How can autoimmune disease be treated

Even when doctors aren't percent sure which specific autoimmune illness a child has, they often can learn enough from the diagnostic process to begin treatments to improve their health and quality of life. A rheumatologist will first look at your child's full health history including any family history of autoimmune disease — and conduct a thorough physical exam. If the doctor suspects a autoimmune disease, they will gather more information through lab tests, including:.

To do this, the doctor might use such imaging tests as:. To solve that problem, many researchers are now working on identifying biomarkers things that the body is doing or making that point to a specific illness — for autoimmune diseases. Such biomarkers could allow doctors to make faster, more accurate diagnoses and get started on treatment that much sooner. Rheumatologists, who specialize in diseases of the joints and connective tissue, often diagnose autoimmune illnesses and tend to be at the center of the health care team.

Depending on which tissues or organs are affected, other specialists such as a dermatologist skin , hepatologist liver and nephrologist kidneys — may be involved in caring for your child. While there's no cure for the vast majority of autoimmune diseases, doctors aim to do far more than just manage your child's symptoms.

They will work to immediately relieve things like soreness and stiffness, and restore important substances to your child's body that the disease may be taking away like insulin, in type 1 diabetes. Broadly speaking, doctors prescribe medications that 1 fight the harmful inflammation caused by autoimmune attack and 2 suppress the overall immune system or block specific things that it's doing.

Surgical therapies for autoimmune diseases are very rare. Doctors often favor aggressive upfront treatment with an array of drugs some of which have significant side effects, which your child's doctor will discuss with you in detail.

Therapies commonly prescribed for autoimmune disease include:. Depending on your child's autoimmune disease, they may need other kinds of medical treatment, such as:. Though essential, medication is just one part of your child's treatment program. Most kids with autoimmune diseases also require physical and occupational therapy, to increase their mobility and muscle strength and to learn ways to make day-to-day activities easier on their bodies.

And because chronic illnesses like these can be mentally and emotionally tough to deal with, psychotherapy or counseling can be valuable in helping kids keep the positive outlook they need to "beat" their disease.

By and large, autoimmune diseases are considered lifelong conditions. Many kids grow out of other illnesses, like certain types of juvenile idiopathic arthritis. If a child has a more serious autoimmune disease, they may go through periods of getting better remission and getting worse relapse. Both medical treatment and lifestyle changes can go a long way toward bringing these shifts under control. But they can give families a general sense of what the future holds and develop a treatment plan that ensures the best possible outcome.

In some cases, severe autoimmune diseases — especially those affecting the liver, kidneys, lungs, blood vessels and other vital organs — can be life threatening. Fortunately, though, these illnesses are very rare. Other autoimmune diseases include alopecia areata, antiphospholipid antibody syndrome, autoimmune hepatitis, type 1 diabetes , celiac disease, Crohn's disease , Graves' disease, Guillain-Barre syndrome, Hashimoto's disease, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, inflammatory bowel disease , multiple sclerosis , myasthenia gravis, primary biliary cirrhosis, psoriasis, Sjogren's syndrome and vitiligo.

Chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia are not considered autoimmune diseases. It is the overlap of symptoms with other autoimmune diseases, as well as with diseases that are not autoimmune, that can make diagnosis an arduous process. Corticosteroids may be used to control inflammation and suppress the immune system.

Other medication options depend on the specific autoimmune disease. Biologic drugs , for example, are now commonly used to treat rheumatoid arthritis or other inflammatory types of arthritis. Dealing with chronic inflammation?

An anti-inflammatory diet can help. Our free recipe guide shows you the best foods to fight inflammation.

Get yours today! Autoimmune diseases. Updated April 1, Autoimmune Disorders. Merck Manuals. Peter J. Delves, Ph. Autoimmune Diseases Fact Sheet.

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These choices will be signaled globally to our partners and will not affect browsing data. Rheumatologists specialize in diagnosing and treating musculoskeletal diseases and autoimmune conditions rheumatic disease.

Orbai talks about how to recognize common autoimmune disease symptoms and when you should see a doctor. There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases that affect a wide range of body parts. Symptoms of autoimmune disease may be severe in some people and mild in others. Despite the varying types of autoimmune disease, many of them share similar symptoms.

Common symptoms of autoimmune disease include:. You have to have certain symptoms combined with specific blood markers and in some cases, even a tissue biopsy. Diagnosis can also be difficult because these symptoms can come from other common conditions.

Orbai says women should seek treatment when they notice new symptoms. Autoimmune disease affects