This year my mom was diagnosed with a disease called lupus. You may have heard of it because Selena Gomez also suffers from this disease. Not many know what lupus actually is, I didn't when I first heard of it. When I first heard of the word "lupus" I thought loopy. I thought it was a disease that made you loopy and dizzy, I was wrong. Lupus is a chronic disease that effects the immune system. Unfortunately, there is no cure for lupus. This is a disease that we; as humans, should take a closer look at.

Lupus may not be a very known disease but knowing the symptoms can help you pin point if someone you know has it. Some of the symptoms include: swollen muscles/joints, muscle pain, joint pain, pain while breathing, fatigue, anemia, dry mouth, mouth ulcers, red rashes, and hair loss. These are not all the symptoms of lupus, but they are the big ones doctors spot to diagnose it. Now all these symptoms may not happen all at once or only may happen periodically. When the symptoms appear periodically it is called a "flare-up." Flare-ups can make a patient with lupus feel like they have no energy and very sick.

Lupus is not contagious, you can not catch lupus like the common cold. However, lupus can be genetically transferred. You can not get lupus by touching someone who has it. Lupus is also not cancerous. Lupus is an autoimmune disease just like rheumatoid arthritis, which it is often mistaken as. Lupus is commonly found between the ages of 15 to 44, but this doesn't mean it can't be found before the age of 15 and after the age of 44. There are different types of lupus that can be found. There are four types of lupus.

Systemic Lupus Erythematosus is the most common type of lupus, and usually referred to as just lupus or SLEThis type of lupus affects the organs and tissues of the body. Such as inflamed kidneys, increased blood pressure, as well as causes inflammation of the nervous system as well as the brain. This can cause memory problems, headaches, strokes, seizures and behavioral changes.

Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus is a form of lupus that is limited to the skin. There are many types of rashes and sores that are related to cutaneous lupus. The most common rash to appear is a red scaly rash, usually not itchy. It is common for those who have cutaneous lupus to developed systemic lupus.

Drug-induced Lupus Erythematosus is a disease with the symptoms of lupus. It is caused by prescription drugs. It is a lot like systemic lupus but does not affect major organs like systemic lupus. These symptoms usually go away around six months of stopping the prescription.

Neonatal Lupus is not really a form of lupus. It is a condition that affects babies whose mother has lupus while pregnant with the child. It can cause skin rashes, liver problems, heart defects and blood cell issues. These symptoms usually disappear after a while. There are no lasting effects on the baby. But the child can develop lupus when they are older because they have a higher risk due to genetics. If caught early enough in the pregnancy neonatal lupus can be treated before birth.

Lupus is found in about 1.5 million Americans and 5 million people around the world. Every year 16,000 new cases are found each year and does not affect just one ethnic group, race, gender, or age. It is a chronic (long-term, usually life-long) disease that can become life threatening if not treated with proper medical help. There is more research needed on lupus to see if they can discover a cure rather than ease the side effects. If you want to learn even more about lupus, visit www.lupus.org.