In nowadays right lifestyle and weather-centric food consumption is must important for humans to stay healthy and have less diseases, but unfortunately, due to less time, people don’t have time to maintain or balanced the lifestyle. Especially in winter, people, even women, are more affected by autoimmune diseases. Scientifically, women's bodies have less immunity to fight back from autoimmune diseases. Many women do not even know how to handle these diseases. Here’s what an AIIMS doctor says.
What is an autoimmune disease?
Autoimmune disease comes from a mix of genetics, environmental triggers, and immune system dysfunction, where the body mistakenly attacks its own healthy tissues. This disease can be caused by many reasons, such as smoking, alcohol consumption, an inappropriate diet, obesity, and sudden medication consumption. The major dangerous factor is that, due to genetic issues, it left the immune system confused, and they couldn’t verify the actual infected tissues, which ended up damaging the healthy tissues.
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‘Diseases can occur at any age,’ says the expert
NDTV cited an interview with Dr. Uma Kumar, who is Professor and head of the department of Rheumatology, AIIMS, Delhi. She explained about the disease, “These diseases can occur at any age, but are more common in women of reproductive age. Female hormones and immune-related genes on the X chromosome play a role. The female-to-male ratio is high in younger ages and becomes nearly equal after menopause.”
She further said, "Women are often neglected due to social misconceptions that these diseases are hereditary or contagious, which is incorrect. As a result, many women suffer silently, leading to significant mental health issues."
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Dr. Kumar also mentioned the symptoms, where she said, “due to cold temperatures, reduced atmospheric pressure, increased joint stiffness, reduced sunlight, vitamin D deficiency, weight gain, low mood, pollution, and higher rates of viral infections”. Later, she added, “There is no single symptom or test that can diagnose these conditions. Symptoms vary widely and may include fatigue, fever, joint pain, skin rashes, hair loss, dryness of eyes or mouth, kidney involvement, neurological symptoms, or recurrent pregnancy loss. Because auto-antibodies may also be present in healthy individuals, testing without medical guidance can be misleading”.
Dr. Kumar also explained that practicing Yoga can be beneficial for reducing inflammation and providing sleep, especially for those who have autoimmune disease, she said “Lifestyle modification is essential. Adequate sleep, stress control, regular physical activity, smoking cessation, and weight management help prevent flares."
