The most common symptoms among the patients suffering from lupus infection are muscle pain, loss of appetite, fatigue, arthritis, low fever, “butterfly rash” on the face, ulcers of the nose and mouth, photosensitivity which means highly sensitive to sunlight, poor blood circulation to the toes and fingers and inflammation of the lining of the heart (pericarditis) and the lungs (pleuritis).

The severity of the lupus infection can lead to serious organ complications. People suffering from this infection often have severe skin diseases such as scarring which can cause permanent loss of hair. Due to discoid lupus skin rashes develop on the scalp and the face. These rashes are usually itch less and are not painful. 5% to 10% of the patients suffering from discoid lupus can develop Systemic Lupus Erythematosus or SLE. In most of the patients suffering from SLE a butterfly shaped, flat, red facial rash tends to develop around their nose. Since it is in the shape of a butterfly this kind of rash is commonly referred as “butterfly rash”.

These kinds of rashes increases or gets worse due to sunlight exposure. This phenomenon is known as photosensitivity. Due to photosensitivity inflammation of organs can also get worsened and such a condition is known as “flare” of the disease.