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Related information

• Lupus fact sheet
• National Lupus Awareness Campaign
• Autoimmune diseases fact sheet

Lupus

• More information on lupus

If you have lupus (LOO-puhss), your body's defense system, called the immune system, attacks your body's healthy tissues and organs. It can damage your joints, skin, kidneys, and other parts of your body. Lupus is a disease of flares (when symptoms worsen and you feel ill) and remissions (when symptoms improve and you feel better). Lupus symptoms and its treatment can affect your physical health and emotional well-being, which in turn, can affect your ability to keep up with everyday routines. But treatment and support help many people with lupus feel their best.

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More information on lupus

Read more from womenshealth.gov

• Lupus Fact Sheet — This fact sheet provides information on lupus, a disease that affects your immune system. It explains who is at risk for lupus, the different types of lupus, its signs and symptoms, and how it is diagnosed and treated. It also provides information on how to cope with the pain and stress of having lupus and whom to contact for more information.
  http://www.womenshealth.gov/publications/our-publications/fact-sheet/lupus.cfm

Explore other publications and websites

• Could I Have Lupus? Fast Facts — This page from the National Lupus Campaign website describes the symptoms of lupus, who is at risk, and the prognosis.
  http://www.couldihavelupus.gov/lupus-fast-facts.cfm?
• Living With Lupus: Depression (Copyright © Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.) — This website discusses why people with a chronic illness such as lupus are at increased risk for depression. It also discusses the symptoms of depression, how it is treated, and its prognosis.
  http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutliving.aspx?articleid=92&zoneid=16
• Lupus Guide — These patient information sheets are excerpts from Lupus: A Patient Guide for Nurses and Other Health Professionals. The patient information sheets in this chapter cover a range of topics about lupus and lupus medications and can help with this aspect of patient care. It includes a total of 20 patient information sheets.
  http://www.niams.nih.gov/hi/topics/lupus/lupusguide/chp7.htm
• Lupus Nephritis — This publication provides information on lupus nephritis, a complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) affecting the kidneys.
  http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/lupusnephritis/index.htm
• Pregnancy and Lupus (Copyright © Lupus Foundation of America) — This fact sheet answers many questions for women with lupus who are pregnant or are planning to get pregnant. Topics include undergoing treatment while pregnant, health concerns with breastfeeding, and other lupus-related issues with pregnancy.
  http://www.lupus.org/education/brochures/pregnancy.html

Connect with other organizations

• Alliance for Lupus Research
  http://www.lupusresearch.org/
• American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association, Inc.
  http://www.aarda.org/
• American College of Rheumatology
  http://www.rheumatology.org
• Arthritis Foundation
  http://www.arthritis.org/
• Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.
  http://www.lupus.org/newsite/index.html
• Lupus International
  http://www.lupusinternational.com/
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH, HHS
  http://www.ninds.nih.gov/
• National Jewish Health
  http://www.nationaljewish.org/index.aspx
• National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse, NIDDK, NIH, HHS
  http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/index.htm
• S.L.E. Lupus Foundation
  http://lupusny.org/

Content last updated September 22, 2009.

Resources last updated September 22, 2009.

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