The immune system is a collection of special cells and chemicals that fight infection-causing agents such as bacteria and viruses. An autoimmune disorder occurs when a person's immune fails to recognize
the good cells from the bad ones; it attacks its good cells and tissues like the skin or joints— as foreign. This causes it to release proteins known as auto antibodies which attack the healthy cells.
Autoimmune disorders are broadly grouped into two categories –'organ-specific' means one organ is affected, while in 'non-organ-specific' disorders, multiple organs or body systems may be affected.
Certain autoimmune diseases, like multiple sclerosis and lupus, run in families. Not every family member will necessarily have the same disease, but they inherit a susceptibility to an autoimmune condition.
Eating high-fat, high-sugar, and highly processed foods is thought to be linked to inflammation which might set off an immune response. Because of vaccines and antiseptics, children today aren’t exposed to
as many germs as they were in the past. The lack of exposure could make their immune system prone to overreact to harmless substances. But these are just guesswork nothing substantial proofs are available.
Different types of Autoimmune Diseases
- Type 1 diabetes
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Leucoderma (vitiligo)
- Systemic lupus erythematous
- Psoriasis/psoriatic arthritis
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Graves’ disease
- Scleroderma
- Myasthenia Gravis
- Pernicious anemia
Symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, swelling, and redness could be signs of an autoimmune disease. Symptoms might come and go over time. Other symptoms include recurrent rashes or hives, sun-sensitivity, butterfly rash,hairloss in patches, dry mouth,eyes or skin etc.
In auto immune disorders the body’s own immune power cannot differentiate the healthy body tissue and foreign tissue. So any treatment target to relieve the symptoms which mostly includesimmunosuppressant drugs i.e. Corticosteroids, will not cure the condition permanently. But Homeopathy helps hitting at the immunity level to modify the immune system to work in a normal way and thus prove helpful in auto immune diseases.