While a person’s genes may increase the chance that they will develop lupus, it takes some kind of environmental trigger to set off the illness or to bring on a flare.  

The following are common environmental triggers:

• Ultraviolet rays from the sun or from fluorescent light bulbs
• Sulfa drugs, which make a person more sensitive to the sun, such as: Bactrim® and Septra® (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole); sulfisoxazole (Gantrisin®); tolbutamide (Orinase®); sulfasalazine (Azulfidine®); diuretics
• Sun-sensitizing tetracycline drugs such as minocycline (Minocin®)
• Penicillin or other antibiotic drugs such as: amoxicillin (Amoxil®); ampicillin (Ampicillin Sodium ADD-Vantage®); cloxacillin (Cloxapen®)
• An infection, a cold or a viral illness
• An injury, particularly traumatic injury
• Emotional stress, such as a divorce, illness, death in the family, or other life complications
• Anything that causes stress to the body, such as surgery, physical harm, pregnancy, or giving birth
• Exhaustion