World Lupus Day is TODAY! The signs, symptoms and treatment of Selena Gomez’s condition
Today is World Lupus Day, an annual event that raises awareness about the chronic autoimmune disease which people suffer from across the globe.
Selena Gomez is one famous face to suffer from the condition which led to her needing a life-saving kidney transplant in 2017. Here's everything we know about the condition.
What is lupus?
Systemic lupus erythematosus, more commonly known as lupus, is a chronic autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system attacks its own tissues and organs.
It is a long term condition that has no known cure and is more commonly found in women than men.
At the moment medics are unsure what causes the illness but viral infections, strong medication, sunlight, puberty, childbirth and the menopause can all trigger it.
Lupus is often diagnosed by a blood test which will show up a high number of antibodies if the condition is present.
The illness causes inflammation of the joints, skin and other organs depending on if it is a mild, moderate or severe.
If the condition is mild sufferers will experience joint and skin problems and tiredness.
When it is present in a moderate form it causes inflammation of other parts of the skin and body, including lungs, heart and kidneys.
Severe lupus can be life threatening as the inflammation it causes can severely damage the heart, lungs, brain or kidneys.
Every year on May 10 is marked across the globe to raise awareness of the condition.
What are the signs and symptoms of lupus?
There are three common symptoms of the condition, joint pain and stiffness, extreme tiredness that won't go away not matter how much you rest, and skin rashes - generally over the nose and cheeks in a butterfly shape.
Other symptoms of lupus are weight loss, swollen glands, sensitivity to light which can cause rashes on exposed skin, and poor circulation in your fingers and toes.
However, symptoms of the illness can flare up and disappear and in some cases suffers may experience severe symptoms for a few weeks or longer before they settle down again.
What are the treatments for it?
There is no cure for lupus but early treatment of the symptoms can reduce the risk of it getting worse and help control the symptoms.
In the UK it is generally treated with anti-inflammatory medicines like ibuprofen and hydroxychloroquine for fatigue and skin and joint problems.
To manage kidney inflammation and rashes steroid tablets, injections and creams are issued to sufferers.
There are two new medicines that can be used to treat severe lupus, rituximab and belimumab, which work on the immune system to reduce the number of antibodies in the blood.
As the condition can cause kidney failure, a complication called lupus nephritis, some sufferers may end up needing to undergo dialysis or a kidney transplant.
The NHS also advise Lupus sufferers to make life style changes including eating healthily, using high factor sun cream, wearing a hat in the sun, and stopping smoking.
What has Selena Gomez said about the condition?
Selena told : "I would get fevers, headaches, I would get fatigue but I always just keep going and kind of ignored it to be honest because it wasn't something I maybe I really wanted to accept.
"I don't think I made the right decisions because I didn't accept it and that's really selfish and at the same time really, really just unnecessary.
"I'm not really proud of that."
In a speech at a she said: "I was diagnosed with lupus about five or six years ago and I've been speaking out about my disease to raise awareness and so that people see a doctor right away if they feel they have any symptoms and just so that honestly people can understand what it means to live with lupus.
"I also want people to know why research is so important and why we must support the scientists who bring new discoveries.
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"After undergoing so many tests to monitor my kidneys my doctors told me I had lupus nephritis, one of the most common complications of lupus.
"They said that I would be needing a kidney transplant. Maybe I wasn't necessarily really good at knowing what that meant.
"It actually got to a point where it was life or death. Thankfully one of my best friends gave me her kidney and it was the ultimate gift of life and i'm doing very well know thankfully."
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