Lupus Conditions

The symptoms of lupus vary from person to person and can range from mild to severe.

You may have just a few symptoms affecting just one area of your body, or you could have many symptoms throughout your body.

Symptoms may come and go, and you may develop new symptoms over time. Some symptoms happen when the disease causes inflammation in organs, such as the joints, skin, kidneys, lining of the heart and lungs, brain, and blood cells.

Symptoms of lupus most likely will include:

• Arthritis, causing painful and swollen joints and morning stiffness.
• Fevers.
• Fatigue or feeling tired often.
• A rash that appears on the face across the nose and cheeks; this is called a malar or “butterfly” rash
• Round scaly rashes that can appear anywhere on the body.
• Sensitivity to the sun that may cause a rash.
• Hair loss.
• Sores, which are usually painless, in the nose and mouth (most often on the roof of the mouth).
• Change of color in the fingers and toes – blue-purplish, white, or red – from cold and stress (Raynaud’s phenomenon).
• Swollen glands.
• Swelling in the legs or around the eyes.
• Pain when breathing deeply or lying down, from inflammation of the lining around the lungs or heart.
• Headaches, dizziness, depression, confusion, or seizures.
• Abdominal pain.

Lupus causes inflammation throughout the body, which can cause problems in organs, including:

• Kidney damage that can lead to changes in kidney function, including kidney failure. This is called lupus nephritis.
• Seizures and memory problems due to changes in the brain and central nervous system.
• Heart problems:
  • Heart valve damage due to inflammation that leads to scarring.
  • Inflammation of the lining around the heart muscle, called pericarditis.
  • Inflammation of the heart muscle itself, called myocarditis
• Inflammation of blood vessels, called vasculitis.
• Blood clots due to high levels of certain autoantibodies referred to as antiphospholipid antibodies.
• Low blood cell counts, including red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
• Inflammation of the tissue that surrounds the lungs, making it painful to breathe. This is called pleurisy.

Some people with lupus may be more likely to develop other conditions, such as cardiovascular disease due to inflammation of the heart and blood vessel tissues caused by lupus, which can lead to:

• Atherosclerosis, which happens when fat and other materials attach to the blood vessel wall and form plaque. This can happen in blood vessels throughout the body.
• Coronary artery disease, which happens when plaque builds up in the arteries that supply blood to the heart. This can interrupt blood flow when a blood clot forms or a piece of plaque breaks off, causing a heart attack.