It is said that if you know your enemies and yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle”. Sun Tzu Art of War
Autoimmune disease is a condition where your own immune system is at war with your own joints, skin or internal organs such as kidneys, blood cells etc. Very often, the diagnosis may be delayed due to the uncommon clinical presentations. At LUI CARE, we strongly believe in coming to an accurate diagnosis and initiating the appropriate treatment for your condition. We believe in knowing your “enemy” and controlling it before it damages your body.
Some of the more common autoimmune and rheumatic conditions are as listed below:
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA)
- the commonest inflammatory arthritis, typically affecting the small joints of the hands, wrists, ankles and toes.
- Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE)
- a condition also known as Lupus. It is a generalised form of auto-immune disease that can affect your joints, skin, and in more severe cases, internal organs involvement.
- Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) or SpondyloArthritis (SpA)
- a condition that causes inflammation of the spinal and sacroiliac joints.
- Psoriatic Arthritis
- a disorder of the immune system that affects the skin (in the form of skin psoriasis) and the joints (arthritis)
- Sjogren’s Syndrome
- An inflammatory condition affecting the glands that causes dry eyes and mouth
- Inflammatory Muscle Disease
- an inflammatory condition that affects your muscles, causing progressive weakness of your limbs and occasionally leading to swallowing and breathing difficulties.
- Systemic Vasculitis
- a group of disorders where small to large sized blood vessels can be inflamed, potentially leading to vasculitic rashes, occlusion or rupture of the affected vessels
- Undifferentiated/Mixed Connective Tissue Disease
- an autoimmune disease that manifest with a myriad of signs and symptoms
- Behcet’s disease
- a disorder where one can suffer from recurrent oral ulcers and occasionally genital ulcers. In severe cases, the eyes, brain and intestines may be affected
- Gout
- one of the commonest rheumatological conditions. May be refractory and complicated in certain patients, especially in patients with underlying renal impairment
- Osteoporosis
- Osteoarthritis
- another common rheumatological conditions that may affect any joint in the body
- Soft Tissue Rheumatism
- a common rheumatological condition affecting the soft tissues around a joint
- Regional Pain Syndromes (headache, backache, hand/neck/heel pain)
- Scleroderma or Systemic Sclerosis
- this is a condition with predominant skin hardening, as well as abnormalities of the blood vessels, connective tissue and immune system. It can affect the digestive system, heart, lungs, muscles and joints.
Autoimmune conditions and rheumatic diseases can range from very mild to very severe disorders. During your consultation, Dr Lui will personalize a treatment regime for you to bring about a satisfactory outcome. Treatment instituted may include both pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical methods, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy and podiatry services.
For patients with joint arthritis, Dr Lui can perform joint aspiration to relieve swollen joints and injection of triamcinolone/ lignocaine to reduce the inflammation. This may be performed under ultrasound guidance.