[Reported by Li Yun]After being diagnosed with new coronary pneumonia and recovering, in addition to leaving the well-known “new crown” symptoms such as breathlessness and brain fog, it may actually increase the risk of autoimmune diseases! The Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen Medical University and the Kaohsiung Veterans General Team teamed up to track 900,000 people diagnosed with the new coronavirus for half a year, and found that the risk of developing lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis and other immune system diseases within half a year after the patients recovered increased. nearly 3 times! Researched and featured in eClinicalMedicine, a subsidiary of the leading journal The Lancet.
Diagnosis may cause immune system disorders! 5 symptoms to watch out for
Wei Zhengzong, vice president of the Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen Medical University and an allergy and immunology rheumatologist, told the media that it may be because after infection with the new coronavirus, the virus activates the immune response of the confirmed patient, or because the structure of the virus antigen is similar to that of the self-antigen, resulting in crossover. response, causing the immune system to start attacking its own tissues and organs. And the longer you recover, the higher your risk of developing autoimmune diseases, the most common of which include:
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Ankylosing spondylitis: 3.21 times
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Mixed connective tissue lesion: 3.14 times
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Systemic lupus erythematosus: 2.99 times
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Rheumatoid arthritis: 2.98 times
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Psoriasis: 2.98 times
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Xerosis: 2.62 times
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Vasculitis and polymyositis: 1.96 times
The study also found that women have a slightly higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases than men; the manifestations of different age groups are different, and the risk of various autoimmune diseases in people aged 41 to 64 is significantly higher than that in uninfected people. In addition, people with abnormal immune system or abnormal living habits are more likely to get the disease. If you find that you have the following 5 major symptoms after being diagnosed, you need to check as soon as possible:
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long-term skin rash
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mouth ulcers
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joint stiffness or soreness
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Unknown cause haircut
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fever
Dr. Wei Zhengzong reminded that because the new coronavirus will remain in the body for a long time, and it is a brand new virus, the immune response of the human body will be more intense. Regardless of race, mild or severe disease, the risk of developing immune diseases is similar. It is recommended to adjust your work and rest as soon as possible after diagnosis, maintain a good diet and living habits, and let the immune system return to normal as soon as possible.
Take care of your immune system and prevent diseases! 5 ways to improve your health
After being diagnosed with COVID-19 and recovered, it is necessary to take care of the immune system even more than usual, so that the body’s immunity can be restored to balance as soon as possible, to fight against the residual virus, and reduce the risk of sequelae and immune system disorders. Regarding how to take care of the immune system, Dr. Hanwen Ou, an expert in functional medicine, shared on his personal website that the health of the immune system needs to start with five aspects: a balanced diet, taking care of a healthy gut, adjusting stress, getting enough sleep, and reducing environmental toxins.
1. Eat a balanced diet
An unbalanced diet, or one meal or one meal due to work, will interfere with the body’s immunity. Dr. Hanwen Ou specifically reminded that if you eat too much high-carbohydrate, high-fat food or excessive trans fat, it may affect the immune system and cause chronic inflammation in the body. And choose good oil.
Cardiac surgeon Gerald. Lemo also wrote that foods that can easily cause chronic inflammation in the body include: red meat, processed meat, trans fat, large amounts of dairy products, processed foods, refined sugar, and alcohol. If you want to take care of your immune system and gut health, you need to stay away from these foods as much as possible.
2. Take care of a healthy gut
Dr. Hanwen Ou pointed out that about 70% of the immune cells in the human body gather in the intestinal tract. When the gastrointestinal tract is not in good condition, it may cause a breach in the immune system. Frequent bloating, diarrhea, constipation, and indigestion are common symptoms of a poor gastrointestinal tract.
3. Adjust the pressure
Stress is also an important key to affecting the immune system. When a person is under high levels of stress, it can affect brain function and suppress immune system function. Under chronic stress, the brain will try to reduce the secretion of the stress hormone “cortisol”, leading to an increased immune response and a systemic inflammatory response. Dr. Ou Hanwen reminded that you can help relieve stress through exercise, meditation, or walking outside.
4. Get enough sleep
Sleep quality is also an important indicator for evaluating immunity. According to the National Institutes of Health, if you sleep less than 5 hours for 7 days in a row, your risk of catching a cold will increase by 3.5 times compared with getting 7 hours of sleep every day.
5. Reduce environmental toxins
There are many toxins in the environment, such as suspended particles in the air, environmental hormones in plastic products and cleaning products, or seafood containing heavy metals. These environmental toxins absorbed unconsciously will affect the health of the body, and exposure should be minimized.
Create a customized diet for immune protection!Elimination diet to uncover the killer of inflammation
Physician Xu Chongen, the director of Genki Clinic in Japan, further suggested that if you want to maintain your immune system through diet, instead of thinking about what to eat to be healthier, it is better to find out what to eat less to reduce the damage. He said on his personal website that due to the different constitution of each person, some ordinary people eat foods that are no problem, such as soybeans, wheat products, coffee, etc., but after some people eat them, they may cause body rejection, stimulate the body’s antibody attack and cause adverse reactions. Reaction to allergens, causing chronic inflammation of the body. If chronic inflammation persists for too long, it can lead to “autoimmune disease”, causing immune dysfunction.
However, modern people’s dietary sources are complex, so Dr. Xu Chongen suggested that if there is an abnormality in the body, the culprit of inflammation can be found out through the “elimination diet” and a customized anti-inflammatory diet can be created. He especially recommends patients with autoimmune diseases to try. At present, many studies have found that the symptoms of autoimmune diseases such as ankylosing spondylitis and rheumatoid arthritis have been significantly improved after adopting an elimination diet.
Yan Zuohua, a physician in family medicine, explained the implementation of the elimination diet in the health education article of the Lianqing Clinic:
Phase One: The Exclusion Phase
Completely exclude foods suspected of causing allergies from the diet for at least two weeks before the food-induced symptoms can completely disappear, and one or more ingredients can be excluded at a time. Since allergens may be hidden in processed food and outside food, the best solution is to eat only the food you have prepared.
Phase 2: Detection Phase
After two weeks, if the symptoms have not improved, it means that the excluded food is not an allergic factor. It is recommended to stop eliminating the food first, and then try to exclude other ingredients after discussing with the doctor; Food maintenance of disease. Only one kind of food is tested at a time, for three days at a time, and the physiological and psychological reactions after eating must be recorded in detail.
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