Sjogren’s Syndrome

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Sjogrens Syndrome Understanding Sjögrens
syndrome Sjögrens syndrome is an autoimmune
disease in which our own body immune system
attacks glands that produce moisture. The
misdirected immune system leads to inflammation
of tissues and dysfunction in glands of the body
that are generating tears and saliva. Sjogren
syndrome affects lacrimal glands which produce
tears and salivary glands which produce saliva
in the mouth. It causes extreme dryness of eyes
and mouth. Causes The cause of Sjögrens
syndrome is not known, your immune system
mistakenly attacks your own body cells and
tissues instead of attacking harmful bacteria and
viruses. Its very commonly found in some
families who have members with other autoimmune
problems, such as systemic lupus erythematosus,
autoimmune thyroid disease, type I diabetes,
etc. women are mostly affected by this autoimmune
disease. Symptoms Symptoms of Sjogrens
syndrome are different from person to person. The
symptoms and signs are extreme Mouth dryness,
Swallowing difficulties, Dental decay, Cavities,
Gum disease, Mouth sores and swelling, Hoarseness
or impaired voice, Abnormality of taste or loss
of taste, Dry cough, and Stones and/or infection
of the parotid gland inside of the cheeks, Eye
dryness, Eye irritation, Less tear production,
feeling of a foreign object in the eye, burning
sensation in the eye, it can harm the cornea,
which is your eyes clear outer layer. It can
also affect other parts in the body you may feel
dryness in the throat, nose, lips or skin. The
glands which are in the face and neck may get
swollen. Some women may feel dryness in their
vagina.
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Some people may have similar symptoms of
rheumatoid arthritis such as stiffness in their
joints and pain, though they dont have the
disease. Diagnosis Your doctor may diagnose
Sjögrens syndrome after observing dryness of the
eyes and mouth, and running tests are done to
detect the presence of the condition. One such
test is Schirmers test, it is done to measure
the eyes ability to wet a slip of paper. Other
examinations are done to determine the presence
of Sjögrens syndrome by testing the production
of saliva and antibodies, as well as dryness on
the surface of the eye. Blood test blood tests
are done to check the levels of different types
of blood cells, to check if you have germ
fighting proteins that many with sjogren syndrome
people have. Blood tests can also measure the
inflammation in the body. To know if you have
high amounts of proteins called immunoglubulins,
which are part of your infection fighting
system. Imaging tests These tests are done to
find the functioning of salivary glands.
Sailogram A dye is injected into the salivary
glands in front of your ears and a special X-ray
shows how much saliva flows into your
mouth. Salivary scintigraphy you will be given a
low level radioactive marker and will be
positioned under a gamma scintillation camera
that detects the radiation and produces an
image. This is to see how quickly it arrives in
all your salivary glands. Biopsy Lip Biopsy is
performed to check the presence of clusters of
inflammatory cells. Procedure The treatment
given for Sjögrens syndrome depends on the
specific parts of the body that are affected.
There is no cure for Sjögrens syndrome. Eyes and
oral cavity are the most affected parts of the
body.
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• These treatments are generally aimed to give
  relief to the symptoms of dryness and
  discomfort.
• Punctual plug treatment is given for severe
  cases these are small devices that are used to
  block the tear drainage channel in the inner
  corner of the eye. It is inserted into the tear
  duct opening (puncta). Usually tears drain out
  through this channel to back of your nose and
  into the back of your throat. The puncta plug
  acts as a dam by stopping the tears from flowing
  out. This way it will help the eyes to be moist
  with your own tears. These plugs can also help
  artificial tears to stay longer. These punctual
  plugs are inserted temporarily or permanently.
• Eye drops and gels are suggested to keep your
  eyes from drying out. If artificial tears are
  not helping, other drugs are given such as 1)
  Cequa, 2) Lacrisert, and 3) restasis.
• To help dry mouth, medicines are prescribed to
  boost saliva are cevemeline , neutraSal,
  Salagen.
• Prevention and Home remedies
• Regular and continuous intake of liquid food
  items, and keeping your- self hydrated can help
  to fight dryness.
• Increasing humidity indoors and avoiding exposure
  to blowing air can keep your eyes and mouth from
  dryness.
• Brush twice and floss every day to avoid
  cavities.
• For dry skin use warm water, not hot water
• Avoid drinking coffee or alcohol as they can
  worsen dry mouth.
• Avoid cold drinks.
• Increasing saliva flow by chewing sugarless gum
  or citric flavored candies.
• Use nasal spray to clear any nasal blockage, a
  dry stuffy nose can increase mouth breathing
  which may cause dryness.
• Who are prone to get

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