As we kick off the beginning of May, some of us are in the midst of getting through AP season and trying to end the 2023-2024 school year with a bang. I know most of you other Judges and Judgettes, however, are ready to get out of school already and enjoy the nice summer weather, but there are still some things we need to celebrate before the school year ends. One holiday that we must honor this month is World Lupus Day.
World Lupus Day is celebrated every year on May 10 and was created to support those who are affected by Lupus around the world. Not only is this an effort to bring awareness to the disease, but to also generate resources to hopefully end suffering from its fatal effects.
Lupus is an autoimmune illness, which is your immune system “Damag[ing] your body instead of protecting it,” and affects various parts of the body, but mainly creates inflammation throughout the body. A few symptoms that people who have this illness might feel other than the inflammation are fever, skin rash, weight loss, and fatigue.
These symptoms occur in quite a few people who have Lupus because depending on how one’s immune system functions, certain tissue throughout the immune system becomes damaged. If left untreated for a long period of time it may cause chest pain, kidney disease, swollen ankles, and achy joints.
Unfortunately, Lupus is unavoidable, but if you all become more equipped with the information of symptoms of Lupus and are concerned that you might have warning signs or symptoms that match up with Lupus, it’s best to talk to a doctor. Although that may sound as devastating and concerning as it is, the one thing we can do, other than making sure to get checked out by a doctor, is to find ways to try to figure out how to treat this disease for those who have it and try to prevent anyone else from getting it.
According to this article, “World Lupus Day” states that “World Lupus Day serves to call attention to the impact that lupus has on people around the world. The annual observance focuses on the need for improved patient healthcare services, increased research into the causes of and cure for lupus, earlier diagnosis and treatment of lupus, and better epidemiological data on lupus globally.”
About 1.5 million Americans and an estimated five million people worldwide are affected by lupus. That is why in order to celebrate May 10, and to honor those who have to endure the painful effects of Lupus until and even after it is curable, you can start to wear purple clothing or even a purple wristband to show your support since purple is the official representative color of this disease.
What would be even better is if even just a few of us Dozo students began to educate our friends and family about the disease and its treatment options.