Autoimmune diseases have some symptoms in common, including Joint pains, swelling, fatigue, skin rashes, low-grade fever. A primary culprit behind autoimmunity symptoms is something they all have in common: inflammation caused by an immune system that attacks healthy tissues. The symptoms vary from one disease to the other depending on the severity and location of the inflammation.
Frequent Symptoms
In autoimmune diseases, your immune system mistakenly identifies certain healthy organs, tissues, glands, or cells as dangerous pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria, or fungi. It then forms autoantibodies (antibodies to the self) that identify and attack those targets. That leads to damage and inflammation, which is what leads to symptoms.
Symptoms of autoimmune diseases:
- Fatigue
- Fever of unknown cause
- Pain and swelling in the muscles, various connective tissues, and/or joints
- Weakness
- Various types of skin rashes
- Recurrent oral ulcers
- Hair fall
- Recurring low-grade fever
- Dizziness
- Numbness and tingling (paraesthesia’s) in the hands and feet
- Swollen glands
- Abdominal pain and/or digestive problems
With autoimmune diseases like psoriasis or RA, symptoms may come and go. A period of symptoms is called a flare-up. A period when the symptoms go away is called remission.
BOTTOM LINE: Symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, swelling, and redness could be signs of an autoimmune disease. Symptoms might come and go over time.
When to see a doctor
See a doctor if you have symptoms of an autoimmune disease. You might need to visit a specialist, depending on the type of disease you have. Rheumatologists treat joint diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis as well as other autoimmune diseases like Sjögren’s syndrome, Ankylosing spondylitis, SLE, and many more.
Dr. Ashish K Badika has 3 years of advanced training in Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology including 2 years Post Doctoral.
He has extensive exposure to Systemic Autoimmune Disorder (Rheumatoid arthritis, Psoriatic arthritis, Seronegative spondyloarthritis, Systemic lupus erythematosus, Scleroderma, Gout, Myositis, Sjogren’s Syndrome, Vasculitic conditions, and Paediatric rheumatology disorders).