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Autoimmune Diseases

An autoimmune disease is when the body’s defense system can’t tell the difference between its own cells and foreign cells. When this happens, the body attacks normal cells by mistake. There are over 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect different body parts. Although autoimmune diseases affect men and women, they are more common in women.

Common Autoimmune Diseases in Women

A chronic disease that causes joint inflammation. The cause of this arthritis is unknown. Rheumatoid arthritis can be so severe that it affects how joints and body parts look and function.

A disorder that attacks the glands of the eyes and mouth. This disorder affects mostly women in their 40s and 50s. Dry eyes and Dry mouth are the most common symptoms, but joint pain, dry skin, skin rashes, and vaginal dryness, and yeast infections can also appear.

This chronic illness affects different parts of the body. It can cause muscle and joint pain, uses with memory, and headaches.

A condition that causes pain all over the body. Fibromyalgia affects women more causing morning fatigue, chronic pain all over the body, and IBS. Hormonal changes, stress, and changes in the weather can cause this condition to flare-up.

A chronic skin condition that causes skin to look inflamed, red, and raised in certain areas. It can create silvery scales on the elbows, knees, scalp, and lower back.

This chronic disease is a combination of psoriasis and arthritis that affects the skin and nails. Psoriasis causes scaly rashes. Arthritis causes joint swelling.

A chronic disease that weakens the muscles. MG most commonly occurs in young women under 40. Eyes and eyelids, facial expression, and swallowing

The thyroid is a small gland located at the base of your neck. Thyroid disease can cause problems with menstrual period, getting pregnant, and issues with pregnancy. There are two kinds of thyroid diseases:

Graves’ disease. Grave’s disease is when the body has an overactive thyroid. Graves’ disease can cause bulging eyes, thickening skin, muscle weakness, diarrhea, rapid heartbeat, and irregular menstrual periods.
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Hashimoto’s is when the body doesn’t make enough thyroid hormone. This disease can cause fatigue, constipation, weight gain, and heavier menstrual periods

A condition that causes the digestive system to become inflamed. IBD affects women differently, causing menstrual periods to be worse, issues with pregnancy, and anemia.

Diarrhea
Chronic cramping
Fatigue
Fever
Rectal bleeding
Joint pain
Rashes

Risk Factors

Although it’s not known what causes autoimmune diseases, there are some risk factors that can contribute to the chances of developing autoimmune diseases. These factors include:

Women of childbearing age
Genetics
Obesity
Smoking
Infections
Toxins
Certain medications

Symptoms

Fatigue
Joint pain
Joint swelling
Skin problems
Digestive issues
Abdominal pain
Recurring fever
Swollen glands

When to Seek Care

Each autoimmune disease is unique. But they all share similar symptoms. Many of the symptoms are the same for other health problems. This makes it harder for doctors to diagnose you with an autoimmune disease and specifically which one you might have. If you’re having any of the symptoms mentioned above, you should call your doctor and find the cause. Finding out which autoimmune disease you might have can be a long and stressful process, but getting answers is necessary to treat your autoimmune disease. These steps can help you find out what could be the cause of your symptoms:

Researching your family history.
Recording your symptoms and noting how long you’ve been having them.
Seeing a specialist.

Treatment Options

There are different types of treatment options. New treatments are being researched all the time. In addition to cover-the-counter drugs for mild symptoms, there are prescriptions drugs that suppress the immune system.

If drugs aren’t an option, there are alternative medicines and practices including:

Herbal products
Chiropractic services
Acupuncture
Hypnosis

You should always discuss with your doctor the benefits and risk of trying alternative medicine.

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