Page 30 - Waterfall City Issue 3 March 2023

Waterfall City News

auto-immune disorder that can affect
multiple organ systems in the body.

What is the cause?
We do not know the exact cause of lupus.
We do know it is a multifactorial disease,
an interplay between genetic, hormonal
and environmental factors.

What is the treatment?
Antimalarials have numerous benefits,
including controlling skin rash and
arthritis, and reducing the risk of flare-
ups and the risk of developing end-
organ damage.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory
medication helps with pain control.
Low-dose Prednisone for the shortest
duration possible helps to control
arthritis quickly. The rash can affect different parts of the body

What can one expect with
lupus? Can you die? applied daily to the face and body. contraception.
Patients with lupus have an increased 2. Immunisations as mentioned earlier 7. Plan your pregnancy. Pregnant lupus
risk of heart attack, infection and should be done. Infections should patients have an increased risk of
malignancy, particularly cervical be treated timeously as the infection maternal and foetal complications.
cancer. Thus, we need to monitor for may cause flare-ups, and vice versa. However, this risk can be minimised
hypertension (high blood pressure), 3. Stop smoking. Smoking is implicated if your disease has been inactive for
diabetes mellitus and dyslipidaemia, as one of the environmental risk factors six months prior to conception. It
and manage these accordingly. of lupus. Smoking has been shown to is also very important to continue
cause more severe disease, so stopping antimalarials (chloroquine or
Flu and pneumococcal vaccines are this habit can improve the efficacy of hydroxychloroquine) during
recommended for all patients with treatment with antimalarials. pregnancy. Certain medications – for
rheumatic diseases. A vaccination 4. Avoid skin trauma, especially tattoos example, mycophenolate mofetil –
against Human Papillomavirus (HPV) is and skin piercing. must be stopped before conception
also strongly recommended for women 5. Ensure the regular monitoring as they may cause abnormalities in
under the age of 45 to prevent cervical of your condition by your the foetus.
cancer. Pap smears should be done rheumatologist.
annually or every three years to screen 6. Patients with mild to moderate Outcome
for cervical cancer. disease may use contraceptive pills Athena responded well to treatment
with oestrogen for birth control. with Prednisone, which was stopped
One may get a flare-up of lupus despite However, patients with severe within three months. After a year of
treatment. We recommend the following: disease and antiphospholipid remission of the disease, Athena fell
1. Avoid sun exposure. A sunscreen antibodies should avoid it. An intra- pregnant, carried full term and gave
with an SPF of 30 to 50 should be uterine device is a better choice for birth to a healthy baby.

28 Waterfall City Issue 3 2023