Lupus is a chronic, inflammatory autoimmune disease that can affect anyone. It can be a very serious condition that can cause various complications and that requires aggressive treatment and long-term follow-up care when it flares up. Flare-ups can be triggered by factors such as sunlight, infections, and certain medications. Although the condition is difficult to diagnose, and can manifest in several ways, there are some telltale warning signs of lupus to look out for:
1. Headaches
Lupus can cause headaches in several different ways. It can trigger migraines, or it may make you more sensitive to pain. It tends to cause pain on only one side of the head, and headaches caused by lupus are often described as feeling like a tight band around the head that won’t let go. Chronic headaches can be caused by multiple factors, but it’s good to find out if they’re caused by lupus so you can potentially seek and receive treatment.
2. Pain or swelling of joints
Lupus can cause joint pain and swelling, most commonly in the wrists, hips, knees, ankles, and fingers. Sometimes lupus causes joint pain that starts suddenly and is severe enough to require bed rest.
3. Low fever
Sometimes lupus can cause a low-grade fever that fluctuates for a day. It’s usually accompanied by joint pain and swelling. Even when body temperature is at normal levels, the individual may feel like they are running a low-grade fever. This can be caused by an increase in antibodies in the bloodstream. Antibodies are proteins that fight off infection, but, when there are too many antibodies in circulation, they can cause certain parts of the body to become inflamed, creating a persistent feeling of having a low-grade fever.
4. Chest pain when deep breathing
Some lupus patients experience chest pain when they take a deep breath or exercise. Some may even experience this pain without any exertion at all. This is thought to occur due to inflammation in the lung tissue, which may be caused by lupus itself or by another associated condition, such as pleurisy (inflammation of the lining around the lungs).
5. Extreme fatigue
If you have lupus, you might feel tired after doing something that would normally be easy for you to do. For example, you might go shopping without feeling tired or ill beforehand and then feel exhausted during or after the trip; this could be a clue that something is wrong with your health. In lupus patients, fatigue is commonly accompanied by fever during periods of active disease (flares). When these flares are over, there is usually an improvement in symptoms before another flare occurs. The fatigue associated with these flares may last from several days to weeks, depending on the severity of the flare itself; this could include extreme muscle weakness and joint pain that makes normal activities difficult, if not impossible, to perform. During these periods, one may also experience tachycardia (rapid heartbeat), anemia, chills, and night sweats, and it is not unusual to also experience confusion and difficulty concentrating.
6. Swelling around the eyes
Swelling around the eyes is another very common symptom of lupus. This may occur in the upper and lower eyelids and can be very pronounced in some patients. The swelling may be unilateral (one-sided) or bilateral (both sides). Some patients experience swelling of the skin—either on their face or elsewhere on their body—in addition to this eyelid swelling, making them look like they have a puffy facial appearance.
