World Lupus Day

May 10th is World Lupus Day to call attention to the impact that lupus has on people around the world.

Imagine being bothered by sunlight, suffering from rashes, fatigue, and mouth sores kidney and joint problems, as well as severe hair loss and swollen lymph nodes. Sounds horrible, doesn't it? World Lupus Day was established to help us understand that this seemingly random sequence of symptoms is actually a chronic, debilitating autoimmune disease that affects approximately 5 million people worldwide; with 1.5 million some of them live in the United States.

In a nutshell, lupus causes the immune system to become overactive, producing antibodies that attack healthy tissue causing pain, inflammation, and damage in a certain part of the body. Although lupus can be fatal, there is currently no cure. Sadly, most people have little or no knowledge of lupus, often confusing it with arthritis, a much less serious disease. Many people don't know lupus even exists until they themselves or someone they know is diagnosed with it. This is the reason for the foundation of World Lupus Day.

History of World Lupus Day

World Lupus Day was celebrated by Lupus Canada in 2004 to raise awareness of how this little-known disease can have devastating effects on sufferers and their families. It is organized by lupus organizations from 13 countries, who have called on their governments to increase research funding, provide better patient services, increase epidemiological data and improve awareness. Since then, this day has been observed more and more in countries around the world. A high supporter of World Lupus Day is musician and philanthropist Julian Lennon, who is a Global Ambassador. Other celebrities who have made significant contributions to the American Lupus Association are Daniel Radcliffe, Lady Gaga, and Ian Harding.

How to celebrate World Lupus Day

World Lupus Day is associated with the color purple, and people can show support by wearing purple clothes or buying a special bracelet that reads 'Help us solve the devastating mystery'. Of course, you can also visit the official World Lupus Day website and sign the awareness pledge, which means you're committed to helping the plight of people with lupus be recognized by the medical and political communities to pay more attention. There are very simple ways to do this, such as changing your Facebook profile picture to the World Lupus Day icon. This may not seem like much, but social media has proven time and time again how much it can help sick people. Just look at how much money people around the world raised for ALS last year by pouring buckets of cold water over their heads. And, of course, there's always the possibility of contributing to the Lupus Research Alliance.

Even if you can't effort to donate a big amount, don't worry! In situations as serious as that of people with lupus, every dollar counts. And if you have a little extra time to spare and happen to know someone in your neighborhood who has lupus, you can commit to helping this person wherever you are with some small chores that are completely easy for you with a healthy person but it can be extremely exhausting and painful for someone with lupus — even helping this person take out the trash while bringing home groceries. Whatever you decide to do on this day, make sure you make the lives of people with lupus a little better.