World Lupus Day: Butterfly Rash Disease

Since May 10, 2004, through an initiative of the World Lupus Federation, international activities have been organized for World Lupus Day. This organization has a strong presence and is a reference point in this field.

The goal of World Lupus Day is to reach out to governments and funding groups to raise support for research into the disease. Remember that even today this disease is being studied and treated, but there is no cure.

The most common form is systemic lupus erythematosus. It is much more common in women than in men. Researchers estimate that 90% of patients are women. Among them, African Americans make up a majority group.

Doctors don’t fully understand the causes of lupus yet. They do know that it is an autoimmune disease. However, they have identified triggers for the symptoms, such as sunlight, certain infections, and medications.

The classic symptom of a butterfly-shaped rash on the face is related to sun exposure. Patients should therefore be very careful with radiation and use sunscreen almost constantly.

Symptoms of Lupus and Butterfly Rash

World Lupus Day reminds the general population of the characteristic symptoms of this disease. Early identification does not lead to a cure, but improves management to help reduce acute attacks of the disease.

The symptom of the butterfly rash is technically called a malar rash. Similar to skin irritation, the skin on the nose and cheeks turns red, causing a rash that resembles a butterfly.

Although it does not always appear in the same place, the butterfly rash turned out to be the symptom that made the deepest impression on the collective unconscious of the disease. The rash can also appear on the limbs and trunk.

The other common symptom of systemic lupus erythematosus is joint pain. This is due to arthritis which is triggered by the autoimmune response that kicks off in the body. The evolution of this arthritis occurs in acute attacks, with periods of no pain and other periods of severe pain.

Finally, almost 90% of patients report extreme fatigue. This symptom is difficult to measure objectively and doctors use questionnaires about the patient’s quality of life. There are many factors that determine exhaustion, including joint pain and insomnia associated with lupus.

Other types of lupus highlighted by World Lupus Day

World Lupus Day also brings out the less common symptoms of the disease. As we said, systemic lupus erythematosus is the most common, but not the only one. The disease can even disguise itself in other ways. This makes diagnosis difficult.

These are other types of lupus:

• Neonatal: This happens when the mother has lupus and passes the antibodies she has to her child and they attack their own tissues. It can be a serious condition if it develops into heart problems.
• Dermal: This form shows the main symptoms on the skin. In general, patients do not have arthritis or complications in other organs. It is a localized variety of lupus and highly dependent on solar radiation exposure.
• Drug-Induced or Reactive: This is drug-induced and some consider it a side effect rather than a disease in itself.

Treatments

Lupus can be mild or severe. This will determine the treatment approach. World Lupus Day aims to advance research in this regard to improve the treatment of patients. However, so far we can only talk about controlling the disease as there is no cure.

When lupus is mild, doctors recommend oral anti-inflammatories and creams for the rash, including the butterfly rash reaction. There are patients who have seen improvement with hydroxychloroquine, the antimalarial drug, and certain new drugs, such as belimumab.

Severe symptoms also require anti-inflammatories, but the doses are much higher. Along with corticosteroids, doctors prescribe azathioprine and cyclophosphamide, which are immunoregulators.

World Lupus Day: the challenge of living with the disease

Lupus is a condition that affects patients’ quality of life. Because of pain, skin reactions and extreme fatigue, people cannot enjoy their daily activities.

As progress is made with this disease, there could be drugs that can control and even cure the disease. For now, it is essential for health teams to support those affected by giving them tools to live better.