Overview: What does autoimmune disease feel or look like?
The body has natural defenses to protect us from pathogens and other foreign substances. Our main defense is the immune system, a complex system of white blood cells, antibodies, proteins, and body organs and tissues. The immune system fires up the inflammatory response when the body detects tissue damage, invading organisms, or unfamiliar objects. The swelling, redness, and discomfort are in direct response to the immune system’s activation to identify and kill off invading pathogens or substances. Sometimes, however, the immune system mistakenly identifies healthy tissues as foreign and initiates an attack; this is the underlying mechanism of autoimmune diseases. There are over 80 autoimmune diseases and an almost equal number of suspected ones. Some are fairly common, such as rheumatoid arthritis, and some are so rare that only a few hundred people have the disease. These diseases are very specific to certain substances or chemicals normally found in the body. Some autoimmune diseases are relatively mild; some progressively sicken the body, and some can be immediately life-threatening, like catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome.
What an autoimmune disease feels or looks like will depend on what part of the body is targeted by the immune system. The most common autoimmune diseases typically cause problems with the skin, joints, digestive system, nerves, blood, and hormone glands. Swelling, pain, skin rashes, skin redness, feeling sick, nausea, fatigue, and weakness are all possible symptoms depending on the type of autoimmune disease.
RELATED: What is inflammation? | What causes inflammation?
What are the early signs of autoimmune disease?
The early signs of an autoimmune disease will depend on the specific disease and the part of the body it affects. Pain, swelling, redness, fever, and fatigue are all common initial symptoms of many autoimmune diseases.
Other autoimmune disease symptoms
Symptoms will depend on the type of autoimmune disease. Some autoimmune diseases affect only one part of the body. Some affect one entire system, like the circulatory system or nervous system. Some affect the whole body, like systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Symptoms common to most flare-ups include pain, swelling, fever, fatigue, and swollen lymph nodes.
Autoimmune diseases that affect the entire body, such as SLE, Sjogren syndrome, or scleroderma, typically have multiple symptoms, including:
Autoimmune diseases that affect the skin will have various symptoms, but the most common are:
Skin rash
Hives
Itchy skin
Skin swelling
Dryness
Hair loss
Autoimmune diseases that affect joints, connective tissues, and muscles typically have symptoms such as:
Joint pain
Joint swelling
Muscle aches
Muscle weakness
Autoimmune diseases of the digestive system will have various symptoms, including:
Abdominal pain
Diarrhea
Constipation
Blood in the stools
Nausea
Vomiting
Bloating
Autoimmune diseases of the nervous system can have body-wide effects, including:
Headaches
Dizziness
Mood changes
Vision changes
Difficulty thinking
Changes in sensation
Muscle weakness
Numbness or tingling
Autoimmune diseases of the blood or blood vessels (vasculitis) can cause symptoms such as:
Anemia symptoms
Bleeding
Blood clots
Infections
Headaches
Rash
Skin lumps
Skin sores
Shortness of breath
Autoimmune disease vs. Lyme disease symptoms
Lyme disease is a bacterial infection but can look and act much like an autoimmune disease. Lyme disease can cause arthritis, which can easily be mistaken for rheumatoid arthritis. Other Lyme disease symptoms mimic autoimmune diseases: skin rash, fatigue, and swollen glands. Here’s the difference, Lyme disease can be eliminated with antibiotics, but it can cause serious problems if it’s not. The longer Lyme disease goes undiagnosed, the more likely the infection will damage joints, migrate to other organs, cause chronic Lyme disease, or trigger other autoimmune disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis or thyroid disease. For this reason, it is vitally important to test for Lyme antibodies if there’s any chance that symptoms may be due to Lyme disease. Treatment needs to start promptly.
| Shared symptoms |
- Joint pain
- Joint swelling
- Joint stiffness
- Muscle pain
- Skin rash
- Headache
- Fever
- Fatigue
- Swollen glands
|
| Unique symptoms |
|
- Initial symptoms are typically flu-like symptoms
- 70% to 80% of people with Lyme disease have a “bulls-eye” rash that is a hallmark of Lyme disease
|
RELATED: Lyme disease treatments and medications
When to see a doctor for autoimmune disease symptoms
Make an appointment to see a doctor or other healthcare professional when experiencing any symptom of an autoimmune disease. The inflammatory response can irreversibly damage the body’s tissues, so autoimmune flare-ups need to be brought under control. Autoimmune flare-ups typically don’t require a trip to the ER unless breathing is compromised, there’s chest pain, or unbearable pain.
