Rheumatoid Arthritis

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder that can affect more than just your joints. In some people, the condition can damage a wide variety of body systems, including the skin, eyes, lungs, heart, and blood vessels. It occurs when your immune system mistakenly attacks your own body's tissues.

Unlike the wear-and-tear damage of osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis affects the lining of your joints, causing a painful swelling that can eventually result in bone erosion and joint deformity. Uncontrolled inflammation damages cartilage, which normally acts as a “shock absorber” in your joints. In time, this can deform your joints. Eventually, your bone itself erodes. This can lead to the fusion of your joints (an effort of your body to protect itself from constant irritation).

Signs and Symptoms of RA:

• Fatigue
• Joint stiffness, pain & swelling
• Fever
• Anorexia
• Symmetrical joint involvement
• Rheumatoid nodules
• Deformity

Crohn’s disease

Crohn’s disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes your digestive tract to become swollen and irritated. Inflammation caused by Crohn's disease can involve different areas of the digestive tract in different people, most commonly the small intestine. This inflammation often spreads into the deeper layers of the bowel. Crohn's disease can be both painful and debilitating and sometimes may lead to life-threatening complications.

Signs and symptoms:

• Abdominal pain
• Blood in your stool
• Nausea and vomiting
• Diarrhea lasting more than two weeks
• Unexplained weight loss
• Fever in addition to any of the above symptoms

Ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes inflammation and ulcers (sores) in your digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis affects the innermost lining of your large intestine, also called the colon, and rectum.

Types of ulcerative colitis:

• Ulcerative proctitis
• Proctosigmoiditis
• Left-sided colitis
• Pancolitis

Signs and symptoms:

• Pain in the abdomen (belly area) and cramping
• A gurgling or splashing sound is heard over the intestine
• Blood and possibly pus in the stools
• Diarrhea, from only a few episodes to very often
• Fever
• Feeling that you need to pass stools, even though your bowels are already empty
• Weight loss

Hashimoto’s disease

Hashimoto’s disease is an autoimmune disorder that can cause hypothyroidism or underactive thyroid. Rarely, the disease can cause hyperthyroidism or overactive thyroid.

In people with Hashimoto’s disease:

• The immune system makes antibodies that attack the thyroid gland
• Large numbers of white blood cells, which are part of the immune system, build up in the thyroid
• The thyroid becomes damaged and can’t make enough thyroid hormones

Signs and symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Weight gain
• Trouble tolerating cold
• Joint and muscle pain
• Constipation
• Dry skin and thinning of hair
• Heavy or irregular menstrual periods or fertility problems
• Slow heart rate

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin condition that causes itchiness and discomfort. Plaque psoriasis is the most common type. Symptoms of psoriasis include thick areas of discolored skin covered with scales. These thick, scaly areas are called plaques.

Types of psoriasis:

• Plaque psoriasis: Plaque psoriasis is the most common type of psoriasis. About 80% to 90% of people with psoriasis have plaque psoriasis.
• Inverse psoriasis: This type appears in your skin folds. It causes thin plaques without scales.
• Guttate psoriasis: Guttate psoriasis may appear after a sore throat caused by a streptococcal infection. It looks like small, red, drop-shaped scaly spots and often affects children and young adults.
• Pustular psoriasis: Pustular psoriasis has small, pus-filled bumps on top of plaques.
• Erythrodermic psoriasis: This is a severe type of psoriasis that affects a large area (more than 90%) of your skin. It causes widespread skin discoloration and skin shedding.
• Sebopsoriasis: This type typically appears on your face and scalp as bumps and plaques with a greasy, yellow scale. This is a cross between psoriasis and seborrheic dermatitis.
• Nail psoriasis: Nail psoriasis causes skin discoloration, pitting, and changes to your fingernails and toenails.

Psoriasis

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). In MS, the immune system attacks the protective sheath (myelin) that covers nerve fibers and causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of your body. Eventually, the disease can cause permanent damage or deterioration of the nerve fibers.

With MS, your immune system mistakenly attacks myelin cells. Myelin sheath damage interrupts messages (signals) that your nerves send throughout your body to perform functions like vision, sensation, and movement.

Types of Multiple Sclerosis:

• Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS)
• Primary progressive MS (PPMS)
• Secondary progressive MS (SPMS)
• Progressive relapsing MS (PRMS)

Signs and symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Vision problems
• Numbness and tingling
• Muscle spasms, stiffness, and weakness
• Mobility problems
• Pain
• Problems with thinking, learning, and planning
• Depression and anxiety
• Sexual problems
• Loss of control over bladder & bowel
• Speech and swallowing difficulties

Type 1 diabetes

Type 1 diabetes, once known as juvenile diabetes or insulin-dependent diabetes, is a chronic auto-immune condition. In this condition, the pancreas makes little or no insulin. Insulin is a hormone the body uses to allow sugar (glucose) to enter cells to produce energy. If you don’t have enough insulin, too much sugar builds up in your blood, causing hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), and your body can’t use the food you eat for energy. This can lead to serious health problems or even death if it’s not treated. People with Type 1 diabetes need synthetic insulin every day to live and be healthy.

Different factors, such as genetics and some viruses, may cause type 1 diabetes. Although type 1 diabetes usually appears during childhood or adolescence, it can develop in adults. Treatment is directed toward managing the amount of sugar in the blood using insulin, diet, and lifestyle to prevent complications.

Signs and symptoms:

• Feeling thirstier than usual
• Urinating a lot
• Bed-wetting in children who have never wet the bed during the night
• Feeling very hungry
• Losing weight without trying
• Feeling irritable or having other mood changes
• Feeling tired and weak
• Having blurry vision