Autoimmune diseases!

Autoimmune diseases are a large group of conditions. If you have an autoimmune disease, your own immune system attacks your body tissues. Normally, our immune system protects our body against infections caused by bacteria, viruses and other parasites. It recognizes when something foreign enters your body and can usually get rid of it before it causes you any harm. But if you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system can make mistakes. Your immune cells start to attack the very cells they are meant to protect. The exact causes of autoimmune diseases are not fully understood. Some people are born a step closer to developing one of these conditions. They have inherited a gene that makes them more likely to develop an autoimmune disease. These are a large group of diseases and will affect the body in different ways. They do not spread to other people like infections and they do not put you more at risk of getting cancer. Although some autoimmune diseases can be life threatening, most can be controlled nowadays.