The term autoimmune diseases refer to a body condition where an individual’s immune system mistakenly attacks his/her body. While a healthy immune system protects the body from diseases and infections, in this case, it attacks healthy tissues, organs and cells. In India, several infectious diseases are brought under control, but the rate of autoimmune diseases increases every day.

Now that individuals know what autoimmune disease is, read along to know more about it.

The specific factors leading to autoimmune diseases are still unknown to the common public. However, aside from some common causes of autoimmune disease like stress and environmental pollution, a few other factors increase the chances of getting an autoimmune disease. Few of these are mentioned below.

• If an individual already has an autoimmune disease, he/she is at a higher risk of developing another autoimmune disease.
• A few autoimmune diseases are genetic as well. If an individual has relatives with autoimmune diseases, he/she must be extra careful.

Females have a higher chance of developing an autoimmune disease. According to reports, around 78% of people who have these diseases are women. So, women should take extra care of their health in order to avoid this disease.

Besides knowing the causes of autoimmune disorders, individuals must also know their symptoms. A few of the most common symptoms of autoimmune diseases are:

• Pain and swelling in the muscles, joints or connective tissues
• Stomach ache
• Trouble in concentration
• Fatigue
• Skin rashes
• Recurring low-grade fever
• Numbness and tingling in the hands and feet
• Swollen glands

Apart from knowing symptoms of autoimmune disease, individuals should know the risk factors. The risk factors depend on a number of things. They are mentioned below.

• Gender: A few autoimmune diseases like arthritis and multiple sclerosis (MS) occur more in females than males, whereas diseases like Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Sjogren’s syndrome have 95% female patients. Overall, 78% of people affected by autoimmune diseases are female. 

A few factors in females differ from males, like additional X chromosomes, certain hormonal changes, immune responses, effects of environmental changes, organ vulnerability, and reproductive function, which might be responsible for the prevalence of higher chances of autoimmune diseases.

• Obesity: Obese people are at high risk of developing autoimmune diseases like psoriatic and rheumatic arthritis. This health condition threatens a healthy immune system and sends an individual’s body to a chronic state of low-grade inflammation.
• Medication: Before taking any medication for blood pressure, antibiotics or statins, individuals should check its side effects and talk to their healthcare provider. Sometimes, side effects of medications lead to the development of these diseases.
• Smoking and exposure to toxins: Smoking cigarettes results in cancer and results in cardiovascular diseases like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other autoimmune diseases. When an individual burns tobacco, thousands of toxic chemicals are produced with it.

Besides, exposure to other harmful toxins like ultraviolet radiation, air pollutants, organic solvents, etc., also leads to autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis.

• Infections: Infections arise when certain viruses interact with an individual’s genetics using various mechanisms. One such example is an infectious microorganism which is a bacteria called Group A Streptococcus- and it can trigger heart, brain and joint-related autoimmune diseases.

Other than knowing the symptoms of autoimmune disorders, individuals need to know how these attack the human body. When an individual gets diagnosed with an autoimmune disease, their immune systems cannot distinguish between healthy tissue and harmful tissues. This, in turn, results in a reaction where the body destroys its normal tissues.

These can lead to:

• Changes in organ function
• Destruction of body tissues
• Abnormal growth of an organ

An autoimmune disease might affect one or more tissue or organ types. Given below is a list of body areas where autoimmune diseases have the most effect.

• Connective tissues
• Muscles
• Joints
• Red blood cells
• Skin
• Endocrine glands such as the pancreas or thyroid
• Blood vessels

Given below is a list of common autoimmune disorders.

Diseases of the joints and muscles:

• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
• Sjögren’s syndrome
• Psoriatic arthritis
• Systemic lupus erythematosus (Lupus, SLE)

Diseases of the digestive tract:

• Celiac disease
• Crohn’s disease
• Ulcerative colitis

Diseases of the endocrine system:

• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
• Graves’ disease
• Addison’s disease

Diseases of the skin:

• Psoriasis
• Dermatomyositis

Diseases of the nervous system:

• Guillain-Barre syndrome
• Multiple sclerosis (MS)
• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)

Other diseases:

• Myasthenia gravis
• Type 1 diabetes
• Vasculitis
• Autoimmune vasculitis
• Pernicious anaemia

Follow these things to avoid autoimmune diseases:

• Before eating anything, individuals must check whether there are hidden food allergens with food sensitivity testing.
• Cutting out on sugar and flour can help individuals as these are inflammatory foods.
• Individuals must eat the right amount of fats and increase their intake of omega-3 rich fats.
• Individuals must include a variety of colourful non-starchy vegetables and berries in their diet.
• Another cure for autoimmune diseases other than diet is that individuals must involve themselves in exercise and yoga.
• Individuals must also learn to manage stress through various mechanisms to avoid autoimmune diseases.

Things that a person suffering from autoimmune diseases should avoid are:

• He/she should avoid processed food but instead focus on having a nutrient-rich diet.
• The person must not avoid physical exercise in their daily life. On the contrary, they must incorporate body movement every day.
• An individual must avoid the intake of any medication before knowing its side effects and uses, and the best practice would be if individuals talk to their medical practitioner.
• He/she must avoid environmental toxins and exposure to harmful pollutants as much as possible.
• He/she must avoid the consumption of alcohol and cigarettes.

That is all individuals need to know about what autoimmune disease is. Hopefully, this article will be of help to individuals who want to know details about autoimmune diseases. Since health is wealth, taking proper care of it from an early age can save individuals from developing an autoimmune disease.