Facts About Lupus

4. The Nonspecific Symptoms of Lupus

Lupus is a disease that is somewhat tricky to diagnose, since many of the symptoms it produces are nonspecific, meaning they apply to a range of health conditions. Symptoms can also differ from person to person. The most commonly occurring symptoms are extreme fatigue, joint problems, including pain and inflammation, and skin rashes, particularly on the hands, feet, and face. The rash tends to appear in a butterfly shape that spreads across the nose and cheeks, and it is among the most distinctive of all lupus symptoms. Lupus can also cause a low-grade fever, headaches, migraines, hair loss, hypertension, swollen lymph nodes, ulcers in the mouth, chest pain, and in some cases, memory loss and seizures.