OH
A 20-year-old female asked:
Can you have an auto immune disease with no symptoms?
2 doctor answers • 4 doctors weighed in
Dr. Thomas Josaanswered
Allergy and Immunology 41 years experience
Qualified yes: There can be laboratory evidence of an autoimmune process in the absence of symptoms/disease. An example of this is low levels of ANA with no clinical signs of Lupus. It can be a matter of degree or exceeding a symptom threshold.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Dr. John Chiuanswered
Allergy and Immunology 59 years experience
Yes: Many diseases do not show any symptoms until the very late stage. For example, one does not have a heart attack because the coronary artery suddenly jam up one day. The same is true with chronic smoking, the lung is being damaged but symptoms may not show some years later. This is the same with autoimmune disease.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
2k viewsReviewed >2 years ago
Similar questions
India
A 41-year-old female asked:
What do you mean by auto immune disease?
1 doctor answer • 1 doctor weighed in
Dr. Christopher Abelanswered
Pediatrics 28 years experience
See below: Typically this refers to any disease in which your body's immune system does not recognize parts of your body as "self", it sees them as "foreign" and attacks itself.
Created for people with ongoing healthcare needs but benefits everyone.
5.2k viewsAnswered >2 years ago
Last updated Nov 14, 2015
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