2021 July & August Cause
Autoimmune Disorders
Autoimmune disorders are diseases that result from your immune system mistakenly attacking your own body. Your immune system is unable to identify a foreign cell from your own cell, thus antibodies are released to attack healthy cells. Some autoimmune diseases only attack one organ and others attack the whole body.
80
over
different autoimmune diseases
Symptoms
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fatigue
-
achy muscles
-
swelling and redness
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low-grade fever
-
trouble concentrating
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numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
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hair loss
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skin rashes
2.7%
of men have an autoimmune disease
6.4%
of women have an autoimmune disease
Testing
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Doctors need to do many tests to identify autoimmune diseases
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Antinuclear Antibody test (ANA) is a test doctors first do to see if someone could have an autoimmune disease
-
Other tests look at specific autoantibodies in blood
Treatment
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Drugs are used to decrease immune responses and help alleviate symptoms
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Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
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​Immune-suppressing drugs
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