What is Sjogren's Syndrome?

I became interested in Sjogren's syndrome the other day when my sister-in-law said that she had it. Sharon was diagnosed with brain cancer about ten years ago and has been a true fighter and has outlived her doctor's predictions. Sjogren's syndrome is one of the many problems she suffers with.

Sjogren's (SHOW-grins) syndrome is an immune system disorder. It is usually specified by its two most general symptoms-dry mouth and dry eyes.

Sjogren's syndrome usually comes with other autoimmune disorders, for instance, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. These illnesses are distinguished by connective tissue inflammation. It is customary for a person with Sjogren's syndrome to additionally suffer from a connective tissue disorder.

In Sjogren's syndrome, your immune system assaults healthy tissue. The moisture releasing glands and mucous membranes of your mouth and eyes are typically involved at the beginning. The outcome of this is diminished creation of saliva and tears. This disease can additionally injure other tissues.

Most individuals who are diagnosed with Sjogren's syndrome are older than 40, though you can get it at any age and it is more widespread in women. Certain treatments can ease a lot of the symptoms but there is no cure.

Symptoms

Sjogren's syndrome can be hard for a physician to identify since the symptoms and signs are like those caused by other illnesses and can differ from person to person. Additionally, some medication side effects can imitate several symptoms and signs of Sjogren's syndrome. However, usual symptoms and signs of Sjogren's syndrome are as follows:

• Dry mouth

• Dry eyes

• Trouble chewing or swallowing

• Fatigue

• Sense of taste alteration

• Voice harshness

• Dental cavities

• Oral yeast infections

• Dry skin or skin rashes

• Vaginal dryness

• Inflamed parotid glands (one certain set of salivary glands, situated behind your jaw and in front of your ears)

• Joint stiffness, pain or swelling

• Dry cough

Causes

Sjogren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease. What this means is that your body assaults its own tissue and cells. It is not known why this happens, although researchers think that a mixture of elements makes something go wrong with the immune system. These elements might be associated to hormones, heredity, the nervous system or a bacterial or viral infection.

What happens with Sjogren's syndrome is that the white blood cells erroneously aim, assault and injure the moisture creating glands. They can additionally injure other organs such as the liver, kidneys and lungs.

Risk Factors

This disease commonly happens in individuals that have one or more risk factors. The factors comprise the following:

1. Being female. Women are nine times more prone to having Sjogren's syndrome than men are.

2. Having a rheumatic illness. It is usual for individuals to also have a rheumatic illness and have Sjogren's syndrome. Examples of rheumatic illnesses are scleroderma, lupus, polymyositis or rheumatoid arthritis.

3. Having Sjogren's syndrome in your family history. This disease, at times, runs in families.

4. Being a certain age. Sjogren's syndrome is commonly identified in individual's over 40 years of age.

When to Contact Your Doctor

Sjogren's syndrome is inclined to grow slowly. However, some symptoms can lead to problems that necessitate seeing a doctor when the symptoms do happen. If you become aware of such symptoms as abnormally dry mouth or eyes and it goes on for long than three months, you need to contact your physician.

Conclusion

If you have any of the symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome for over three months, see your doctor. There are numerous medications that can be prescribed to relieve the symptoms of Sjogren's syndrome so the earlier you can be diagnosed, the better off you will be.

Resource:

Mayo Clinic.com