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Points To Remember About Autoimmune Diseases

Autoimmune diseases refer to problems with the immune system, which usually fights off viruses, bacteria and infection. The problem causes your immune cells to attack your body by mistake.

These diseases can affect almost any part of the body.

In most cases, your doctor will prescribe medications to reduce redness, pain, and swelling.

What are autoimmune diseases?

Autoimmune diseases refer to problems with the immune system, which usually fights off viruses, bacteria, and infection. The problem causes your immune cells to attack your body by mistake. These diseases can affect almost any part of the body.

What are the symptoms?

What are the symptoms of autoimmune diseases?

Most autoimmune diseases cause redness, heat, pain, and swelling. Many autoimmune diseases affect more than one part of the body. The symptoms you have will depend on the body part(s) affected, such as:

Joints, which can cause joint pain and stiffness.

Thyroid, which might cause you to be tired, gain weight, or have muscle aches.

Skin, which can cause rashes, blisters, and color changes.

What causes them?

What causes autoimmune diseases?

No one is sure what causes autoimmune diseases. In most cases, your disease may have been caused by:

Genes, which may make you more likely to have the disease.

Environment, such as a virus that triggers the disease if you have the gene(s).

How are they treated?

How are autoimmune diseases treated?

Treatment depends on the type of autoimmune disease. In most cases, your doctor will prescribe medications to reduce redness, pain, and swelling.

For More Info

For more info

U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Toll free: 888-INFO-FDA (888-463-6332)
Website: https://www.fda.gov

Drugs@FDA at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cder/daf. Drugs@FDA is a searchable catalog of FDA-approved drug products.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Website: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
Website: https://www.niaid.nih.gov/diseases-conditions/autoimmune-diseases

American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association
Website: https://www.aarda.org

If you need more information about available resources in your language or other languages, please visit our webpages below or contact the NIAMS Information Clearinghouse at NIAMSInfo@mail.nih.gov.

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