Lupus Specialist
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Ariel D. Teitel, M.D.
Rheumatologist & Board Certified Internal Medicine Physician located in Columbus circle, New York, NY
Lupus is an incurable condition that causes inflammation and symptoms in your skin, joints, and organs. Board-certified rheumatologist Ariel D. Teitel, MD, specializes in lupus, a complex condition that requires careful monitoring and long-term management. Dr. Teitel has published research related to the disease and has over 25 years of experience diagnosing and treating lupus in patients with mild to severe disease. If you need help preventing flares and relieving symptoms, call the office near Columbus Circle in Manhattan, New York City, or schedule an appointment online today.
Lupus Q & A
What is lupus?
Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases develop when your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissues. In people with lupus, the immune attack causes inflammation throughout their bodies.
Lupus most often affects your skin and joints. However, the disease also develops in organs such as your kidneys, lungs, heart, and brain.
About 90% of all adults with lupus are women. Though lupus is most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 to 45, it also appears in children. Children account for 20% of people diagnosed with lupus.
What symptoms develop if I have lupus?
Lupus symptoms appear in flare-ups when the disease is active. After a flare, your disease goes into remission for a time. Because the disease affects so many organs, and there are several types of lupus, you can experience a wide range of symptoms.
Nearly all people with lupus have fatigue and a fever. Other common symptoms include:
- Joint pain and stiffness
- Butterfly-shaped rash on your face
- Skin rash with raised oval lesions
- Shortness of breath
- Chest pain
- Dry eyes
- Eye inflammation
- Headaches
- Mouth sores
- Confusion or memory loss
- White or blue fingers and toes (in the cold or during stress)
Most people with lupus are sensitive to sunlight. As a result, exposure to sunlight often triggers rashes, fever, fatigue, and joint pain.
How is lupus treated?
Dr. Teitel takes a thorough approach to your assessment and treatment, steps that are critical to accurately diagnosing and treating lupus. The complex nature of lupus means there are many possible treatments, and each person needs a customized plan.
The overall goals of lupus treatment include preventing flares, treating symptoms when they flare, and minimizing organ damage. Dr. Teitel helps you determine if sunlight, stress, or other factors trigger your flares. Then you can plan to avoid the triggers.
Otherwise, your treatment primarily consists of medications. You may need medications to reduce inflammation and pain, prevent or treat flares, reduce joint damage, balance hormones, or suppress your immune system.
If standard medicines don’t help, you may be a good candidate for biologics. Biologics are administered intravenously and significantly improve symptoms for many people with lupus.
In addition to treating lupus, Dr. Teitel monitors your health for problems associated with the disease. For example, lupus accelerates atherosclerosis, a disease that causes clogged arteries and heart attacks, and increases your risk of kidney disease.
If you have lupus, you need exceptional long-term care from Ariel D. Teitel, MD, an expert in the field. Call or book an appointment online today.
