It's all about immunity

Upon waking up this morning I discovered that I'm getting a cold sore, great. For most people this isn't a big deal.  I mean they're a nuisance, but they typically go away within a week. Because JIA is an autoimmune disease (which means my white blood cells which are used to fight off infections actually begin attacking each other) it makes me and everyone else who has JIA more susceptible to illness. So when I get a cold sore, my entire bottom lip swells up like a balloon and I get really sick.

On top of JIA being an autoimmune disease, some of the medication used for treatment are immunosuppresents which weaken the immune system.   Due to my weakened immune system, I really have to be careful when I get sick because what might just be the common cold to you could become potentially life threatening for me.