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Collagen Vascular Disease- Know All The Types Of Disease With Treatment!
“Collagen vascular disease” is the name give and used for a group of diseases that affects our connective tissues. Collagen is a protein-based connective tissue forming support system of our skin.
Connective tissues play an important part as they are responsible for holding bones, ligaments, and muscles together. Collagen vascular diseases are also called connective tissue disorders. It is important to note that collagen vascular diseases can be inherited from anyone’s parent which suggests it can be inherited as well as autoimmune which means it can be resulted due to the immune system acting against itself.
Some collagen vascular diseases or disorders can affect your blood vessels, skin, joints, and other vital organs. Know that symptoms of collagen vascular disease vary according to the disease type.
Few types of autoimmune collagen vascular diseases include the following:
- Temporal arteritis
- Scleroderma
- Rheumatoid arthritis
- Lupus
Few types of hereditary collagen vascular diseases include the following:
- Brittle bone disease or osteogenesis imperfecta
- Marfan’s syndrome
- Ehlers-danlos syndrome
Now that you know there are two separate classes of collagen vascular disease- the hereditary one and autoimmune collagen vascular disease, let’s see what causes these diseases.
Causes Of Collagen Vascular Disease
By now you know that collagen vascular disease is an autoimmune disease. This states that it occurs when your immune system attacks the healthy tissues of your body mistakenly. No one can figure out why the immune system does so or what causes the immune system to damage your own tissues instead of protecting them. These attacks result in inflammation. If you have developed collagen vascular diseases, your immune system is likely to cause inflammation in your collagen and joints nearby.
Several types of collagen vascular diseases such as scleroderma, lupus, and rheumatoid arthritis are more common in women as compared to men. This group of diseases usually affect people in their 30s and 40s. Children can also be diagnosed with lupus below the age of 15 but it mainly occurs in people older than the age of 15 years.
Symptoms of collagen vascular diseases
Each disease that falls under collagen vascular diseases has its own set of causes and symptoms. However, most common diseases of this type share some general symptoms. People are likely to experience the following set of symptoms when they have any of the collagen vascular diseases:
- Skin rashes
- Joint pain
- Bodu aces
- Fever
- Muscle weakness
- Fatigue
Let’s go through the symptoms of some common collagen vascular diseases.
Lupus symptoms
Lupus falls under the category of collagen vascular diseases and has unique symptoms n patients. Some additional symptoms present in lupus patients include:
- Shortness of breath
- Recurrent miscarriages in women
- mouth ulcers
- strokes
- dry eyes
- headaches
- chest pain
Other than these, people having lupus might also have long periods of remission without any symptoms. Symptoms usually flare up when the patient is stressed or exposed to direct sunlight for a long time.
Rheumatoid arthritis Symptoms
In the United States, nearly 1.3 million people are affected with rheumatoid arthritis according to the data by the national institute of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases. It leads to inflammation of the incentive tissues present between the joints thus causing stiffness and pain. You might also have chronic problems with dry mouth and try eyes. The blood vessels and lining of the heart also become inflamed at times if you have these collagen vascular diseases.
Sceldrodoma symptoms
Scedloma is another autoimmune disease that may affect some or all the organs like the digestive tract, lungs, skin, heart, etc.
The symptoms of this disease include hardening and thickening of the skin, open sores, and rashes. You may feel ht your skin is feeling tight as if it is being stretched or lumps are present in some areas. It can also cause some other issues like:
- Coughing
- Numbness in the feet
- joining pain
- acid reflux
- diarrhea
- breathing issues
- wheezing
Temporal arteritis symptoms
Also known as giant cell arteritis is another collagen vascular disease. It involves inflammation of large arteries typically those present in the head. Symptoms are most commonly evident in people over the age of 70 years and include vision loss, headaches, jaw pain, and scalp sensitivity.
Treatment for collagen vascular diseases
The treatments available for collagen vascular disease also vary according to the condition of an individual and the type of collagen vascular diseases they are facing such as lupus or scleroderma. However, some immunosuppressant medicines and corticosteroids nearly are give by doctors to treat almost all types of collagen vascular diseases.
1. Corticosteroids
These are used to reduce inflammation caused by diseases throughout the patient’s body. This class of drugs helps to normalize the immune system function thus preventing it to attack internal organs. Corticosteroids might have major side effects give in some people including mood changes suddenly and weight gain. Some people ahs also faced an increase in blood sugar levels while taking corticosteroid medicines.
2. Immunosuppressants
These are medications given to lower the response by the immune system thus preventing it to act abnormally. If the immune response becomes slower, your body will not be attacked by an immune system as it did previously. However, people having low immunity are more prone to being sick. You must protect yourself from viruses by staying away from individuals having trouble with flu ad cold.
3. Physical therapies
Physical therapies are also used to treat people with collagen vascular diseases. Gentle exercises are provided in physical therapies that help to treat diseases. Motion exercises are great to help you retain your mobility again and reduce muscle pain or joint pain.
The Bottom Line
The outlook for these diseases varies from one person to another and highly depends upon the type of diseases they are suffering from. However, all the diseases have one important thing in common which is all the autoimmune diseases are chronic in nature. They have no permanent cure and you must take medications and practice physical theories to manage them throughout your life if you develop any.
You can visit your doctors to create a treatment plan that may be beneficial in managing all the symptoms thus helping you out.
Some herbs present naturally as Gotu kola extracts can also help treat inflammation and joint swelling. Talk to your doctor about these natural remedies and herbs to add them to your medications.
