I have recently been diagnosed with lupus and wondered if you have any information on how this affects my immune system?

As you will know, Lupus is a condition classified as an autoimmune disorder. These arise because the body’s immune system starts to see normal body tissue as being ‘foreign’ and as a result, an inflammatory response is triggered.

As a general statement, the disease of Lupus, in itself, does not really have an effect on the immune system. However, treatment of Lupus using immunosuppressive medicatio such as steroids may weaken the immune system and hence, make you more prone to colds, flu and other infections; and long-term use of such medicines also have other consequences.

I hope that this is of some help to you.