Lupus is the name of a chronic inflammatory disease that is known to affect different areas of the body. Included in the list are kidneys, the blood, skin and joints. This condition can lead to the immune system to attack the very cells and tissues they were made to protect, resulting in a lot of pain and damage. As a show of support to those who have this affliction, lupus bracelets are sold in a lot of stores, both online and physical.

It can be a very mild but constant disease for a lot of people afflicted with it. In those cases, the symptoms are manageable and the pain and the discomforts are kept to a minimum. Sadly, there are more extreme cases where the symptoms cause tremendous amounts of pain and the life of the patient is legitimately in danger.

It is considered an idiopathic illness, and as a result, doctors are clueless as to what may cause it to manifest in the body in the first place. A common link that has been pointed out is family history which may suggest a repetition in future generations. This is no genetic link though and none have been established thus far.

Other than family history, other factors have been brought up in discussions. Some say long time usage of particular medications, prescribed or otherwise, can be a potential cause. Others say it is the exposure to sunlight in an excessive way that is to blame. Regardless of cause, a malfunctioning immune system is the root of the problem and may attack cells without any discrimination.

Like many, this disease has its own sub types and variants. One of these is the discoid, which is famous for its rashes. The rashes caused are red and scaly in appearance and can lead to hair loss on the parts affected. The affected areas may include the face, where the rashes are called butterflies due to the shape, the scalp and the neck.

The more famous sub type is the systemic variant, which is also the more dangerous of the two. The organs affected are numerous. The heart, lungs, nervous system and kidneys are the ones most likely to be targeted. The number of organs damaged vary between one to several at the same time.

Join paint, fever, fatigue and the decrease in organ function are a few symptoms of systemic lupus. There may be periods of remission and periods of activity. These activities are known as flares and may last for several days and will come and go without explanation.

The diagnosis can be hard to come by. Few things can be done, with blood tests and biopsies as prime examples. A lot of times, the best thing to produce would be a medical history of the family in order to determine certain things.

Unfortunately, there is no real cure that the medical community knows of. It is entirely possible for the flares to respond to the treatments, but just as often, they do not. Attempting to suppress the production of auto antibodies may be attempted with immune suppressing medication. The supporters of the afflicted often adorn their writs with lupus bracelets, but thus far, that is all they can manage.