The Lupus Flare Up

It is very important to work hard to keep your lupus under control so that it does not rule your world. This may sound like a strange thing to say but there are ways to do this and the first is to make sure that you sit down with your health care provider and design a treatment plan that is aimed solely at you as an individual. Each person with lupus can have a different set of symptoms to deal with and different degrees that these symptoms may be active. There will be many aspects of treatment that must be considered. The medication that a person will be taking is only a minor aspect of this. Although the medication must also be tailored to the patient, it is one of many parts of the treatment plan. Sometimes there might be a need for aggressive medical intervention, but hopefully daily medication taken as prescribed would be all that is needed.

Another thing to understand is the importance of eating well, resting and finding a way to keep the stress levels down to the barest minimum. As well, the lupus sufferer must do their best to avoid spending too much time in the direct sunlight. Hopefully with these precautions and taking the medications as they were prescribed, in the correct doses and at the right time the disease will be kept in check. But sometimes no matter what the patient has done there can be a flare-up of lupus. Flare-up is the term used to signal when symptoms get worse or a remission period ends. This is when the disease can be said to be more active. The key here is to recognize the warning signs and see your health care provider immediately to have the best chance to least tone down the flare-up if not halt it.

Common signs of a flare-up of the lupus include feeling more tired than usual, having more pain or noticing that a fever has started or that there has been a sudden temperature rise. One of the most typical flare-up symptoms is the rash. It can either get worse if there is still one there or it will suddenly appear. This is always a sign of the disease being more active. Some other symptoms may include an unusually upset stomach, headaches, dizziness or anything medically odd that could be symptoms of something new.

You might wonder why all of a sudden are your symptoms returning. What exactly happens that triggers a flare-up. There are no answers that can explain exactly why it happens but there do seem to be common occurrences that appear to signal a return of symptoms. These include overworking or not sleeping enough. Stress is a big trigger especially if it is something big like an emotional crisis. This could include divorce, a death in the family or any other major upset in one’s life. Surgery, infection, too much time in the sun, some over the counter medications or a sensitivity to certain toiletries; any of these could start a flare-up episode.

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