Your symptoms of lupus can be overwhelming and dramatically affect your quality of life. Cold weather is one thing that can trigger and worsen your symptoms of lupus. Cooler temperatures can take a toll on most people, even if they don't have an autoimmune disease.
Sensitivity to temperature fluctuations is a problem common to many autoimmune conditions, with the cold activating flare-ups of diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, arthritis, and psoriasis. This is especially true when temperature changes are extreme.
Based on what researchers have discovered so far, milder climates may benefit people with lupus and might help reduce the severity or number of flares. These include places that do not experience extreme increases or decreases in temperature and are not very humid or windy.
Studies suggest weather changes and air pollution may impact lupus symptoms. Specific changes, like temperature and humidity fluctuations, appear only to affect flares involving certain systems, such as the kidneys or lungs. Research has established links but not whether those factors cause lupus symptoms to worsen.
For those living with lupus, the cold winter months can increase the incidence and severity of the condition. Lupus winter flare-ups result from cold-induced spasms in small blood vessels, which restrict blood flow.
Many lupus patients aren't able to do intensive physical work, like waitressing or working in a grocery store. Jobs that involve standing for long periods, like working a cash register, greeting customers, or being a hostess at a restaurant, can be physically tiring as well as rough on the joints.
Chilblain lupus is a symptom of lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disorder (when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells). People with chilblain lupus get painful red or purple sores and discolored patches of skin. These small sores (chilblains) form or worsen after exposure to cold temperatures.
With age, symptom activity with lupus often declines, but symptoms you already have may grow more severe. The accumulation of damage over years may result in the need for joint replacements or other treatments.
With close follow-up and treatment, 80-90% of people with lupus can expect to live a normal life span. It is true that medical science has not yet developed a method for curing lupus, and some people do die from the disease. However, for the majority of people living with the disease today, it will not be fatal.
Gender: Even though anyone can get lupus, it most often affects women. They're nine to ten times more likely than men to develop it. Age: Lupus can occur at any age, but most are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s. Race: Lupus is two to three times more common in African-American women than in Caucasian women.
Prepare for long-distance travel
Some people with lupus are also at higher risk for developing blood clots when they sit too long. Try to stop for stretch breaks every hour during long drives and stand up and move around regularly during long flights.
Some people with lupus have Raynaud's phenomenon. It affects the small vessels that supply blood to the skin and the soft tissues under the skin of the fingers and toes. It causes them to turn white and/or blue or red. The skin affected will feel numb, tingly, and cold to the touch.
During a flare, some of the symptoms you already had get worse or brand-new symptoms appear. It could be a light rash that spreads or gets darker or mouth sores that suddenly show up. If you experience increased lupus symptoms, known as a flare, it may mean your disease is active.
Common symptoms that indicate a flare are: Ongoing fever not due to an infection. Painful, swollen joints. An increase in fatigue.
Systemic lupus erythematosus is a very old disease with no cure. Scientists are hoping a novel approach using re-engineered immune cells might finally tame the wolf that gives this disease its name.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus. Lungs About 50% of people with SLE will experience lung involvement during the course of their disease.
Introduction to Lupus and Overheating
Heat intolerance and overheating are common complaints for those living with lupus.
In general, patients with an autoimmune condition tend to experience exacerbations, or flares, during changing weather or temperature extremes — both hot and cold.
Higher outdoor temperatures increase your body heat, which can bring on a lupus flare. Staying hydrated with cool, but not cold, beverages brings your body heat down again.
Living with lupus can be hard, but a positive outlook is important. You can do several things to help you live with lupus. A good place to start managing your lupus is to work with your doctor and take your medications as directed. At times, you may feel sadness and anger.
It is not necessary to share all of the details about lupus. But you will want to describe the possible symptoms of lupus and your symptoms in particular. Explain your treatments, as well as the fact that lupus can develop in men and women, teens, and children.