Vasculitis is a lesion of the walls of blood vessels

Vasculitis is a disease that is associated with the inflammatory processes of the vascular walls. The causes of its occurrence can be different, the disease can affect blood vessels of various types and sizes. Therefore, vasculitis is a common name for a group of ailments associated with blood vessels:

• Arteritis - inflammation of the walls of the arteries.
• Capillaryites - inflammation of capillary walls.
• Arteriolitis - inflammation of arterioles (small arteries).
• Phlebitis - inflammation of the walls of veins.

There is also systemic vasculitis. This is the defeat of the walls of vessels of various types.

Causes

To understand what causes the disease, you must first understand the difference between the disease that occurs in itself (primary vasculitis), and the vascular lesion, which is the consequence of another disease. Primary vasculitis is an ailment, the causes of which are not fully understood by medicine. The appearance of secondary vasculitis can be caused by the following factors:

• A variety of acute or chronic infections of viral and bacterial etiology.
• Genetic predisposition.
• Individual response of some people to vaccination.
• Contact with poisonous substances that are used to treat certain diseases (oncological and other).
• Effects on the body of a variety of chemicals.
• Strong body overheating.
• Prolonged exposure to low temperatures, that is, severe hypothermia.
• Various injuries.
• Burns (including sunny ones).

Any of these factors can cause disease, causing a change in the antigenic structure of blood vessel tissue. Together, their influence is increasing. The organism reacts to this by rejection. He begins to consider the cells of his own vessels as foreign objects and produce antibodies to fight them. Vasculitis of the skin is caused by various allergic reactions. Segmental and localized disease occurs due to the entry on the vascular walls of infectious agents. There is also hemorrhagic vasculitis. Symptoms of it are quite difficult to diagnose. This is a chronic disease, the onset of which is provoked by various infections, but the inflammation of the vascular walls is aseptic (without infection).

Symptomatics

Patients with systemic vasculitis have similar symptoms. The disease begins with fever, during which the body temperature periodically rises and falls. Periods of significant temperature increase correspond to the appearance of new vascular inflammations. Signs of vasculitis are also bruises on the skin. In the future, hemorrhages can affect the joints, muscles and internal organs. Which organ will be affected depends on which vessels are affected by the disease. If the disease appears on the background of arthritis, then at first there are common symptoms of inflammation, and after about a month vasculitis is already manifested. When the joints are affected, joint pain and arthritis are observed. Systemic vasculitis, as a rule, is characterized by a long course with constant progression, periodic exacerbations. The prognosis of recovery depends on which organs are affected by the disease and how great the changes have occurred in them.