The third chapter of Living with Lupus is titled, What Causes Lupus – Maybe. Please note that at the suggestion of the author, Dodi Shultz, I’m now reading the updated second edition, and so if you’re following along with me, make sure you have the newer edition.

I’m just going to give my thoughts on this chapter and subsequent chapters, rather than doing such an in depth summary. If you want to know more then buy the book, and seriously, if you or your loved one has lupus, you need to educate yourself as best you can. For the price of four or five fancy coffee drinks, you can add a valuable reference to your library. It’s worth it.

There is so much we don’t know about lupus, but according to Living with Lupus, there are some things we do know:

• You can’t catch lupus from someone else.
• Lupus is not inherited like hemophilia or male pattern baldness, at least in any way we understand.
• Lupus is not the direct result of any identified environmental toxins.
• Lupus is not the result of a vitamin or mineral deficiency, or the result of a vitamin or mineral overabundance, nor is it the result of any particular hormone or enzyme produced naturally by the body.

One of the things that jumped out at me while I was reading this chapter was the information about the various lupus studies involving identical twins, that has shown that there is obviously some hereditary factor involved. Many identical twins have lupus, but not all, which indicates that there must be other factors involved that can trigger lupus in someone who is genetically susceptible. The authors explain it in this way,

Some researchers call this the “fertile soil” concept: The direct cause that triggers the development of lupus might be thought of as “seeds”; unless they’re sprinkled on ground that offers the right growing conditions, the “fertile soil” of susceptibility, nothing will happen. [p. 35]

So if your loved one has lupus, it may be that they were just at the wrong place, at the wrong time, with the wrong genes.

We also know that lupus appears to be influenced by age, race, and gender. During the reproductive years, the ratio of females to males with lupus is about 10 to 1, while after age fifty the ratio drops to about 2 to 1. Lupus affects African American women three times as often as other women in the same age group.

The rest of the chapter deals with research involving viruses and environmental factors, which I found very interesting. At one point in this section, the authors discuss the difference between the AIDS virus and lupus, which I found particularly helpful. Just recently, a friend of ours brought over a ton of herbal supplements and vitamins designed to boost the immune system, and we have a hard time explaining why these are counterproductive. People seem to have a hard time understanding the difference between someone who has a compromised immune system and someone whose immune system is being suppressed by medication because their immune system is attacking necessary cells and systems.

I would like to know what are some of the factors you think may have contributed to your lupus, or what you think contributed to your friend/spouse’s lupus.

My wife has mentioned everything from a family member’s gout to using hair dye when she was a teenager. What factors do you think may have sown the lupus seeds in your fertile soil?