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FMH SHARES LUPUS INFORMATION DURING LUPUS AWARENESS MONTH - 2010-05-06

Most women likely can describe warning signs and health risks associated with breast cancer and heart disease, but one online survey showed that relatively few are aware of another potentially fatal disease that disproportionately strikes young women between the ages of 15 and 44. The disease is Lupus.

May is National Lupus Awareness Month and Fairfield Memorial Hospital is observing this month to disseminate medically sound information about lupus, increase public understanding of the physical, emotional, and economic impact of the disease, and provide support information and hope to all people affected by lupus. In and around the surrounding area there are several individuals who suffer from this illness. 

Although more than 1.5 million Americans have lupus, the public mostly is unaware of the potentially disabling and life-altering health effects of lupus. According to a national online survey conducted for the Ad Council, eighty percent of young women in the United States say they have little or no knowledge of lupus, yet eight in ten new cases of lupus will develop among women of childbearing age.

Lupus develops when the immune system goes out of balance, causing it to become destructive to any major organ or tissue in the body, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, and joints. Its health effects include heart attacks, stokes, seizures, and organ failure.

Here in the United States, lupus is two to three times more common among African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Asians, and Native Americans than among Caucasians. While lupus strikes mostly young females, males and females of all ages can develop the disease.

What is most troubling about the lack of awareness of lupus is that early diagnosis and proper medical care often can help to prevent or reduce serious health complications, such as heart attacks, strokes, seizures, miscarriages, or kidney failure. That is why public recognition of lupus signs and symptoms is so important to the public -- awareness of lupus helps save lives.

Fairfield Memorial Hospital’s goal through sharing this information is to improve awareness of lupus as the disease can be difficult to recognize for several reasons:

- young people may assume that their health problems are temporary,
- symptoms often come and go and change over time, and
- initial symptoms of lupus often are dismissed as nothing serious.

More than half of the people with lupus suffer from symptoms for four or more years before they are diagnosed.

Early warning signs of lupus can include sudden and persistent joint and muscle pain, overwhelming fatigue, skin rashes on the face, scalp, and arms, hair loss, and persistent fevers. Individuals who may be experiencing symptoms are urged to ask their doctor about lupus. The LFA website, lupus.org, has a symptoms checklist that individuals can complete and take to their doctor to help determine their risk for having the disease.

Additional information about lupus is available through the LFA website at lupus.org. To obtain free information on lupus symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options by mail, call the LFA toll-free at 1-888-38LUPUS (888-385-8787). 

Source
Lupus Foundation of America, Inc.