Autoimmune Diseases: What You Need to Know About Symptoms, Treatment, and Complications

KOMPAS.com – Being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease can be a very scary moment.

Maybe you will have many questions about the severity of this disease and your life expectancy.

Quoting Medicine Net, autoimmune disease is a condition where your immune system attacks cells in your own body.

Also read: What Causes Autoimmune Disease? This is the explanation…

The body’s immune system normally plays a role in protecting you from attacks by foreign substances that can cause disease, such as bacteria, viruses and toxins.

In autoimmune diseases, the immune system mistakes healthy tissue in the body for dangerous substances, so it attacks the body’s own cells.

This condition can occur in all parts of the body, such as your joints, tissues or organs.

As a result, you begin to experience long-term (chronic) symptoms of autoimmune disease, such as pain, swelling, or digestive problems.

Also read: Get to know what autoimmune disease is and its characteristics

Are autoimmune diseases dangerous?

According to various sources, autoimmune diseases can be said to be dangerous, but not all of them are fatal.

People with this disease can live full lives, but your potential lifespan and quality of life will depend on proper medical care.

Quoting Medicine Net, autoimmune disease is a lifelong disease. There is no cure for autoimmune diseases, but there are treatments available to treat the symptoms.

Proper treatment of autoimmune diseases can help prevent the condition from becoming more severe.

Otherwise, it can cause serious and life-threatening complications.

Also read: Can autoimmune diseases be cured? This is the explanation…

What are the complications of autoimmune diseases?

Quoting Health Grades, complications of autoimmune diseases vary depending on the type and the cases that occur in each individual.

Complications of autoimmune diseases can include:

• Blindness
• Blood problems, such as bleeding and blood clots
• Bone and joint damage
• Cancer
• Development of other autoimmune diseases
• Frequent infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis
• Heart disease and blood vessel damage
• Amputation of limbs
• Nervous system problems, such as neuropathy, paralysis, seizures, and stroke
• Organ damage and organ failure, such as liver failure or kidney failure
• Pancreatitis
• Pregnancy complications

Also read: 10 Most Common Types of Autoimmune Diseases and Their Symptoms

Most autoimmune diseases cannot be prevented or cured. However, the risk of complications from this autoimmune disease can be prevented with appropriate treatment.

Treatment plans vary depending on the type and stage of autoimmune disease, the severity of the disease, a person’s age and medical history, and other factors.

Often the course of treatment for autoimmune diseases includes the use of drugs to:

• Relieve or reduce symptoms
• Replaces substances that the body can no longer make itself. For example, insulin is prescribed for type 1 diabetes to regulate blood sugar. Similarly, oral thyroid hormone replacement is prescribed for sufferers of Hashimoto Thyroiditis.
• Suppresses the immune system and reduces tissue damage

Treatment plans may also include different types of therapy or medication, which vary depending on the organs and systems affected.

Also read: Types of Autoimmune Diseases to Watch Out for

What autoimmune disease can be deadly?

Quoted from Very Well Health, there are more than 100 types of autoimmune diseases currently known.

Of the many types, only a few have the potential to be fatal.

Four of the most frequently fatal include:

This is a rare cardiovascular disorder that progresses rapidly and is often fatal.

In this disease there is inflammation of the heart muscle (myocardium).

• Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis

In this autoimmune disease, the immune system creates antibodies against NMDA receptors in the brain, which play an important role in memory.

Antibodies interfere with signals and cause swelling in the brain, also known as encephalitis.

Also read: 9 Foods that People with Autoimmune Diseases Need to Avoid

• Mixed connective tissue disease

Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD) is a rare condition that can cause pain and inflammation in many joints.

This occurs most often in women under 30 years of age.

MCTD has overlapping features between lupus, systemic sclerosis, and polymyositis. Features of rheumatoid arthritis and Sjogren’s syndrome may also be seen in this condition.

Some types of autoimmune vasculitis can be life-threatening, such as rheumatoid vasculitis or ANCA-associated vasculitis.

Vasculitis causes narrowing and inflammation of the blood vessels, which consist of arteries, veins and capillaries.
Blood vessels carry blood between the heart and other organs in the body.

In the majority of cases, autoimmune diseases are not fatal, and those with autoimmune diseases can expect to live a normal life.

Only a few autoimmune diseases can be fatal or cause life-threatening complications, but they are rare.

If you have an autoimmune disease, you can ask your doctor how dangerous or fatal it is.

Also read: Signs of Autoimmune Disease in Children to Watch Out for

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2024-01-30 03:30:00
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