What is Sjögren's syndrome and what are the dangers?

Sjögren's syndrome is a common immune disease that causes great harm to patients. It can cause dry mouth and throat, as well as dry corners of the mouth and bad breath. In severe cases, it can also lead to difficulty swallowing and inability to eat.

1

Sjögren's syndrome is an immune disease. Common symptoms for patients include: dry mouth, dry throat, red tongue without coating, unwillingness to speak, thick sputum, which may be accompanied by bronchitis, interstitial pneumonia, atelectasis, etc., decreased saliva secretion, less oral fluid secretion during meals, difficulty swallowing, and inability to eat dry food, which may be accompanied by gingivitis, chapped corners of the mouth, bad breath, etc.

2

Patients with Sjögren's syndrome may also have eye lesions. The main hazards of Sjögren's syndrome to patients' eyes are: itchy and painful eyes, dry eyes, no tears, fear of light, blurred vision, conjunctivitis, ulcers in the eyes, and some patients with Sjögren's syndrome may have exophthalmos.

3

The harm of Sjögren's syndrome to patients is also reflected on their skin. Patients with Sjögren's syndrome will have some skin symptoms: dry skin like ichthyosis, erythema nodosum, purpura, Raynaud's phenomenon, skin ulcers, swollen lymph nodes, etc. Female patients with dry skin syndrome may also experience vaginal dryness, burning sensation, and vulvar atrophy.

4

Sjögren's syndrome damages the nervous system, and damage to the nervous system is one of the harmful manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome. The neurological symptoms of Sjögren's syndrome may involve lesions in the brain, cerebellum, spinal cord, cranial nerves, and peripheral nerves, and may present various manifestations of damage to the nervous system. Among them, the incidence of central nervous system is 5%.

5

Sjögren's syndrome can easily damage the kidneys. Sjögren's syndrome is a disease of the whole body's immune system. The main manifestations of Sjögren's syndrome are dry mouth and dry eyes. However, most patients know that Sjögren's syndrome can also damage the kidneys. Do not ignore the damage of Sjögren's syndrome to internal organs. Sjögren's syndrome can easily damage the kidneys, which mainly manifests as interstitial nephritis. The affected parts are mostly the distal renal tubules, which can cause type 2 renal tubular acidosis. Involvement of the proximal renal tubules and glomeruli is rare. Distal renal tubular lesions account for more than 90% of patients with Sjögren's syndrome, which are mainly manifested by muscle flaccidity and weakness and loss of autonomous movement ability. It starts from the limbs, and then leads to difficulty turning over, raising the neck, sitting up, and even difficulty breathing. The symptoms disappear after potassium supplementation, but the symptoms often recur and can be easily diagnosed as periodic hypokalemic paralysis. Severe cases can lead to death.

6

Patients with Sjögren's syndrome should be alert to the occurrence of lymphoma. Most patients with Sjögren's syndrome have concurrent extraglandular system damage. This benign hyperplasia can transform into malignant hyperplasia, thus leading to the occurrence of lymphoma.