Samantha Ruth Prabhu Myositis diagnosis: What is an autoimmune disease?

Samantha Ruth Prabhu shocked her fans after she revealed that she has been diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called Myositis. 

The actress opened up about her medical condition through an Instagram post thanking everyone for their response to the trailer of her upcoming movie 'Yashoda'

 

 

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A post shared by Samantha (@samantharuthprabhuoffl)

What is autoimmune disease?

Most autoimmune diseases cause inflammation, which produces redness, heat, pain, and swelling. Many autoimmune diseases affect more than one part of the body.

Your body's immune system protects you from disease and infection. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. Autoimmune diseases can affect many parts of the body.

There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, and some have similar symptoms. This makes it hard for your healthcare provider to know if you really have one of these diseases, and if so, which one. Getting a diagnosis can be frustrating and stressful. Often, the first symptoms are fatigue, muscle aches and a low fever. The classic sign of an autoimmune disease is inflammation, which can cause redness, heat, pain and swelling. The diseases may also have flare-ups when they get worse, and remissions, when symptoms get better or disappear. Treatment depends on the disease, but in In most cases, one important goal is to reduce inflammation. Sometimes doctors prescribe corticosteroids or other drugs that reduce your immune response.

Your immune system is the network of cells and tissues throughout your body that work together to defend you from viruses, bacteria, and infection. It tries to identify, kill, and eliminate the invaders that might hurt you.

What happens in autoimmune diseases?

Autoimmune diseases refer to problems with the acquired immune system's reactions. Immune cells target the body's own healthy tissues by mistake, signalling the body to attack them. Autoimmune diseases can affect almost any part of the body, including the:

• Heart
• Brain
• Nerves
• Muscles
• Skin
• Eyes
• Joints
• Lungs
• Kidneys
• Glands
• Digestive system
• Blood vessels

Symptoms of Autoimmune disease

The symptoms you have will depend on the body part(s) affected, such as:

Joints can cause joint pain, stiffness, and loss of function.

• Thyroid, which might cause you to be tired, gain weight, or have muscle aches.
• Skin, which can cause rashes, blisters, and colour changes.

Causes of Autoimmune diseases

No one is sure what causes autoimmune diseases. In most cases, a combination of factors is probably at work, such as:

• Genes, which may make you more likely to develop the disease.
• Environment, such as a virus that triggers the disease if you have the genes.

Treatment of Autoimmune disease

The treatment depends on the type of autoimmune disease. In most cases, your doctor will prescribe medications such as corticosteroids or immunosuppressive drugs to reduce inflammation.