A UK CHAIRTY is urging the public to join efforts to raise awareness of an incurable autoimmune disease as World Lupus Day is marked.
Sponsored by the World Lupus Federation, World Lupus Day takes place every year on May 10.
Chief executive of Lupus UK Paul Howard said: “Lupus is quite a poorly understood and recognised disease. It’s a relatively rare disease so not a lot of people have necessarily heard about it or if they have heard the name lupus, they don’t necessarily know what symptoms are attributed to it or the impact that it has on people’s lives.
“Lupus is often called an invisible disease because for most people with the condition it doesn’t present with visible symptoms. The symptoms that are most prevalent are things like extreme fatigue, joint pains and muscle weakness.
“We’ve been particularly focusing on the impact on mental health as it’s also Mental Health Awareness Week, so we wanted to make sure it’s not just the physical side of the disease that we shine a light on.”
Events range from online activities such as virtual quiz nights and sufferers of the disease sharing their stories online, to in-person fundraisers like coffee mornings and the "Go That Extra Mile" sponsored walk campaign.
People are also encouraged to wear purple, the official colour of lupus awareness, and participate in the "Show Us Your Butterflies Campaign" where members of the public are encouraged to create and display images of butterflies – the official symbol of lupus – in windows and share them on social media.
Symptoms of lupus are commonly misunderstood with no two people having the exact same experience with the illness.
On average, it takes more than six years for someone in the UK suffering from lupus to receive a diagnosis from the offset of their symptoms.
While there is no cure for the auto-immune disease, symptoms can be managed with medication, life adjustments and therapy.
Improving diagnosis times would then allow for those with lupus to receive faster care and attention for their symptoms.
The cause of lupus is currently unknown but there are certain triggers that can cause lupus to present itself such as puberty, childbirth, menopause, trauma, viral infections, prolonged use of certain medications and even exposure to sunlight.
Additionally, those who have a family history of lupus and/or other immune system illnesses such as arthritis, MS and rheumatism are more likely to be diagnosed with lupus themselves.
Research also shows that Afro-Caribbeans, East and South Asians and those of Far Eastern descent are more prone to having the disease.
Information about the disease and World Lupus Day can be found at https://www.lupusuk.org.uk/world-lupus-day-may-10th/
If you have been affected by lupus you can contact Lupus UK at (0)1708 731251/ headoffice@lupusuk.org.uk or find your local group at https://www.lupusuk.org.uk/lupus-group-details/
