At this point in time, there is no cure for Lupus. Lupus is an autoimmune disease, which means that the body’s white blood cells, which are supposed to protect us from infections, actually turns on the body and fights it, believing it to be an infection. Because there is no cure for Lupus, patients with the disease need to learn how to live with it. This is where a Lupus Foundation can come in very handy.
In many cities throughout the continent, there are various organizations that are dedicated to helping people live more comfortably with Lupus. These Lupus Foundations form support groups for patients suffering with the disease and keep up on the most recent research and treatment options available.
The first thing that many of these foundations do is to help a possible patient discover if they really have Lupus or not. Because there is no one test for Lupus, the disease can be misdiagnosed for a variety of other things, including the terrible Fibromyalgia. It is recommended that anyone who believes they have the disease get checked out with a certified Rheumatologist or Lupus specialist.
At this point there are a variety of different treatments available for Lupus. Anti-inflammatory drugs are usually the first choice of doctors. Iburpofen, naproxen, any of these drugs can help reduce the inflammation and take away the pain of the body fighting itself. Sometimes corticosteroids like prednisone are given to a patient when the anti-inflammatory drugs are not enough.
Although there is no connection between Lupus and malaria, malaria medication seems to have some effect on stopping the sympotoms of Lupus. Doctors are still trying to determine why. As a last ditch effort, doctors sometimes use Immunosuppressants to stop the immune system from attacking the body. This carries high risks with it, though, so only a doctor who is familiar with treating Lupus should prescribe this option.