In other autoimmune diseases, skin issues can be a secondary symptom. For example, lupus sometimes presents with a butterfly-shaped rash on the cheeks after immune cells in your skin react to UV light. The rash can also flare up for no reason at all. Even some gastrointestinal conditions can cause skin problems too. “With celiac disease, an intestinal autoimmune disorder, you can get a characteristic skin rash,” Dr. Rajapaksa explains. That’s because if you have the disorder, your immune system sees the gluten protein in wheat and other foods as an invader. So when you consume it, your immune system goes a bit haywire and attacks healthy parts of your body—and yep, that can include your skin. All of this spurs inflammation that might lead to well-known GI symptoms, like bloating, diarrhea, and constipation, but also itchy, blistery rashes on the elbows, knees, butt, scalp, or back.
4. Your gut is seriously struggling.
Nobody over the age of 15 is going to feel amazing after downing a Chili’s sampler plate with spicy margs, but recurring bowel problems can sometimes mean your immune system is going into attack mode on your digestive tract, Dr. Rajapaksa says. Again, this could be related to something like celiac disease—she notes that a big chunk of people don’t even realize they have it, mistaking constant constipation or diarrhea for normal bathroom pains.
Ulcerative colitis (UC), which causes chronic inflammation and sores (most often in the rectum and colon), and Crohn’s disease, which can affect any part of the intestines, are two other autoimmune-related biggies, per Dr. Rajapaksa. Both UC and Crohn’s are inflammatory bowel diseases that can cause debilitating fatigue, diarrhea, abdominal pain or cramping, bloody poop, and sometimes weight loss.
It’s important to note that a lot of things can cause gut problems (like said sampler plate and even irritable bowel syndrome, which isn’t autoimmune-related). But if you’re sprinting to the bathroom and it’s seriously messing with your quality of life, it’s worth flagging to a doc.
5. You’re having trouble processing information, you have recurring headaches, or your vision seems off.
According to Dr. McAlpine, when your immune system attacks your nervous system (as is the case with MS), it can cause some pretty unsettling neurological effects. You might feel a little foggy in general: Research shows that people with MS are more likely to have difficulty processing information and have a harder time remembering things. The condition can also make you prone to chronic migraine or frequent tension headaches, studies suggest. Non-neurological autoimmune diseases, like lupus, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis, can also cause cognitive issues.
Another hot spot for autoimmune attacks is the eyes. If your vision starts to change suddenly or for seemingly no reason—particularly if it’s blurry or you’re seeing double—that’s a symptom to flag to your doctor, Dr. McAlpine says. Super dry eyes can signal something is wrong too: It’s something 66-year-old Eileen Bailey from Pottstown, Pennsylvania, experienced before she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome. “I had dry eyes and a dry mouth, but I just drank water and used eye drops. I didn’t connect it to a medical problem,” she tells SELF. But when Bailey would lift her arm, she’d often wince with pain. When she flagged this issue to a doctor, the connection to her other symptoms finally surfaced.
6. You experience any of these symptoms in an on-again, off-again way.
Beyond the constellation of symptoms, there’s often one major defining feature among a lot of autoimmune diseases, Dr. McAlpine says: flare-ups. It’s common to go through periods when you feel totally fine, and then have weeks or months with symptoms. “That relapsing-remitting pattern is common across a lot of [these diseases],” she says. For example, in a Crohn’s disease flare-up, you might suddenly get painful gastrointestinal issues (urgent bowel movements or cramps) that pop up for seemingly no reason at all. Meanwhile, if your autoimmune disease predominantly causes pain (like in RA), your joints might get inexplicably swollen or stiff even if you felt totally fine a few weeks prior.
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