Remember that each person has different symptoms. Treatment depends on the symptoms. The doctor may give you aspirin or a similar medicine to treat swollen joints and fever. Creams may be prescribed for a rash.

No single test can show that you have lupus. Your doctor may have to run several tests and study your medical history. It may take time for the doctor to diagnose lupus.

Anyone can get lupus. But 9 out of 10 people who have it are women. Black women are three times more likely to get lupus than white women. Its also more common in Hispanic/Latino, Asian, and American Indian women.

Learn to recognize that a flare is coming. Talk with your doctor. Try to set realistic goals and priorities. Limit the time you spend in the sun. Maintain a healthy diet. Develop coping skills to help limit stress.

When symptoms appear, its called a flare. These signs may come and go. You may have swelling and rashes one week and no symptoms at all the next. You may find that your symptoms flare after youve been out in the sun or after a hard day at work.

Lupus may be hard to diagnose. Its often mistaken for other diseases. For this reason, lupus has been called the great imitator. The signs of lupus differ from person to person. Some people have just a few signs; others have more.

The word systemic means that the disease can involve many parts of the body. SLE symptoms can be mild or serious.

We dont know what causes lupus. There is no cure, but in most cases lupus can be managed. Lupus sometimes seems to run in families, which suggests the disease may be hereditary.

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. The immune systems job is to fight foreign substances in the body, like germs and viruses. But in autoimmune diseases, the immune system is out of control. It attacks healthy tissues, not germs.