Autoimmune disease is a fairly common disease that can occur in men and women of all ages; about 23.5 million people across the United States. Your immune system protects your body from all sorts of infection and disease, it is basically your bodies support system. But, autoimmune disease is a condition when your immune system does the exact opposite, it mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in your body, most often destroying it in the process.
A healthy body’s immune system contains white blood cells that fight off antigens, or harmful substances. Some examples of antigens include cancer, bacteria, viruses, and other toxins. The immune systems fights off these antigens by producing antibodies which help to prevent the body from becoming sick and damaged. What causes autoimmune disease is when your immune system can no longer tell the difference between your healthy body tissue and any antigens that may enter your body, therefore your body tissue starts to become destroyed. The most commonly affected tissues are the skin, blood vessels, muscles, red blood cells, and joints. The effected tissue can face deconstruction, abnormal growth and changes in function.
There are several kinds of autoimmune disorders, some examples include:-Addison’s Disease-Celiac Disease-Type 1 Diabetes-Graves Disease-Several forms of Arthritis-Multiple Sclerosis
The cause of this occurrence is unfortunately unknown. Some theories suggest that some bacteria, drugs or viruses may cause the miss-communication with your body but it has not been proven to be true. With that being said, that means there is no preventive measures that be taken to avoid this disease.
There are several symptoms that may arise if you are suffering from an autoimmune disorder. Three of the most common symptoms are fever, a general sick feeling and fatigue. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should contact your doctor where they can test you with a physical exam, antinuclear antibody tests, auto-antibody tests, and CBC.
Treatment all depends on the area of the infection. If it is effecting the blood you may need a blood transfusion, insulin and vitamin supplements may be needed to reproduce what the body is lacking, and medications such as corticosteroids and non-steroid drugs such as tacrolimus, sirolimus and azathioprine.
Unfortunately most autoimmune disease are considered to be chronic and incurable, some can lead to death and some to disability but with recent advancements researches have found that the disease can be controlled with proper treatment and follow ups.