Rheumatoid Arthritis Vs Lupus: Recognizing The Difference
Considering that they are both autoimmune disorders in which the body turns inwardly and causes damage, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis are often mistaken for the other. So, how do you differentiate between these two debilitating diseases?
Experts agree that it’s very difficult to diagnose these have in common with each other.
Both of afflict women much more frequently than men. They are also both multisystem diseases, meaning, they can damage many organs. Like lupus, rheumatoid arthritis zeroes in and causes damage to the blood vessels. Both diseases disrupt the normal function of the immune system, resulting in damaged tissues.
Lupus or systemic lupus erythematosus, is a complex disease whose cause is still undetermined. It can affect many parts of the body including joints, skin, and internal organs. Usually, the person develops a rash in the shape of a butterfly on the cheeks and across the bridge of the nose. Other symptoms include fatigue, hair loss, inflammation of the kidney, mouth sores, sensitivity to light, fever, and weight loss.
Like lupus, the cause of rheumatoid arthritis is unknown. It usually affects the wrists, fingers, knees, feet, and ankles. The disease usually starts to manifest itself with fatigue and weakness, morning stiffness that lasts for more than an hour, widespread muscle aches, and loss of appetite.
People afflicted with lupus usually feels pain in the joints, but this pain is not associated with actual damage to the join itself. In some cases, swelling is not present in people with lupus. In rheumatoid arthritis, however, there is always swelling of the lining of the joints. This swollen lining is called the synovium. Lupus sufferers experience more pronounced pain than do rheumatoid arthritis patients.
Lupus and rheumatoid arthritis may be experienced by one person at the same time. When someone with lupus develops symptoms of rheumatoid-like arthritis, including deformities of the joint, treatment for rheumatoid arthritis should be applied instead. Standard RA treatments like methotrexate,sulfalazine, and, in some cases, more potent to control joint inflammation.
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