Autoimmunity......

Simply put, is when your immune system isn't functioning properly.
About ten years ago I had a patient come in and say to me, "I've seen ten kids in my class diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Is that normal?" Of course I closed my eyes and ears to what she was seeing back then because any good doctor could tell you that statistically ten out of fifty kids being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis was either a misdiagnosis or a total fluke. Even today sites on the internet state that only 1 out of 31 people have an autoimmune disease. Of course my eyes and ears are a little more open today.
It seems the more I open my eyes the more autoimmune disorders I am seeing, but maybe that is because the list of diseases classified as autoimmune is growing. Diseases once thought to be strictly genetic like Diabetes Type 1 are now considered autoimmune because there have been specific antibodies identified with the disease. The list of other autoimmune diseases includes things like most cases of hypothyroidism in America (Hoshimoto's), lupus, multiple sclerosis, Sjogren's, pernicious anemia, celiac disease, Guillian Barre Syndrome, of course rheumatoid arthritis, and many, many more. There are many people who believe autism is an autoimmune disorder.
One reason many believe autism is an autoimmune disorder is that most people with autism have been diagnosed or present with symptoms of other autoimmune disorders. If you have been diagnosed with one type of autoimmune disease, it is very likely you will develop another as well. Children of parents with autoimmune diseases almost always develop autoimmune diseases (not always the same one as their parent) at an earlier age.
Just a few of the many symptoms associated with autoimmune disease are fatigue, muscle soreness, sensitivity to chemicals, rashes of unknown orgins, brain fog, food sensitivities, hair loss, hyperactivity, insomnia, and of course increasing severity of allergies. Of course these can be signs of a lot of disorders, so if you have some or all of these problems the best thing to do is start with some bloodwork and a complete history. One pattern that newer studies are showing is that people with high HDL levels (especially when your triglicerides and LDL are not significantly elevated) very often have an underlying autoimmune disease.
So think about yourself, your family, and your friends. Do you or does someone you know possibly have an auto immune disease? Am I the only one out there who thinks that 1 in 31 statisic is someone either completely blind AND deaf or completely outdated? (That's a rhetorical question by the way, because I know many people who believe as I do that autoimmune disease is quite common).
NEXT BLOG.....Treating autoimmune disease?