Sequential Post on We Men Celebrating Women’s Day – Details of Auto-Immune Disease (For Chennai Bloggers Club)

Sequential Post on We Men Celebrating Women’s Day – Details of Auto-Immune Disease (For Chennai Bloggers Club)

I have named few diseases in my earlier post “We Men Celebrating Women’s Day”, and As many bloggers and readers felt it would be good if I can post the details about the diseases. So here I am sharing the details of the diseases mentioned in my earlier post. Hope it will be helpful .

AUTO-IMMUNE DISEASES

What is Auto-Immune Disease :

Our bodies have an immune system, which is a complex network of special cells and organs that defends the body from germs and other foreign invaders. At the core of the immune system is the ability to tell the difference between self and nonself: what's you and what's foreign. A flaw can make the body unable to tell the difference between self and nonself. When this happens, the body makes autoantibodies (AW-toh-AN-teye-bah-deez) that attack normal cells by mistake. At the same time special cells called regulatory T cells fail to do their job of keeping the immune system in line. The result is a misguided attack on your own body. This causes the damage we know as autoimmune disease. The body parts that are affected depend on the type of autoimmune disease. There are more than 80 known types.

Who are prone to this Auto-Immune Diseases :

Autoimmune diseases can affect anyone. Yet certain people are at greater risk, including:

Women of childbearing age — More women than men have autoimmune diseases, which often start during their childbearing years.

People with a family history — Some autoimmune diseases run in families, such as lupus and multiple sclerosis. It is also common for different types of autoimmune diseases to affect different members of a single family. Inheriting certain genes can make it more likely to get an autoimmune disease. But a combination of genes and other factors may trigger the disease to start.

People who are around certain things in the environment — Certain events or environmental exposures may cause some autoimmune diseases, or make them worse. Sunlight, chemicals called solvents, and viral and bacterial infections are linked to many autoimmune diseases.

People of certain races or ethnic backgrounds — Some autoimmune diseases are more common or more severely affect certain groups of people more than others. For instance, type 1 diabetes is more common in white people. Lupus is most severe for African-American and Hispanic people.

Symptoms and other details of the diseases mentioned in my earlier post :

The following are the disease which I mentioned in my earlier post :

1.      Hashimoto's thyroiditis.

2.      Graves' disease

3.      Multiple sclerosis (MS)

4.      Myasthenia gravis

5.      Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)

6.      Rheumatoid arthritis

1.       Hashimoto's thyroiditis : A disease that causes the thyroid to not make enough thyroid hormone.

Symptoms :

1.      Fatigue

2.      Weakness

3.      Weight gain

4.      Sensitivity to cold

5.      Muscle aches and stiff joints

6.      Facial swelling

7.      Constipation

2.      Graves' disease (Overactive thyroid) : A disease that causes the thyroid to make too much thyroid hormone.

Symptoms :

1.      Insomnia

2.      Irritability

3.      Weight loss

4.      Heat sensitivity

5.      Sweating

6.      Fine brittle hair

7.      Muscle weakness

8.      Light menstrual periods

9.      Bulging eyes

10.  Shaky hands

11.  Sometimes there are no symptoms

3.      Multiple sclerosis (MS) : A disease in which the immune system attacks the protective coating around the nerves. The damage affects the brain and spinal cord.

Symptoms :

1.  Weakness and trouble with coordination, balance, speaking, and walking

2.     Paralysis

3.     Tremors

4.     Numbness and tingling feeling in arms, legs, hands, and feet

5.     Symptoms vary because the location and extent of each attack   vary

4.      Myasthenia gravis : A disease in which the immune system attacks the nerves and muscles throughout the body.

Symptoms :

1.  Double vision, trouble keeping a steady gaze, and drooping eyelids

2.     Trouble swallowing, with frequent gagging or choking

3.     Weakness or paralysis

4.     Muscles that work better after rest

5.     Drooping head

6.     Trouble climbing stairs or lifting things

7      Trouble talking

5.      Systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) : A disease that can damage the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, and other parts of the body. Also called SLE or lupus.

Symptoms :

1.      Fever

2.      Weight loss

3.      Hair loss

4.      Mouth sores

5.      Fatigue

6.      "Butterfly" rash across the nose and cheeks

7.      Rashes on other parts of the body

8.      Painful or swollen joints and muscle pain

9.      Sensitivity to the sun

10.  Chest pain

11.  Headache, dizziness, seizure, memory problems, or change in                     behavior

6.      Rheumatoid arthritis : A disease in which the immune system attacks the lining of the joints throughout the body.

Symptoms :

1.      Painful, stiff, swollen, and deformed joints

2.      Reduced movement and function

May have:

1.      Fatigue

2.      Fever

3.      Weight loss

4.      Eye inflammation

5.      Lung disease

6.      Lumps of tissue under the skin, often the elbows

7.      Anemia

Precautions for all the above diseases :

Being aware of risk factors and the early attention of symptoms may allow earlier diagnosis and 

treatment.

I managed to get only the above mentioned details from the references cited at the end.  And it is advisable to be aware of the disease and its symptoms ,since there is no proper precautions for certain diseases.

Don’t get scary on seeing these details, these diseases are a rare phenomenon and just want you all to be aware of these kind of diseases which targets women .

I will post about the details of “Osteoporosis” disease tomorrow. Lets celebrate this Women’s day with the Slogan “HEALTHY TOMORROW”.

Thanks all and stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.

Source : womenshealth(dot)gov, NCBI site, Healthocrates(dot)com