{"id":6865,"date":"2017-03-03T10:35:08","date_gmt":"2017-03-03T15:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/68.183.58.104\/learn\/?p=6865"},"modified":"2021-11-10T11:39:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-10T16:39:36","slug":"sjogrens-syndrome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/sjogrens-syndrome\/","title":{"rendered":"Handling Autoimmune Disease Naturally, Part IV: Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s Syndrome"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re like many others, you might have found your symptoms online and slowly started to\u00a0suspect you have <strong>Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s syndrome<\/strong>. You might have visited doctors for years, leaving undiagnosed and unsatisfied. Or maybe you did get a diagnosis, but were unhappy with the conventional medical treatment. You, and the millions of other Americans with <strong>autoimmune disease<\/strong>, are not alone. While no one has a cure for autoimmune disease (yet), there are many <em>autoimmune warriors<\/em> who are slowly but surely figuring out <em>natural ways to handle chronic illness<\/em>. This is part 4 in our series on <strong>natural remedies for autoimmune disease<\/strong>. Our earlier posts have focused on <a href=\"\/learn\/handling-autoimmune-disease-naturally-lupus\/\">lupus<\/a>, <a href=\"\/learn\/handling-autoimmune-disease-naturally-part-ii-hashimotos-thyroiditis\/\">Hashimoto&#8217;s<\/a>, and <a href=\"\/learn\/handling-autoimmune-disease-naturally-part-iii-autoimmune-skin-conditions-scleroderma-vitiligo-psoriasis\/\">autoimmune skin conditions<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h1>What is Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s Syndrome?<\/h1>\n<p>According to the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rheumatology.org\/I-Am-A\/Patient-Caregiver\/Diseases-Conditions\/Sjogrens-Syndrome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">American College of Rheumatology<\/a>:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong>Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s syndrome<\/strong> is an inflammatory disease that can affect many different parts of the body, but most often affects the tear and saliva glands. Patients with this condition may notice irritation, a gritty feeling, or painful burning in the eyes. Dry mouth (or difficulty eating dry foods) and swelling of the glands around the face and neck are also common. Some patients experience dryness in the nasal passages, throat, vagina and skin. Swallowing difficulty and symptoms of acid reflux are also common.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPrimary\u201d Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s syndrome occurs in people with no other rheumatic disease. \u201cSecondary\u201d Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s occurs in people who have another rheumatologic disease, most often systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Oh, and for the record, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sjogrens.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">it&#8217;s pronounced &#8220;SHOW-grins&#8221;<\/a>. As mentioned above, the <strong>most common\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s syndrome symptoms<\/strong> are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dry eyes (sometimes including gritty or burning sensation)<\/li>\n<li>Dry mouth<\/li>\n<li>Dry skin<\/li>\n<li>Skin rashes<\/li>\n<li>Vaginal dryness<\/li>\n<li>Sore or cracked tongue<\/li>\n<li>Difficulty talking, chewing, or swallowing<\/li>\n<li>Dry nose<\/li>\n<li>Dry cough<\/li>\n<li>Digestive problems<\/li>\n<li>Joint and muscle pain<\/li>\n<li>Fatigue<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h1>Who is Affected by\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s Syndrome?<\/h1>\n<p>Most people who are diagnosed with\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s are women over the age of 40, but it can affect people of other genders and ages, too. It is more common among people who have another autoimmune disease (especially lupus or rheumatoid arthritis), since some people with autoimmune disease are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC3150011\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">predisposed to get additional autoimmune diseases<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h1>What Causes\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s Syndrome?<\/h1>\n<p>Like many other autoimmune diseases, doctors are not sure what exactly causes\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s, but they suspect it&#8217;s usually caused by a combination of two factors:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Genetic predisposition<\/li>\n<li>A trigger, such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niams.nih.gov\/health_info\/sjogrens_syndrome\/sjogrens_syndrome_ff.