The initial diagnosis of an autoimmune disease is complex and often time-consuming. A specialist such as a rheumatologist, gastroenterologist, dermatologist, or endocrinologist may need to diagnose and test. Be prepared to tell the clinician about all symptoms and what you know about your family’s health history, particularly any history of autoimmune diseases.
Aside from a history and a physical examination, numerous blood tests may be required, including:
A complete blood count
Comprehensive metabolic panel
Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to identify specific antibodies
An antinuclear antibody test (ANA) to identify autoimmune antibodies for certain types of autoimmune diseases
An erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) test to identify an active inflammatory response
A C-reactive protein (CRP) test to test how active an inflammatory response is
Genetic tests (HLA-typing)
The clinician may order other tests to rule out diseases that are not autoimmune diseases
The clinician will rely on more specialized tests to zero in on a specific type of autoimmune disease. For instance:
Complications of autoimmune disease
The complications of autoimmune disease will vary depending on the condition. The most common complication is developing other autoimmune conditions. One out of four people with an autoimmune disease develops a second one, but researchers do not know why.
The most serious autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis or myasthenia gravis, are progressive, so people with these conditions get steadily more debilitated. Autoimmune conditions that cause blood clotting, such as antiphospholipid syndrome, can cause organ damage and even death if flare-ups are not brought under control.
How to treat autoimmune disease symptoms
Autoimmune diseases require treatment. Each flare-up can damage tissues or organs and raise the risk of complications. Treatment aims to prevent flare-ups and their associated damage, decrease the duration and severity of inflammatory attacks, and relieve symptoms.
Symptom relief includes painkillers, anti-inflammatory drugs, skin creams, and drugs to treat mood problems like depression or anxiety.
Clinicians reduce the likelihood of flare-ups by dialing back the immune system using prescription drugs such as:
These drugs are also used to manage active inflammatory episodes. Other treatments for inflammatory episodes include intravenous immunoglobulin and plasma exchange for severe flare-ups.
Other treatments might consist of hormone therapy or physical therapy.
Living with an autoimmune disease
Autoimmune diseases are not curable. However, the frequency and severity of flare-ups can be controlled through a few preventive measures:
Take medications as instructed
Adopt a healthy diet
Lose weight and maintain a healthy weight
Don’t smoke
Exercise
Manage stress and practice relaxation techniques
Know and avoid triggers
RELATED: Living with lupus: how I found a new normal after my diagnosis
FAQs about autoimmune disease symptoms
What triggers autoimmune symptoms?
Researchers have identified a large and growing number of environmental triggers that can bring on an autoimmune disease or a flare-up. The exact triggers often depend on the type of autoimmune condition. The list includes infections, chemicals, mercury, sunlight, drugs, stress, overwork, overheating, hormones, or foods like gluten (celiac disease).
What autoimmune disease attacks your organs?
Systemic autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus, scleroderma, dermatomyositis, Sjogren syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis can affect multiple organs in the body. Many other autoimmune disorders target a single organ, like the skin, brain, heart, thyroid gland, pancreas, liver, or intestines.
How do you stop an autoimmune flare-up?
The primary treatment for autoimmune flare-ups is to dial back the immune response. Clinicians use immune-modulating drugs or immunosuppressants. Severe flare-ups may require immunoglobulin injections, or plasma exchange in which blood is filtered and cleared from autoantibodies and replaced by clean plasma by an apheresis machine.
Sign up
Log in
Español