Types of Autoimmune Diseases

Good day read-tizen! How's the 6th day of January for you? As for me, not getting any better. I still have a cough and cold and now headache as well. Last night I did not have a decent sleep because of my breathing issue. And also, I was afraid of the thought that I might not be able to wake up anymore, lol! Silly me.

Anyway, today is my daughter's birthday, she's now 19. No party or whatsoever because she knows very well about our financial situation and she understands. She told me that she can have a party next year instead. I am happy that my daughter is mature enough to understand everything that's going on in our family.

Okay, so let's move on to our topic, which is Kris Aquino and her fiance Mel Sarmiento's broke up. This is not the actual topic but has something to do with the topic(ano daw, lol!) Anyway, from what I have read in an article, one of the reasons was Kris' health condition.

Source

What really caught my attention was her having an autoimmune disease that caused her to lose weight drastically. She also stated that her autoimmune disease can only be treated but never cured.

So this leads me to think about what was her real condition or do we have the same autoimmune disease? Because she did not mention it in the said article. And so, I asked Uncle Google about the autoimmune diseases and this is what I've found....

There are 80 different autoimmune diseases but I will only include a few common autoimmune diseases in this article. But what is an autoimmune disease? An autoimmune disease is a condition in which your immune system mistakenly attacks your body. So imagine having one of these conditions, your immune system attacks your healthy cells hence, making you sick and vulnerable to other diseases.

Moving on with the types of autoimmune disease, the first one is;

• Type 1 Diabetes

The pancreas produces the hormone insulin, which helps regulate blood sugar levels, but in Type 1 diabetes, the immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas.

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)

In rheumatoid arthritis, the immune system attacks the joints which causes redness, warmth, soreness, and stiffness in the joints.

• Psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis

Skin cells normally grow and then shed when they’re no longer needed. Psoriasis causes skin cells to multiply too quickly. The extra cells build up and form inflamed red patches, commonly with silver-white scales of plaque on the skin.

• Multiple sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis damages the myelin sheath, the protective coating that surrounds nerve cells, in your central nervous system. Damage to the myelin sheath slows the transmission speed of messages between your brain and spinal cord to and from the rest of your body.

• Systemic Lupus erythematosus

Systemic lupus erythematosus affects many organs, including the joints, kidneys, brain, and heart.

• Graves' disease

Graves' disease attacks the thyroid gland in the neck, causing it to produce too much of its hormones. Thyroid hormones control the body’s energy usage, known as metabolism. Having too much of these hormones revs up your body’s activities, causing symptoms like nervousness, a fast heartbeat, heat intolerance, and weight loss.

• Myasthenia gravis

Myasthenia gravis affects nerve impulses that help the brain control the muscles. When the communication from nerves to muscles is impaired, signals can’t direct the muscles to contract. The most common symptom is muscle weakness that gets worse with activity and improves with rest. Often muscles that control eye movements, eyelid opening, swallowing, and facial movements are involved.

The early symptoms of many autoimmune diseases are very similar, such as:

• fatigue

• achy muscles

• swelling and redness

• low-grade fever

• trouble concentrating

• numbness and tingling in the hands and feet

• hair loss

• skin rashes

Researchers don’t know exactly what causes autoimmune diseases. Genetics, diet, infections, and exposure to chemicals might be involved.

Source: https://www.healthline.com/health/autoimmune-disorders#causes

So these are some of the autoimnune diseases. I never knew that type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis is also an autoimmune disease. These diseases can be treated but not cured. The only thing that the medicine can do is to help the patient deal with the symptoms. But some of these disease can be life treatening like lupus and myasthenia gravis. The cause of these diseases is still unknown so it is better for you to live healthy and to not abuse your body while you're still young. I am so unfortunate to have Myasthenia gravis, but I guess this is what I get from abusing my body in my younger years. I used to work 24/7. Sometimes 48 hour straight working days. I am also a drinker and a smoker before. So now, I reap what I sow.

So while you still can, practice healthy living. Please do mind your body. You are the wealthiest when you're healthy.

Date Published: January 6, 2022

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