignited emotions, weight loss for no reason, and bulging eyes are symptoms. Other symptoms that may occur are too sensitive to heat, muscle weakness, tremors (shaking hands), and menstrual disorders.
To treat Graves' disease, patients are likely to give radioactive iodine pills. It is used to kill cells from an overactive thyroid gland. Patients may also receive anti-thyroid medications, beta-blocker classes, drugs against hypertension and corticosteroids. Some cases of Graves' disease must be treated surgically.

psoriasis

Psoriasis is a disease of the overactive immune system, which causes chronic skin diseases. This condition is caused by blood cells in the immune system that are overactive, namely T cells namely a collection of T cells in the skin to stimulate the skin to grow faster than expected. Namely the symptoms of psoriasis appear scaly patches on the skin and exfoliation leaving a bright white layer. To deal with this, the doctor will provide an immunosuppressive drug system, such as corticosteroids and light therapy.

Some autoimmune risk factor diseases Affected

So far, the cause of autoimmune disease is unknown. However, there are several factors that cause a person more at risk of suffering from autoimmune diseases, namely:

Genetic or hereditary
The main risk factor for autoimmune diseases is genetic. However, this factor is not the only thing that can trigger an immune reaction.

environment

Important environmental factors in the development of autoimmune diseases. Environmental factors include exposure to certain substances such as asbestos, mercury, silver and gold, and poor diet.

hormonal changes

Some autoimmune diseases often affect women after childbirth. This leads to the hypothesis that the presence of autoimmune diseases is related to hormonal changes, for example during pregnancy, childbirth or menopause.

infection

Some autoimmune diseases are often associated with infection. This is reasonable because most of the symptoms of autoimmune disease are exacerbated by certain infections.

Although autoimmune diseases are still unknown causes, but we can realize the risk factors above. Seek immediate medical attention if you have the above symptoms. The sooner we find, the more likely it is to be able to prevent complications from autoimmune diseases.