Saturday, December 23, 2017

Facts Regarding Auto Immune Diseases

By Virginia Schmidt


Some of the most complicated systems can be found in the human body. Specialization in specific parts of the body helps to make understanding the systems easier. Medical practitioners specialize in specific systems where they study all diseases and medical conditions and disorders related to that part. The immune system is meant to guard the body against foreign harmful organisms and substances. However, sometimes, the immune system attacks body cells, causing what is called auto immune diseases.

A properly functioning body is usually able to tell the difference between foreign cells or organisms and body cells. Knowing the difference, they only attack the foreign matter. When one is suffering from autoimmune disease, their body mistakes joints, skin and other parts of the body for foreign organisms/substances and attacks them. This is achieved through the release of antibodies to attack the healthy cells.

The entire body or certain parts will be attacked depending on the kind of disease. Lupus attacks the whole body but Type 1 Diabetes precisely attacks the pancreas. Root cause of autoimmune remains unknown although there is a link between certain families and diseases. Certain chemicals and diets are thought to be causative factors. Some infections are also thought to cause or contribute to them.

The susceptibility level of women is also higher compared to men according to research. Women in childbearing age are more affected. Most cases are diagnosed at this stage in life. Some races are also more affected compared to others. Many people still live without developing the conditions even if they run in the family. However, their chances of developing the disease are much higher than normal people.

A contributing factor could also be diets with high contents of sugar and fats. The close link between inflammation and consumption of highly processed foods makes it necessary to avoid such diets. The quest for answers for underlying cause of these illnesses is what has seen the proposal of many theories. Hygiene hypothesis is one such theory.

Under hygiene theory scientists speculate that advancement in the medicine field has resulted in development of several vaccines and antiseptic. They think that are a result of preventive measures put in place children are exposed to less germs. It is thought that less exposure to germs could make the immune system over sensitive. This means that it could react even to harmless substances.

More than 80 cases of the body launching attacks on itself have been reported so far. These are instances of known autoimmune diseases with each instance being different from the other. The most common diseases that fall under this category of diseases are rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriatic arthritis, celiac disease, vasculitis, and inflammatory bowel disease. There is an astounding similarity in the symptoms of the diseases.

One should pay attention to muscle aches, swelling, and fatigue among other recurrent symptoms. They may be a cause. One should get help early to avoid excessive suffering. Better management methods have been developed over time. Prevention is the best approach, and it should be comprised of eating a balanced and healthy diet and regular exercising. However, it is also important to know that there is no cure for these diseases.




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