The human body is composed of systems which are responsible for taking care of the body. One of which is the “immune system.” Our immune system is the one responsible for fighting off foreign bacteria that prevents us from getting ill.
However, if our immune system is damaged, there’s a tendency to develop Autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease is a body disorder in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your healthy and functional cells.
Autoimmune diseases, though there are many classifications, are clothed with symptoms like loss of hair, fatigue or as simple as a headache. These symptoms make it hard for doctors to diagnose what specific autoimmune disease you acquired and leads to taking different kinds of test.
Causes
Science has yet to prove the direct roots of an autoimmune disease. Some studies have shown that autoimmune diseases are acquired by taking up certain drugs wherein the body is being affected negatively, thus, leading the immune system to be disoriented and confused. The system starts to have difficulty in discerning whether what it attacks is a good or bad cell. On another hand, another study shows that autoimmune diseases or the risk of getting one entirely depends on one’s genes.
Whether it may be from your genes or drugs, these studies have proven that women tend to be more at risk of acquiring these disorders.
Classifications of Autoimmune Diseases
There are more than a hundred kinds of autoimmune diseases. The most common ones are Diabetes 1, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Lupus, Psoriasis as well as Graves’ Disease.
Each kind requires different attention. An autoimmune disease, like Graves’ Disease and Addison’s Disease, affects your glands which leads you to consult an endocrinologist.
On the other hand, a dermatologist attends to an individual who is suffering from an autoimmune disorder that affects the such as Psoriasis.
Sjogren’s syndrome and other autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis require the expertise of rheumatologists.
Therapies and Treatments
There is no absolute cure for an autoimmune disease yet. But there are several ways to counter the harmful effects. There are also available therapies and treatments to regulate the symptoms of these autoimmune diseases.
Julie Bjelland, LMFT said “There is a lot we can do about it and we have control over our health and our well-being.”
● Prescription Drugs
Whether you have or the other, there are certain types of prescription drugs which help in preventing one’s symptoms to get worse. Naproxen or other non-steroidal inflammatory drugs come in handy. There are also prescribed drugs which can relieve pain or inflammation and other symptoms.
You just need to comply with your daily check-up and secure a prescription from a physician.
● Eat a Balanced Diet
An autoimmune disease sometimes affects certain parts of your body which make you weaker. To counter these, correct your food intake depending on your needs. You may hear it a lot, but it is true that if you want to be healthy, then eat healthily. Also, to see better improvements, maintain an active lifestyle.
Consult your doctor to know which program would best fit your needs.
Trivia: “Men also experienced greater change in their employment, income, smoking, and friendships.” – Meral Oguz, PsyD
● Take more in Vitamin D
Vitamin D is also known to be a hormone than a vitamin. Why? Believe it or not, it can control almost a thousand genes and activate them in your body. It builds a bridge of communication which can produce positive responses from the body.
● Positive Environment
This is yet to be the best so far from all the therapies mentioned above. A positive environment helps you to be optimistic despite having a lifelong autoimmune disease.
According to Kenneth Goldberg, PsyD, “Clinicians can also modify their patient education techniques by providing written material that may reduce the burden of trying to recall what is said at each physician meeting.”
These autoimmune diseases sometimes cause lack of self-esteem and bring down one’s confidence level. Aside from having the treatments discussed, a person who can be there to talk to and knows how to listen would create a big difference in cheering up one’s soul.