The symptoms of lupus are different for each person. Some people experience symptoms throughout the body while other people have symptoms in only one or a few body areas. Symptoms may develop slowly or appear suddenly, may be very mild or severe, and may resolve quickly or tend to persist. Most people with lupus have episodes in which their symptoms become much worse (called “flares”) followed by periods of remission in which they may experience no symptoms at all.

While the symptoms of lupus depend on which body systems are affected, some of the most common symptoms of lupus include painful or swollen joints, unexplained fever, and extreme fatigue. A characteristic red skin rash may appear across the nose and cheeks and rashes may also occur on the face and ears, upper arms, shoulders, chest, and hands. Other general symptoms of lupus include:

• weight loss or gain
• skin lesions that appear or worsen with sun exposure
• shortness of breath
• dry eyes
• easy bruising
• anxiety
• depression
• memory loss
• chest pain upon deep breathing
• unusual loss of hair
• pale or purple fingers or toes from cold or stress (Raynaud’s phenomenon)
• swelling (edema) in legs or around eyes
• mouth sores
• swollen glands