Lupus is one of the few sicknesses that have been popular lately in the Nigerian search engine, and the reason is not far fetched. Ever since the wonderful screen goddess, Nollywood actress Kevin Afolabi, recently came out and opened up to the whole world on her battle with Lupus, how much the deadly disease has cost her financially, and how she has about five years to live.
What exactly is Lupus? It is said to be an inflammatory diseases which doesn’t exactly have an exact cause, but can be triggered be genetic and environmental factors. There are 4 basic types of lupus;
- Cutaneous Lupus which affects the skin
- Neonatal Lupus transferred from mother to child
- Drug infused Lupus which is said to be a result from high dose of some medications
- Sysytemic Lupus Erythematosus which is the most common lupus which occurs in 70% of all lupus cases.
Symptoms of Lupus includes fever, inflammation of joints or stiff joints which can be painful, chest pain especially when breathing, loss of hair, rashes with butterfly shapes, ulcers of the nose or mouth, anaemia, extreme tiredness, urine change, and blood clotting in an abnormal way. With the symptoms mentioned, the organs basically affected includes the brain, kidney, the heart and the lungs.
Lupus has no cure, but how can one be safe or protected from this Incurable plague? Depending on severity, the signs could be little or big
Even though the cause hasn’t been clearly understood in some cases, it is safe to say that some individuals have higher chances of having lupus, and could be triggered by infection, light or drugs. Lupus occurs more in women, and is usually diagnosed in people between the ages of 15-45.
The central nervous system, the brain, the kidney, the heart, the lungs and blood vessels all present various complications when Lupus is diagnosed in an individual. Pregnancy complications also occurs, as well as cancer in rare cases. Lupus weakens the immune system deeply, and its treatment also does the same.
