What is an Autoimmune Disease?

A strong immune system protects your body from infection and disease. But, what happens when your immune system is too active? 

Autoimmunity is the result of an overactive immune system, causing immune cells to mistakenly attack healthy tissue. Read on to learn more about the various forms of autoimmune disease.

Understanding Autoimmune Disease

A healthy immune system produces antibodies, which are proteins that protect your body against foreign intruders, like viruses, parasites, and toxins. It also attacks harmful cells, like cancer cells, to keep you healthy. 

With an autoimmune disease, the immune system doesn’t effectively decipher between dangerous intruders and healthy cells. This causes the immune cells to attack healthy tissue, leading to inflammation, pain, and a variety of other symptoms. 

Common Autoimmune Diseases

Many autoimmune diseases exist, but the most common are:

Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic autoimmune disease that occurs when the immune system attacks the tissue lining your joints (synovium). This can lead to joint pain, swelling, stiffness, and tenderness. It can also impact the heart, lungs, eyes, and circulatory system in some people. 

Lupus

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune condition that can affect any part of the body. With lupus, the immune system attacks healthy tissue, often impacting the skin, joints, and internal organs. As it may affect any area of the body, it can have wide-ranging symptoms, including fatigue, pain, headaches, low fever, and chest pain. 

Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, develops when the immune system attacks the myelin sheath, which covers and protects the nerves of the brain and spinal cord. This disrupts the nerves’ ability to transmit messages, leading to problems with vision, sensation, and movement. 

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the immune cells attack and damage cells in the pancreas that produce insulin. This compromises your body’s ability to regulate blood sugar and necessitates insulin shots. 

Graves’ Disease

With Graves’ disease, the immune system creates antibodies that lead to excessive thyroid hormone in the bloodstream. This leads to symptoms of hyperthyroidism, including weight loss, rapid heart rate, weakness, sweating, and anxiety. 

Book an appointment at Mind Body Spirit Care today to learn about integrative therapies for autoimmune conditions.