Rheumatology nurses at Airedale Hospital have joined a national campaign to raise awareness of Lupus disease.

They have put together an information display in the hospital for staff, patients and visitors.

GPs and other health professionals might fail to recognise the illness as it can affect any part of the body and has many symptoms which can mimic other conditions.

This can lead to a delay in diagnosis and the start of vital treatment to contain the disease and limit potential damage to major organs such as the kidneys, heart, lungs and brain.

Dr Shabina Sultan, rheumatology consultant at the Steeton hospital, said: “We need to make sure that the public and health professionals know more about systemic lupus so that diagnosis can be made quickly and accurately to help prevent patients from suffering long term damage to their organs and improve their quality of life.”

Systemic lupus is an incurable illness of the immune system and genetics may play a part. It is a condition in which the body’s defence mechanism begins to attack itself through an excess of antibodies in the blood stream, causing inflammation and damage in the joints, muscles and other major organs.

Discoid Lupus is usually a condition of the skin.

About 50,000 people are estimated to have Lupus in the UK and 90 per cent of these are female, mainly between the ages of 15 and 55.

This makes it more common than leukaemia, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis, and these conditions share a number of similar symptoms.

Symptoms to watch out for are Reynaud’s (a disorder resulting in the small blood vessels being over-sensitive to changes in temperature and discoloration of the fingers, toes, and occasionally other areas), joint and muscle pain and an extreme tiredness that won’t go away no matter how much you rest.

Rashes, photosensitivity, anaemia, fever, hair loss, mouth ulcers, depression and headaches may all be part of the pattern of Lupus.

There is no diagnostic test for Lupus, therefore it is important to see a specialist who has experience in managing this disease.

For more information about the condition, visit lupusuk.org.uk.

CASE STUDY:

Six years ago Hoshier Singh, of Smith Lane, Heaton, Bradford, was at the end of his tether as doctors were unable to discover what was wrong with his wife. So he took her to a private clinic in the USA.
Surinder Kaur’s first symptoms were severe migraine, fatigue and mood swings which were initially put down to the menopause. She then developed a rash, swellings    of her hands and kidney problems.
She was eventually diagnosed with Lupus, spent three months in hospital and is now being treated by consultants at Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
“My wife was so ill, I thought I was going to lose her,” Mr Singh said.
“It was such a relief when she was diagnosed as then we had somewhere to start from.
“It is so important that your family has a good understanding of the illness. People tend to know lots about illnesses such as cancer and diabetes – but not about Lupus.
“Even though a patient may look well enough, there could be some days when they just can’t get out of bed. It take some time to get the medication right and to learn to manage the symptoms.”
Now aged 60, Surinder still suffers from flare-ups which have various triggers including stress.