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exposure to a virus or bacteria<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>They also know that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.rheumatology.org\/I-Am-A\/Patient-Caregiver\/Diseases-Conditions\/Sjogrens-Syndrome\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">inflammation is one factor that contributes to the decrease in tears and saliva<\/a>. As in other autoimmune diseases, symptoms are caused by one&#8217;s immune system mistakenly attacking their own tissues; in the case of\u00a0<em>Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s<\/em>, the body <a href=\"https:\/\/www.niams.nih.gov\/health_info\/sjogrens_syndrome\/sjogrens_syndrome_ff.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">attacks the glands that produce tears and saliva<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h1>Natural Remedies for\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s Syndrome<\/h1>\n<h3>Diet Changes<\/h3>\n<p>Food can either cause or reduce inflammation, so it is a huge factor in the severity of inflammatory conditions such as autoimmune disease. Here is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.phoenixhelix.com\/2014\/10\/05\/angelas-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">one person&#8217;s story about how a healing diet helped her reduce and manage her Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s\u00a0symptoms<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepaleomom.com\/start-here\/the-autoimmune-protocol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Autoimmune Protocol<\/a> is a plan designed to <em>reduce inflammation<\/em> and reduce symptoms of any autoimmune disease, including\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.phoenixhelix.com\/2014\/10\/05\/angelas-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s<\/a>. The protocol includes a strict <em>elimination diet<\/em>, which removes inflammatory and allergenic foods for a period of time, followed by slow reintroductions of those food to see which ones provoke reactions. Other parts of the plan include <strong>eating healing foods, reducing stress, getting a healthy balance of rest and activity, and more<\/strong>. <a href=\"http:\/\/autoimmunewellness.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Autoimmune Wellness<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thepaleomom.com\/start-here\/the-autoimmune-protocol\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Paleo Mom<\/a> are both good starting points for learning about the Autoimmune Protocol.<\/p>\n<h3>Drink water!<\/h3>\n<p>This sounds obvious, but many people are chronically dehydrated. Be sure to <strong>drink plenty of water<\/strong> to help keep your cells, skin, and mucous membranes hydrated. How much is enough? Take your weight in pounds; divide that number in half. You need at least that many ounces of water per day, ideally more.<\/p>\n<h3>Licorice<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Licorice<\/strong> (<em>Glycyrrhiza glabra<\/em>)\u00a0is demulcent, meaning it <em>coats mucous membranes and helps keep them moisturized<\/em>. It also seems to have effects similar to a mild cortisone, which is a steroid; it has some <em>systemic anti-inflammatory effects<\/em> and is beneficial for autoimmune conditions.<sup>1\u00a0<\/sup>It&#8217;s also very sweet, which some people like and others don&#8217;t. It can raise blood pressure in some, but not all, people, so monitor your blood pressure if it&#8217;s already high or after you&#8217;ve used licorice for a week or more. If you have a chronically <strong>dry mouth and throat<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/index.php?route=product\/product&amp;product_id=2809&amp;search=licorice+tea&amp;sort=relevance&amp;order=DESC\">licorice tea<\/a> would be a great way to deliver the herb directly to the affected mucous membranes.<\/p>\n<h3>Ophiopogon<\/h3>\n Photo by Forest and Kim Starr\n<p>You might recognize <strong>ophiopogon<\/strong>, since it&#8217;s an ornamental plant, but the root is also a traditional Chinese herb used for <em>moistening<\/em>. One of its main indications in Chinese medicine is to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chineseherbshealing.com\/monkey-grass-mondo-grass\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">increase Yin and promote the secretion of fluids from mucosal membranes<\/a>. It&#8217;s also slightly cooling, so it would be great for someone who had <em>both rheumatoid arthritis and Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s<\/em> and wanted to cool off hot, inflamed joints. Ophiopogon is a plant genus, so there are multiple species used within the genus, but the most <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160516225720\/http:\/\/www.altmd.com:80\/Articles\/Ophiopogon--Encyclopedia-of-Alternative-Medicine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">commonly used medicinal is\u00a0<\/a><em>Ophiopogon japonicus.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3>Sea Buckthorn<\/h3>\n<p>The seeds inside <strong>sea buckthorn berries <\/strong>(<em>Hippophae spp.