Your Cells Fighting Against One Another

If you and I are still alive, our immune system will be there to protect us. Made up of several teammates including B-cells, neutrophils, and antibodies, their job is to attack every foreign body that comes into your organized system including pathogens, toxins, poisons, or foreign growth but then, your immune system can begin to malfunction such that they begin to see part of your body like they are the foreign bodies I mentioned.

Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, celiac disease, lupus, Crohn’s disease, and so on. With autoimmune diseases, every tissue in the body can be affected from the thyroid, nerves, bones, and even the joints. The immune system just thinks that you are the enemy and inflammation does a bad job at helping it achieve the goal of hurting it.

^flickr

For a person to suffer from autoimmune disease, the immune system doesn't just attack everything it sees, if it did, then no one would be surviving at the moment. It starts from our protein which is unique in shape and structure starting to look like the shape and structure of a pathogen’s protein. Out of the about 100,000 proteins that the body produces, it is the job of the immune system to check that they are in good shape while attacking the ones that are not. It is in this process that it sees proteins that are similar in shape to proteins of pathogens.

Pathogens can also cause the body's immune system to think your protein is foreign as these pathogens have learned to live and look like your protein. There can be cases where your immune cells pick up your cells while picking up pathogenic ones and so it begins to read those cells as foreign. When T-cells pick up these types of cells, they can start to create a chain reaction where the immune system starts to fight against your body.

^wikimedia

When they get to the part of the boys where they are misguided to go to, they find out that the cells are everywhere and so they begin a full-blown war against them not knowing they are your normal healthy cells. What I just explained is responsible for over 100 types of autoimmune diseases that are available.

With multiple sclerosis, the nerve cells are attacked leading to numbness, impaired vision, muscle cramps, memory impairment, and lack of concentration. With type 1 diabetes, the pancreas cells are destroyed and so insulin is not produced. When it comes to Rheumatoid Arthritis, the immune cells attack the joints of the body leading to inflammation which then dissolves bones and cartilage. With lupus, the entire body is not excused, with the immune system attacking anywhere and everywhere in the body causing severe pain, and destruction of cells and tissues.

Autoimmune disease has a risk factor it family history which is one thing that gives me fear because I heard my grandmother complaining of pains in her joints during the times I went to visit her as a child and when she visited the hospital, it was rheumatoid arthritis. Although there are so many ways to treat lots of autoimmune diseases but there isn't a cure yet, so we can manage a lot of autoimmune diseases properly.

I should start visiting the hospital to check myself up so I can be sure if I need to start treatment early before it becomes a burden to me, or I should check if I do not have to worry about anything.

Reference

^{https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000816.htm
https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/what-are-common-symptoms-of-autoimmune-disease
https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/diseases-conditions/autoimmune-disorders
https://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/conditions/autoimmune
https://medlineplus.gov/autoimmunediseases.html}———

Hi, I am Tobi, a writer, speaker, relationship blogger, and lover of good music. I love making friends and learning from people. Want to hear me speak on relationships and general life issues? You can find my YouTube channel where you can listen and watch any episode for free. Please, do not forget to subscribe, friends. I sincerely appreciate every love I get from here. Kindly do well to keep them coming.