what are the symptoms of lupus

Lupus can cause a wide range of symptoms, and they often come and go in flares. Common symptoms include joint pain and swelling, extreme fatigue, fever, a butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and nose, sun sensitivity, mouth sores, hair loss, chest pain when breathing deeply, and Raynaud’s phenomenon, where fingers or toes change color in cold or stress.

Common symptoms

• Painful, swollen, or stiff joints, especially in the morning.

• Fatigue that does not improve much with rest.

• Skin rashes, especially the butterfly rash on the face or round scaly rashes elsewhere.

• Fever.

• Hair loss.

• Mouth or nose sores.

• Chest pain when taking a deep breath.

• Fingers or toes that turn white, blue, or red in cold or stress.

Other possible symptoms

Lupus can also cause headaches, dizziness, memory or confusion problems, swollen glands, swelling in the legs or around the eyes, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, depression or anxiety, weight loss, and abnormal blood tests such as low blood counts or protein in the urine.

When to get checked

If someone has several of these symptoms at the same time, especially a rash, joint pain, and tiredness, it is worth seeing a doctor for evaluation because lupus can affect different organs in different ways.

If you want, I can also give you:

• a simple lupus symptom checklist ,
• early warning signs ,
• or how lupus is diagnosed.