Rheumatoid Arthritis Vs Lupus: Methods To Tell The Difference
Thursday, October 9th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Since they are both autoimmune disorders in which the body turns inwardly and causes damage, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are often mistaken for the other. So, how do you differentiate between these two almost impossible to diagnose these diseases because the clinical symptoms and laboratory abnormalities tend to have in common with each other.
Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis afflict women much more frequently than men. They are also both multisystem diseases, meaning, they can damage many organs. Like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis targets and causes damage to the blood vessels. Both diseases cause abnormality to the immune system, resulting in damaged tissues.
Lupus or systemic lupus erythematosus, is a complex disease whose cause is still unknown. It can affect many parts of the body including joints, skin, and internal organs. Usually, the person develops a rash in the shape of a butterfly on the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose. Other symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, inflammation of the kidney, mouth sores, sensitivity to light, fever, and weight loss.
Like lupus, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. It usually affects the wrists, fingers, knees, feet, and ankles. The disease usually starts to manifest itself with fatigue and weakness, morning stiffness that lasts for more than an hour, widespread muscle aches, and loss of appetite.
People afflicted with lupus usually feels pain in the joints, but this pain is not associated with actual damage to the join itself. In some cases, swelling is not present in people with lupus. In rheumatoid arthritis, however, swelling is always present. This swollen lining is called the synovium. Lupus sufferers experience more pronounced pain than do rheumatoid arthritis patients.
One person can suffer from both lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. When someone with lupus develops symptoms of rheumatoid-like arthritis, including deformities of the joint, treatment for rheumatoid arthritis should be applied instead. Standard RA treatments like methotrexate,sulfalazine, and, in some cases, stronger[/spin Find out more about Lupus and Rheumatoid Arthritis plus more Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms at anaudlife.com
Last 10 posts in Health and Fitness
- Help Arthritis Pain with Strength Training by A.A.R.P. - January 3rd, 2009
- Kyani Sunrise Helps With Arthritis Treatments Due To Kyani - November 10th, 2008
- Arthritis Remedies - October 22nd, 2008
- Will Your Eating Affect Your Rheumatoid Arthritis Symptoms - October 21st, 2008
- Identifying And Recognizing The Symptoms Of Rheumatoid Arthritis - September 25th, 2008
October 15th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
It is happy to see your posting. Yes really informative article. I will tell this information again to my friend, oh yes I suggest you to check my blog on http://www.101healthsolution.blogspot.com , I hope the article on my blog will be usefull for you… and we can share each other. thank you…