Sunday, July 12, 2009

What Are Some Of The Natural Treatments for Lupus?

By Lee Jacobs

Lupus is classified as one of the autoimmune diseases, a truly frightening class of illnesses which is caused by the body's own immune system turning on the sufferer. The body's natural defenses against disease begin to attack the tissues of the body, causing severe pain and inflammation.

There is no single known cause for the disease and it generally begins with little to no warning. If you think you may have lupus, have your physician examine you and provide a diagnosis. Lupus has no cure, but it can be managed and treated, in most cases very successfully - though doing so can take a lot of doing, not to mention expense.

Regardless of the exact shape of the rash, getting medical treatment as soon as you exhibit this rash is essential. Lupus isn't fatal, but it is often debilitating. With proper treatment, however, its symptoms can usually be successfully kept under control and the patient can live their lives normally.

Lupus usually affects for women than men and has been most often known to develop between the ages of 15 and 35. Some of the other common symptoms that are experienced are weight loss, mental confusion, weakness and fatigue, anemia, sensitivity to sunlight, rash across the nose and cheeks, ulcers on the throat and inside of the mouth, and kidney complications. Conventional treatments include the use of aspirin, other mild pain relievers, corticosteroids, and topical rash ointment.

However, more and more people are seeking natural treatments for lupus to be much more effective and less expensive. One of the best natural treatments for lupus is the use of fish oil. Fish oil contains omega 3 fatty acids which have been proven to decrease the overall amount of inflammation in the body. Since lupus causes inflammation and pain in the joints and muscles, fish oil can be used to get rid of those problems.

The pain caused by lupus is largely due to the inflammation it also causes, so an effective natural anti-inflammatory can go a long way towards managing the patient's symptoms. The spice turmeric is another natural treatment which is increasingly being used to treat the pain and inflammation caused by lupus, Turmeric is inexpensive and can be bought in nearly any health food store, large grocery store (in the spice aisle) , Indian and other South Asian groceries as well as online.

Simply eating a healthy diet rich in vitamin C, fiber and protein as well as taking multivitamins to ensure getting all of the important nutrients can also help to keep the symptoms of lupus under control naturally.

Getting enough rest is also a must, especially if you're feeling fatigue coming on. If your symptoms are mild enough for this to be a possibility, regular low impact exercise which doesn't cause too much of a physical strain can also be helpful in alleviating lupus symptoms, as can cutting foods which seem to make your symptoms worse from your diet. The best natural treatment for lupus is simply listening to what your body is trying to tell you; when you do this, it's easy to manage lupus naturally.

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