Let's highlight Autoimmune Diseases [or Disorders] this week:
- Autoimmune diseases include a broad category of related diseases in which the person’s immune system attacks their own tissue with symptoms that can vary from mild to severely affecting daily life
- Autoimmune disorders are chronic (ongoing) illnesses; there are no cures, only treatments and symptom management
- In many cases autoimmune disorders are inherited, but it is not known why some people have them
- AD are frequently classified into organ-specific and non-organ-specific types, though some of them fall between the two
- Patients can experience multiple organ-specific diseases at the same time
- Sources vary on an exact number of autoimmune disorders, but the current number ranges from 80 -140+ different types and can prove difficult to diagnose
- Autoimmune diseases and their effects on mortality and morbidity are significant
- Everyone experiences their illness differently
The Global Autoimmune Institute and the Autoimmune Association have a non-comprehensive, searchable database of autoimmune diseases.
Sources: "Autoimmune Diseases - an overview", "What is autoimmunity?", "Human autoimmune diseases: a comprehensive update"
Friendly reminder to please use
for sensitive content that falls under Hexbear's Code of Conduct. You can find the spoiler tag here:
spoiler tags and content warnings [cw]
Hexbear CoC
Alt Text of image
Alt text of image: a screenshot of a comment box and its editing options, with a dark theme, grey and dark grey background with white text. A skinny white arrow points to the "spoiler" option, which is an exclamation point inside of a diamond, and the 13th or second-from-the-last icon in the middle of the photo and at the top of the light grey comment box that reads "Type here to comment..." in white italic font
After clicking it, substitute the second "spoiler" with your content warning and the three underscores ( ___ ) with your sensitive content.
As always, we ask that in order to participate in the weekly megathread, one self-identifies as some form of disabled, which is broadly defined in the community sidebar:
"Disability" is an umbrella term which encompasses physical disabilities, emotional/psychiatric disabilities, neurodivergence, intellectual/developmental disabilities, sensory disabilities, invisible disabilities, and more. You do not have to have an official diagnosis to consider yourself disabled.
Mask up, love one another, and stay alive for one more week.
