Lupus Awareness Month

May is Lupus Awareness Month

Lupus Awareness Month, observed in May, raises awareness and educates others about this life-changing disease. Lupus Awarenes Month is a time to educate the public about this little-understood autoimmune disease. An estimated 1.5 million men, women and children have lupus in the United States. However, the overwhelming majority are women. They often develop lupus during their childbearing years and the disease severely disrupts family life. While lupus can be disabling and fatal, the disease can be managed in most cases through aggressive medical treatment and lifestyle changes. Wear purple for Lupus Awareness Month. Personalized Cause offers purple enamel awareness ribbon pins, purple fabric ribbons, and purple silicone awareness wristband bracelets. This website was established to raise awareness for lupus.

Wear Purple for Lupus Awareness Month

The exact cause of lupus is unknown. However, lupus is not contagious. While lupus can strike anyone at any time, 90 percent of the people living with lupus are female. Women of color are at an especially high risk. Lupus usually develops between ages 15 and 44. For additional information, please see the Lupus Foundation of America’s website.

What is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease. In a healthy immune system, the body produces antibodies, which destroy unhealthy cells such as bacteria, viruses, and foreign waste. Lupus, however, causes an overactive immune system to produce auto antibodies which attack healthy body tissue. This can affect most parts of the body including any organ.

Lupus can often be hard to diagnose as the symptoms are similar to other diseases. In some cases it is not uncommon for several years to pass before a diagnosis of lupus is confirmed. One reason is that lupus mimics other diseases. As symptoms of lupus can come and go, it can make diagnosis even harder.

Lupus is one of the world’s most mysterious and devastating diseases that ravages different parts of the body. Most common symptoms include: hair loss; headaches; extreme fatigue; butterfly-shaped rash across the cheeks and nose; mouth or nose ulcers; fever; painful or swollen joints; abnormal blood clotting; anemia, pain in the chest on deep breathing (pleurisy); fingers turning white or blue when cold (Raynaud’s Phenomenon); sun or light-sensitivity (photosensitivity); and swelling (edema) in the feet, legs, hands and around the eyes. It is a systemic disease, meaning that it affects the entire body.

Lupus and Aging

Lupus and aging are associated in several ways. With age, symptom activity with lupus often declines. However, symptoms already present may grow more severe. The accumulation of damage over years may result in the need for joint replacements or other treatments.

The risk of osteoporosis-related fractures is much higher among people with lupus than in the general population. Whether or not you live with lupus, you should have a bone density scan performed some time before age 65. You should have one much sooner if your healthcare provider thinks it’s warranted. Several medications can reduce fracture risk if you do develop bone loss.

Along with a reduction in symptom activity, the risk of lupus nephritis may decline with age. And people of any age with lupus can achieve prolonged remission.

Personalized Cause and Lupus

A lupus diagnosis was the impetus behind Personalized Cause. Please help support Lupus Awareness Month and raise awareness during the month of May. Wear a purple ribbon, pin or wristband and let others know the effects of living with lupus.\