Lupus is a chronic (long-term) disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. It’s an autoimmune disease, which means that your immune system — the body system that usually fights infections — attacks healthy tissue instead.

Experts are still working to understand exactly what causes lupus.  Most experts believe that several factors work together to cause lupus, including a person’s genes, their hormones, and contact with environmental triggers. 

Environmental triggers are things in a person’s surroundings (like where they live or work), habits they have, or even certain events they experience. In addition to being a factor that can cause lupus, experts believe that environmental triggers can also make people with lupus more likely to experience a lupus flare. Lupus flares are periods when a person’s symptoms get worse.

Types of Environmental Triggers

Experts are studying the role that a person’s surroundings, habits, and life events may play in lupus. This means that for some triggers, there’s plenty of scientific evidence to show a connection to lupus. But for others, scientists are still gathering scientific evidence to see if there’s a strong connection to lupus. 

These are environmental triggers that very likely play a role in triggering lupus  — there’s strong evidence to connect them to lupus:

• Air pollution
• Ultraviolet (UV) light
• Silica dust
• Smoking cigarettes
• Taking birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy
• Infections — for example, with the Epstein-Barr virus
• Taking certain medications
• Emotional strain or stress, including post-traumatic stress disorder
• Sleep deprivation
• Obesity
• Contact with certain types of toxins (like pesticides)
• Contact with heavy metals (like lead and cadmium)
• Eating ultra-processed foods

Remember, environmental triggers are just one factor that may cause a person to develop lupus — experts believe genes also play a role. That means that some people may come into contact with these environmental triggers, but never develop lupus. And not everyone with lupus has the same triggers — what causes lupus to develop or flare up for one person might not affect another person. 

If you develop lupus, know that it’s not your fault. It’s not realistic to avoid all possible environmental triggers for lupus. And some triggers, like getting an infection or being exposed to UV light, are outside of our control. But being aware of which environmental triggers may have caused lupus to develop can help you understand how to protect your health and manage the condition. 

Identify Your Triggers by Tracking Symptoms

If you have lupus, keeping symptom log is one of the best things you can do to help you identify your specific triggers. Use a notebook, your phone, or this symptom checklist to keep track of all of your lupus symptoms. Write down:

• When the symptom started
• How long the symptom lasts
• How much the symptom bothers you

Then, write down information about what you were doing or how you were feeling around when the symptoms started. Include things like:

• Any contact with a known or possible lupus environmental trigger (like sunlight, cigarettes, or pesticides)
• Your mood, especially if you were feeling stressed
• If you were feeling sick or had an injury
• What you ate and drank, including any medicines you took

Share your symptom log with your doctor. They can review it with you and help you look for patterns. For example, if your lupus symptoms usually get worse after being out in the sun, UV light may be a trigger for you.

Avoid Known Triggers to Prevent Flares

Once you know what your triggers are, avoiding them can help you prevent lupus flares and keep your symptoms under control.

It’s not always possible to avoid lupus triggers. For example, you might not always be able to prevent stress or injury, or you may need to continue taking a medicine that triggers lupus, or you may have to have contact with a lupus trigger because of your work. But if you are able to, taking steps to avoid your triggers can help you protect your health and manage your condition.

Steps you can take to avoid your lupus triggers include:

• Making lifestyle changes. For example, if you smoke cigarettes, try to quit smoking.  Other healthy habits—like sleeping well, exercising regularly, taking vitamin D, and maintaining a healthy weight—are also important lifestyle measures that have been shown to reduce the risk of developing lupus.
• Limit your contact with your triggers. For example, if UV light is a trigger, wear sunscreen and protective clothing when outside and remove any fluorescent lights from your home.
• Changing jobs, if you can. While it’s not always easy or possible, if your job involves contact with triggers like heavy metals, pesticides, or silica dust or causes you a lot of stress, finding a different job might help you better manage lupus.
• Working closely with your doctor. They can help you come up with strategies to avoid your triggers, such as finding ways to manage stress or changing the medicines you take. And they can also help you make a plan for dealing with lupus flares when they do happen.