The choice of methods of treatment of lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus) depends on how strong the symptoms of the disease, whether the damaged internal organs and as signs of the disease impact on daily life. The treatment plan must meet the individual needs and may vary over time as the disease escalates or recedes.
You can control the symptoms, caring for themselves or a medication. Taking care of yourself includes getting the full knowledge of lupus, constant communication with your doctor and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Drugs that can be used for treatment of lupus include acetaminophen, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, corticosteroids, antimalarials and immunosuppressants.
Home Therapy
The purpose of the treatment of mild lupus - to prevent aggravation of the disease, when amplified fatigue, joint pain
Joint pain - how to understand what is going on?
and rash. Make a schedule of regular check-ups with your doctor, instead of waiting for an exacerbation of the disease. If it does happen, you need to start treatment as soon as possible, to minimize the harm to your body.
Treatment of mild lupus include:
- Minimum sunlight. If you still have to be in the sun, try the maximum to cover the hands and feet, put on a hat and apply sunscreen
Sunscreen is not just for the beach
broad spectrum with high protective factor to prevent skin;
- The use of corticosteroid ointments for rashes;
- Receiving small doses of corticosteroids if other drugs do not help control the symptoms of the disease;
- Acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and proper rest if you have weak joints or muscle pain and fever;
- Antimalarial drugs, especially for skin rashes, fatigue and pain in muscles and joints.
For more severe forms of lupus treatment may include:
- Higher doses of corticosteroids, tablets or injections;
- Drugs that suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants).
Patients with lupus are at higher risk of heart attacks and strokes than people who are not ill with the disease. To prevent a heart attack or stroke, your doctor will help you deal with the risk factors, namely high pressure and high cholesterol levels.
Good care of yourself - this is important in the fight against lupus. A healthy lifestyle can reduce the frequency and severity of exacerbations. Taking care of yourself and reducing the risk of heart attack and stroke. Taking care of yourself includes:
- Regular exercise;
- Good knowledge of lupus, and personal care;
- Smoking cessation;
- A healthy balanced diet;
- Support from family, friends and caregivers.
Treatment of skin rash, many people start with sunscreen, minimum exposure to sunlight and the use of protective clothing against the sun. If you want, you can use anti-malarial, corticosteroid ointments and pills, as well as retinoids, such as acitretin. Some treatments help some people and not others, and some therapies can sustained side effects. More research is needed to determine the most effective and safe method of treatment.
Current treatment
The progression of lupus occurs differently. Exacerbations and remissions may appear suddenly, unexpectedly and for no apparent reason. The main objective of the treatment of lupus - prevent or overcome the damage organs, including arteries, kidneys, bones and brain.
To monitor weak but constant symptoms of lupus, you need the following:
- Avoid sunlight. If you still need to be in the sun, protect the body clothing and apply a sunscreen of broad-spectrum SPF 50;
- Apply corticosteroid ointments for rashes;
- Take acetaminophen or non-steroidal anti-malarial drugs, and get plenty of rest;
- Take anti-malarial drugs, especially with skin rash, and fatigue and pain in the joints and muscles;
- Taking corticosteroids if other medicines do not help to cope with the symptoms of the disease.
If you have more severe symptoms of the disease is a threat to the organs of your body, treatment may include:
- corticosteroids at high doses, with serious complications requiring long treatment;
- drugs that suppress the immune system (immunosuppressants);
Treatment of deterioration
If you have serious complications from lupus, which strongly affect the quality of your life or threaten it, and if they entail loss of, you probably will need intensive care, which includes:
- high doses of corticosteroids;
- medicines that suppress your immune system (immunosuppressants) necessary in order to avoid permanent damage to your body organs and possible death.
Proper care is very important for the successful overcoming of lupus. It improves the quality of your life and can make the occurrence of exacerbations less frequent. For example, you can reduce the onset of an exacerbation, is well protected from the sun, avoiding the time and taking treatment for infections, as well as trying to avoid stress. Technique to reduce stress
How to beat stress? Create an oasis
It includes exercise and simplify your daily routine. Complete rest can reduce fatigue characteristic of lupus.
Some people with lupus produce a protein (antibody) that attacks certain indicators of blood clotting, which can cause the blood to clot easily. This condition, which is known as antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, may lead to a moderate or severe complications for the clotting of blood. If you develop this condition, you may need anticoagulant drugs to slow blood clotting. This is very important if you already have blood clots. Aspirin - nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug that is sometimes used to slow blood clotting.
If you have developed severe kidney disease, which can not be controlled with medication, you will need dialysis
Dialysis - maintains normal body
or a kidney transplant.
Caution
Treatment with corticosteroids and physical inactivity put people at risk of thinning bones (osteoporosis). Consuming adequate amounts of calcium and vitamin D, you slow down the process. Your doctor may also prescribe bisphosphonates, type of drugs used to prevent and treat osteoporosis).
Lupus treatment is complicated by the following factors:
- The cause and type of symptoms of lupus can be very different;
- Exacerbation and remission may occur at any time, making it difficult to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of your treatment;
- Some of the side effects of treatment can be as severe as the symptoms of lupus.
It is impossible to completely reduce all signs of the disease for a long period of time, especially without the side effects of drugs. Collaborate with your physician to achieve a balance between control over your disease, prevention of damage to your body and minimize side effects after long-term treatment with drugs. For example, you can take a dose of medication, which is able to control the development of lupus, and to prevent damage to other organs, but you can still manifest symptoms such as mild skin rashes, muscle pain and joint pain. The use of higher doses of the drugs for a long time increases the risk of serious side effects. Your doctor will prescribe you a dose sufficient to control only the most serious, life-threatening symptoms.
The hormones contained in birth control pills (oral contraceptives) are not harmful to women with lupus constant moderate severity. Women whose disease is out of control, can use non-hormonal methods of contraception, namely the copper-bearing intrauterine devices, condoms or a diaphragm.
