Sjogren's syndrome

The disease of Sjögren's syndrome sounds a bit unfamiliar. Some friends may not know much about it and think it is a serious disease. But in fact, it is also a very common disease in our lives. Sjögren's syndrome, as the name suggests, means dryness. This makes many friends who suffer from this disease feel very distressed. Let us all learn about the details of this disease.

As for Sjögren's syndrome, it is more common in people aged 40-501, but it can also occur in teenagers. When it occurs, it not only manifests as dryness, but also causes some other complications, which can endanger our health. The following are the symptoms of this disease.

1. Local manifestations

(1) Xerostomia is caused by salivary gland lesions, which leads to a lack of salivary mucin, resulting in the following common symptoms: ① Most patients complain of dry mouth. In severe cases, the oral mucosa, teeth and tongue become sticky, so the patient needs to drink water frequently when speaking, and solid food must be taken with water or liquid food. ② Rampant dental caries is one of the characteristics of this disease. About 50% of patients develop multiple uncontrolled caries, which are manifested by the gradual darkening of the teeth, followed by small pieces falling off, and ultimately leaving only residual roots. ③ In adult mumps, 50% of patients present with intermittent alternating parotid swelling and pain, involving one or both sides. Most of them can disappear on their own in about 10 days, but sometimes the swelling persists. A few people have submandibular gland enlargement, while sublingual gland enlargement is less common. ④ The tongue manifests as tongue pain, dry and cracked tongue surface, and atrophied and smooth tongue papillae. ⑤Ulcers or secondary infections occur in the oral mucosa.

(2) Keratoconjunctivitis sicca: This is caused by a decrease in mucin secretion from the lacrimal glands, resulting in symptoms such as dry eyes, foreign body sensation, and less tears. In severe cases, the patient may even cry without tears. Some patients have recurrent purulent infections of the eyelid margin, conjunctivitis, keratitis, etc.

(3) Exocrine glands in other superficial areas such as the nose, hard palate, trachea and its branches, gastrointestinal mucosa, and vaginal mucosa may be affected, causing less secretion and resulting in corresponding symptoms.

2. System performance

In addition to dry mouth and eyes, patients may also experience systemic symptoms such as fatigue and low fever. About 2/3 of patients experience systemic damage.

(1) Allergic purpuric rash may occur on the skin, mostly on the lower limbs. It is a rice-sized red papule with clear borders that does not fade when pressed and appears in batches. Each episode lasts about 10 days and will fade on its own, leaving behind brown pigmentation.

(2) Joint pain is common, and damage to the joint structure is usually not present.

(3) Kidney: About half of the patients have renal damage, mainly affecting the distal renal tubules, and renal tubular acidosis may occur. A small number of patients develop more obvious glomerular damage, with clinical manifestations including massive proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and even renal insufficiency.

(4) Most patients with lung disease have no respiratory symptoms. Mildly affected people experience a dry cough, while severe cases experience shortness of breath. The main pathology of the lungs is interstitial lesions, and a small number of patients develop pulmonary hypertension. Patients with pulmonary fibrosis and severe pulmonary hypertension have a poor prognosis.

(5) The digestive system may present with non-specific symptoms such as atrophic gastritis, decreased gastric acid, and indigestion, and the patient may have liver damage.

(6) Neurological disease rarely affects the nervous system. Peripheral nerve damage is the most common.

(7) Blood system: This disease may cause a decrease in white blood cell count or (and) thrombocytopenia. Severe thrombocytopenia may cause bleeding. The incidence of lymphoma in this disease is much higher than that in the normal population.

I believe that after reading the detailed introduction of the symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome above, our friends should now have some understanding of this disease. In our lives, when we find that we have the phenomena mentioned above, we don’t have to panic. We should go to the hospital for diagnosis in time and actively receive the doctor’s treatment. In this way, we can recover our health as soon as possible.