Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus)

For a lay person:

Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks the body's own tissues, including the skin, joints, kidneys and blood. It typically comes in flares of tiredness, joint pain and rashes.

For a trained medical person:

A multisystem autoimmune disease with ANA and anti-dsDNA antibodies and low complement, classified by EULAR/ACR 2019 criteria. Treatment: hydroxychloroquine for all, corticosteroids, immunosuppressants and biologics (belimumab, anifrolumab).

In Chinese medicine:

Flaws and Sionneau's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Heat evils blazing and exuberant; Heat Bi; Heat damaging qi and yin; Liver channel depressive heat; Yin deficiency with fire effulgence; Qi and Blood Stagnation; Spleen-kidney depletion; Heart and Spleen Deficiency; Liver-Spleen Disharmony; Liver wind internally stirring. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get urgent care for chest pain, breathlessness, swelling with foamy urine, or seizures.