While lupus is a common disease, it's symptoms have no pattern. There is a wide gap between what is known about lupus by your primary or family doctor and specialist like an internist or rheumatologist who has a good tract record for seeing and treating a lot of lupusfolk. Here is some more bad news . Symptoms of lupus mimic other illnesses, are sometimes vague, and may go into periods of remission. Diagnosis is usually made by a careful review of a person's entire medical history, coupled with an analysis of the results obtained in some routine laboratory tests and some specialized tests related to immune status. .
Diagnosis is based on a combination of clinical and laboratory criteria.
Criteria Description 1. Malar Rash fixed erythema, flat or raised, over the malar eminences, tending to spare the nasolabial folds 2. Photosensitivity skin rash as a result of unusual reaction to sunlight, by patient history or physician observation 4. Oral or nasopharyngeal ulceration usually painless, observed by physician 5. Arthritisl non-erosive arthritis involving two or more peripheral joints, characterized by tenderness, swelling or effusion 6.