Prevention

Since doctors have not determined the cause of lupus, there is no way to prevent it. You may be able to prevent flares of the illness by avoiding exposure to the sun as much as possible and using sunscreen when you are in the sun.

Treatment

Lupus may be treated with several different types of medication, including:

• Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), such as ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin and other brand names) or naproxen (Aleve, Naprosyn and others)

• Antimalarials, such as hydroxychloroquine (Plaquenil), chloroquine (Aralen), or quinacrine

• Corticosteroids, such as prednisone (Deltasone and others), hydrocortisone, methylprednisolone (Medrol and others), or dexamethasone (Decadron and others)

• Immunosuppressives, such as azathioprine (Imuran), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar) or mycophenolate mofetil (CellCept)

• Methotrexate (Rheumatrex, Folex, Methotrexate LPF)