<\/em>)\u00a0are a natural source of <em>omega-7 fatty acids<\/em>, and <em>moisturize mucous membranes<\/em> from the inside out. They are especially effective for <strong>dry eyes<\/strong>. You can read more about <a href=\"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/index.php?route=product\/product&amp;product_id=728&amp;search=sea+buckthorn&amp;sort=relevance&amp;order=DESC\">sea buckthorn<\/a>\u00a0in our <a href=\"\/learn\/dry-eye-relief\/\">blog post dedicated to sea buckthorn\u00a0for dry eye relief<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Good Fats<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Healthy, anti-inflammatory fats<\/strong>, like <em>omega-3 fatty acids<\/em> and <em>GLA<\/em>, are beneficial for keeping your body properly moisturized and for managing inflammation. Be sure to eat fish a few times a week or take a fish oil supplement to get your <strong>omega-3s<\/strong>. <a href=\"\/learn\/clean-seafood-guide-what-you-need-to-know-about-contaminants-and-sustainability\/\">Check out our guide to choosing seafood<\/a>; it gives the rundown on which choices are healthiest and best for the environment. <strong>GLA<\/strong> is a special type of omega-6 fatty acid that is <em>anti-inflammatory<\/em>, unlike most other types of omega-6s. It is found in borage seed oil, <a href=\"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/index.php?route=product\/product&amp;product_id=200&amp;search=evening+primrose+oil&amp;sort=relevance&amp;order=DESC\">evening primrose oil<\/a>, and black currant oil.<\/p>\n<h3>Warm Compress<\/h3>\n<p>Some people with\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s find some <em>relief for dry eyes<\/em> by placing a <strong>washcloth soaked in warm water over their closed eyes<\/strong>. You can do a compress\u00a0in the morning when you wake up, before bedtime, or both.<\/p>\n<h3>Eye Drops<\/h3>\n<p>You may find that using <strong>artificial tears<\/strong> without preservatives in them helps dry eyes. However, others do not find relief from these drops, so experiment for a week\u00a0or two and see if they help you. Use the drops at least once every couple of hours for a week or two, then taper off their use. if you find that your symptoms worsen when you reduce the\u00a0frequency of eye drops, they might be doing more harm than good.<\/p>\n<h3>Chewing Gum or Lozenges<\/h3>\n<p>Some people find that chewing or sucking on something helps <em>produce more saliva<\/em> and <em>reduce dry mouth symptoms<\/em>. <strong>Xylitol<\/strong> may be especially moistening for some people, and it also doesn&#8217;t promote tooth decay. Peach Vitamins sells <strong>natural gums and mints made with xylitol<\/strong> that may help keep your mouth from drying out. Other people might prefer <strong>throat lozenges<\/strong>, especially those made with moistening herbs such as <a href=\"https:\/\/suziqi.nl\/2013\/03\/21\/health-benefits-of-slippery-elm-bark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">slippery elm<\/a>. Our store also carries classic <em>slippery elm throat lozenges<\/em> that can coat and soothe the throat, helping to offset dryness.<\/p>\n<h3>Humidifier<\/h3>\n<p>In a similar strategy to drinking plenty of water, using a <strong>humidifier<\/strong> can help keep enough water around you so your skin and mucous membranes don&#8217;t dry out quite as quickly.<\/p>\n<h3>Lotions, Oils, Salves<\/h3>\n<p>Be sure to apply <strong>lotions<\/strong> or <strong>oils<\/strong> as soon as you get out of the shower if you have dry skin, otherwise the\u00a0hot water can dry your skin out more. You might choose lotions or salves that are infused with <em>emollient herbs<\/em>, such as <strong>comfrey root<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<h3 style=\"text-align: center\">Do you have other natural remedies for\u00a0Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s that have worked for you? If so, share them in the comments below!<\/h3>\n<h3><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"><strong>References<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Kuhn, M. &amp; Winston, D. (2008). Herbal therapy &amp; supplements: A scientific and traditional approach. 2<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">nd<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health.<\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 10pt\">Other references are in clickable hyperlinks throughout the article.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you&#8217;re like many others, you might have found your symptoms online and slowly started to\u00a0suspect you have Sj\u00f6gren&#8217;s syndrome. You might have visited doctors for years, leaving undiagnosed and unsatisfied. Or maybe you did get a diagnosis, but were unhappy with the conventional medical treatment. You, and the millions of other Americans with autoimmune &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/sjogrens-syndrome\/\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":788,"featured_media":6905,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"image","meta":[],"categories":[1274],"tags":[995,747,996,845,998,997,1031,855,999,1032,1001,1000,994,993],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6865"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/788"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/peachvitamins.com\/learn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}