Sjogren’s syndrome, named after the doctor who discovered it, Henrik Sjogren, is a chronic autoimmune disorder. As such, it happens when the white blood cells of your immune system mistakes healthy cells for foreign invaders and attack them. There are thousands of autoimmune disorders, and they all affect the body differently. With Sjogren’s syndrome, your body isn’t able to produce enough moisture for your eyes and mouth, resulting in excessively dry eyes and dry mouth.
While these are the main and most common results of Sjogren’s syndrome, they can affect other parts of the body as well. Additionally, just because you struggle with dry eyes or a dry mouth doesn’t mean you have Sjogren’s syndrome. As such, it’s important to seek an early diagnosis and treatment if you’re struggling with these conditions.
The main feature of Sjogren’s syndrome is that it causes your immune system to attack your moisture-secreting glands and mucous membranes. This, in turn, means that they don’t produce enough moisture for your eyes and mouth. As a result, most of the symptoms of Sjogren’s syndrome affect the eyes and mouth.
It’s also possible for Sjogren’s syndrome to accompany other autoimmune disorders, such as lupus and certain types of arthritis. This can lead to additional symptoms that aren’t directly related to Sjogren’s syndrome.
As an autoimmune disorder, people have Sjogren’s syndrome because their immune system has malfunctioned. This results in your white blood cells attacking the mucous membranes and moisture-secreting glands, resulting in insufficient moisture in the eyes and mouth. However, it’s not fully understood why this mishap with your immune system occurs, but here are some of the suspected causes and risk factors of Sjogren’s syndrome.
Like most autoimmune diseases, it can be difficult to diagnose Sjogren’s syndrome. This is because the symptoms vary from person to person and severity. However, if you have excessively dry eyes, dry mouth, and a few of the other symptoms mentioned above, your doctor will likely form the following diagnostic tests to see if you have Sjogren’s.
An early diagnosis and treatment are crucial for combatting the effects of Sjogren’s syndrome.
Unfortunately, as with most autoimmune diseases, there’s no cure for Sjogren’s syndrome. However, there are treatments that can relieve symptoms and help you live a normal life. Treatment will mostly focus on treating your eyes and mouth for dryness.
This includes medications to increase saliva and tears and to decrease inflammation. You may also need pain relievers if your condition causes too much pain. Finally, you might require surgery to install artificial tear glands and seal your natural ones.