Lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease that occurs when your body's immune system attacks your own tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many different body systems — including your joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart and lungs.

Lupus can be difficult to diagnose because its signs and symptoms often mimic those of other ailments. The most distinctive sign of lupus — a facial rash that resembles the wings of a butterfly unfolding across both cheeks — occurs in many but not all cases of lupus.

Some people are born with a tendency toward developing lupus, which may be triggered by infections, certain drugs or even sunlight. While there's no cure for lupus, treatments can help control symptoms.

11 signs of lupus

If you have at least four of 11 signs of the disease that are laid out by experts at the American College of Rheumatology:

• Butterfly-shaped rash
• Raised red patches on your skin
• You're sensitive to light
• Ulcers in your mouth or nose
• Arthritis in two or more joints, plus swelling or tenderness
• Inflammation in the lining of your heart or lungs
• Seizures or other nerve problems
• Too much protein in your urine
• Low blood cell counts
• Certain antibodies in your blood
• Results from a blood test called an ANA test that suggest you may have too many "antinuclear" antibodies, which could be a sign of lupus

Causes

Lupus occurs when your immune system attacks healthy tissue in your body (autoimmune disease). It's likely that lupus results from a combination of your genetics and your environment. It appears that people with an inherited predisposition for lupus may develop the disease when they come into contact with something in the environment that can trigger lupus. The cause of lupus in most cases, however, is unknown. Some potential triggers include:

Sunlight. Exposure to the sun may bring on lupus skin lesions or trigger an internal response in susceptible people.

Infections. Having an infection can initiate lupus or cause a relapse in some people.

Medications. Lupus can be triggered by certain types of blood pressure medications, anti-seizure medications and antibiotics. People who have drug-induced lupus usually get better when they stop taking the medication. Rarely, symptoms may persist even after the drug is stopped.

Risk factors

Factors that may increase your risk of lupus include:

Your sex. Lupus is more common in women.

Age. Although lupus affects people of all ages, it's most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 45.

Race. Lupus is more common in African-Americans, Hispanics and Asian-Americans.

Complications

Inflammation caused by lupus can affect many areas of your body, including your:

Kidneys. Lupus can cause serious kidney damage, and kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death among people with lupus.

Brain and central nervous system. If your brain is affected by lupus, you may experience headaches, dizziness, behavior changes, vision problems, and even strokes or seizures. Many people with lupus experience memory problems and may have difficulty expressing their thoughts.

Blood and blood vessels. Lupus may lead to blood problems, including anemia and increased risk of bleeding or blood clotting. It can also cause inflammation of the blood vessels (vasculitis).

Lungs. Having lupus increases your chances of developing an inflammation of the chest cavity lining (pleurisy), which can make breathing painful. Bleeding into lungs and pneumonia also are possible.

Heart. Lupus can cause inflammation of your heart muscle, your arteries or heart membrane (pericarditis). The risk of cardiovascular disease and heart attacks increases greatly as well.

Correlation with Ayurveda

Symptoms of SLE closely resembles with pittanubandhi amavata. Paka can not be formed without inflammation of pitta dosha. Pittanubandhi amavata is mainly associated with symptoms like burning and redness over body and joints. SLE is also an autoimmune disease having maximum symptoms representing pitta dosha as well as rakta dhatu.These symptoms can be subsided by pitta dosha chikitsa like virechana, raktamokshana. Hence, because of pitta pradhantwa in SLE as a systemic disease, it can be correlated with pitta anubandhi Amavata as both are systemic autoimmune diseases having involvement of mainly pitta dosha.

Listed below are 8 most effective home remedies for lupus.

1. Turmeric. Curcumin is an active ingredient in turmeric which can prove effective in the treatment of autoimmune diseases like lupus. ...
2. Ginger
3. Apple cider vinegar
4. Coconut oil
5. Epsom salt
6. Tulsi or Holy basil
7. Flaxseeds
8. Green tea

Other Ayurvedic formulations and procedures –

1. Kaishor guggulu
2. Mahamanjisthadi kwath
3. Rakta mokchana
4. Sarivadi vati
5. Sarjrash malhar
6. Sutashekhar rasha
7. Triphla
8. Arogyavardhini vati
9. Gandhak vati
10. Amrita satwa
11. Rashmanikya rasha
12. Mahatiktak ghrita