With lupus, cold temperatures activate painful flare-ups as blood vessels constrict to minimize heat loss. As this happens, pressure increases in different parts of the body, thereby reducing blood flow to the extremities.
Environments that may trigger lupus symptoms include those with: extreme heat. extreme cold. high wind.
Stay Indoors When Possible
If you must go out, dress as warmly as possible and stay active while outdoors to help maintain your body temperature. Physical activity is a crucial component of your disease management. Therefore, you should look for ways to exercise indoors rather than outside when the weather turns cold.
A fever higher than 100 degrees Fahrenheit affects many people with lupus. The fever is often caused by inflammation or infection.
Previous research has shown significant seasonal variation in lupus disease activity, such as renal flares being more common in the winter months and increased arthritis symptoms occurring in the spring and summer months; but this is the first study that looked at the link between organ-specific lupus flares and ...
Common symptoms that indicate a flare are: Ongoing fever not due to an infection. Painful, swollen joints. An increase in fatigue.
Many people described the pain of lupus as similar to having the flu. This means having chills and bone-weary aches throughout your entire body. The pain can be numbing and leave you feeling drained of all energy. “I explain it to others as feeling like the flu: achy joints, muscles, bones.”
The most common response given is that people feel fatigue as a heaviness. It feels like there is a weight constantly pushing down on part of them or on their entire body. With that degree of heaviness, it is much harder to find the energy to move and get things done.
Chilblain lupus is an uncommon type of lupus that causes red or purplish skin sores. These sores are chilblains. People develop chilblains after exposure to cold or wet environments. For most people, avoiding cold temperatures and taking medications keeps symptoms at bay.
People with lupus are more likely to experience infection and infection-related complications. This is because their immune system is weakened by both the disease and the medication used to treat it. The most common infections for people with lupus include those of the respiratory tract, skin and urinary system.
Environment. Exposure to certain factors in the environment – such as viral infections, sunlight, certain medications, and smoking – may trigger lupus. Immune and Inflammatory Influences.
Vitamin E, zinc, vitamin A, and the B vitamins are all beneficial in a lupus diet. Vitamin C can increase your ability to absorb iron and is a good source of antioxidants.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus.
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.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.
No one test can diagnose lupus. The combination of blood and urine tests, signs and symptoms, and physical examination findings leads to the diagnosis.
Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms.
The effects lupus may have in and around the eyes include: changes in the skin around the eyelids, dry eyes, inflammation of the white outer layer of the eyeball, blood vessel changes in the retina, and damage to nerves controlling eye movement and affecting vision.
While there is no lupus-specific diet, being mindful of what you put in your body, eating healthy and staying hydrated is very important for lupus warriors to feel their best.
For some people, living with and managing lupus can cause weight gain. Weight gain may also lead to worsening lupus symptoms and complications associated with obesity. Some potential causes of weight gain that relate to lupus may include: being a side effect of medications such as corticosteroids.
Get Enough Rest to Prevent Fatigue
If you have lupus you may need even more sleep. “It's important to develop good sleeping habits,” says Jolly. “It can really make the difference in getting a good night's sleep.” Take time to relax before bedtime.