Is lupus deadly? Not if it’s treated

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Is lupus deadly? It’s something you might be wondering if you’ve recently been diagnosed or if a loved one was. After all, lupus is a serious condition that can cause a great deal of pain to people who suffer from it. And the damage to your body that lupus causes can even lead to serious long-term disability.

But can lupus actually kill you? Is lupus deadly?

Let’s take a look at what lupus actually is and find out whether lupus could actually kill you.

What Is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune condition that damages tissue all over your body. As an autoimmune disease, it’s caused by your immune system attacking your body. In a healthy person’s immune system, white blood cells identify and attack foreign cells like bacteria or viruses. These white blood cells then become conditioned to identify these foreign cells, which means they will attack them immediately the next time they enter the body.

But in someone with an autoimmune disorder, the white blood cells begin attacking your own body. It’s not entirely clear why this happens in someone with lupus. The best explanation we have currently is that it is likely a combination of genetics and environment. Many lupus patients have a family member who also has lupus, and women are affected by lupus at a much higher rate than men (close to 90% of lupus patients are women). Both of these facts indicate that lupus is related to genetics.

But, there also seem to be things that trigger lupus. Many people develop lupus after a serious infection or surgery, which implies that the immune system is being sensitized. So it seems like lupus might be being caused by external sources triggering a pre-existing genetic condition.

Regardless of what causes lupus, once you have the condition, the damage it causes can be very serious. Lupus attacks tissue all over the body, essentially turning your body’s immune system against you. The condition damages the heart, lungs, and kidneys. And this damage can turn out to be life-threatening.

Is Lupus Deadly?

Lupus can do serious damage to the vital organs. But while there is currently no cure for lupus, doctors have gotten significantly better at managing the condition. That fact has increased life-expectancy among people with lupus by a wide margin.

Today, with adequate care, 80-90% of lupus patients can expect to live a normal life. That means that someone diagnosed with lupus has an 80-90% chance of living into old age in spite of having lupus. But lupus is still a serious condition and occasionally lupus is deadly even with the best care available. So how does lupus kill you?

So how does lupus kill you? Well, to begin with, having lupus significantly increases your risk of heart disease. The damage to your arteries and heart weakens them and makes you more vulnerable to heart attacks or strokes.

In addition, one of the most serious problems that can arise from lupus is kidney disease. Like with the damage to the heart, kidney damage caused by lupus can eventually make your kidneys shut down. At that point, you have to go on dialysis and hope to eventually get a transplant.

Most of the people who die from lupus die as a result of damage to vital organs like the heart and kidneys.

How Can Lupus Be Treated?

Luckily, although it can’t be cured, lupus can be managed in most cases. And there are a few common medications used to treat lupus. The most common way of treating lupus is with anti-inflammatory drugs. These include things like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or NSAIDs and corticosteroids.

Both kinds of drugs target the inflammation in the tissue that lupus causes. This reduces the swelling and limits the damage that lupus can do. With careful management and regular follow-ups with a health care provider, someone with lupus can use these drugs to keep their lupus from becoming severe.

Of course, in cases of severe lupus, there is sometimes little that a doctor can do. And modern medicine still has its limits. In those cases, lupus can be fatal. But fortunately, this is a minority of lupus cases. So is lupus deadly? The answer is that it can be.

But if you’ve just been diagnosed with lupus, your odds of living to a ripe old age are still pretty good. And lupus is far from a death sentence. But let us know, have you had personal experience with lupus. Can you help us answer the question of “is lupus deadly?” Please, tell us in the comments below.