By Emmanuel Obisue
Medical experts have called for healthy lifestyles, regular exercising and routine checks to fight off the threat posed by the Luspus disease.
The call was made over the weekend in Abuja at a Lupus Awareness gathering of medical experts and Lupus survivors themed: ‘Impacts and Possible Measures to Better Healthcare’, organized by the Mablevi Lupus Foundation, MLF, in collaboration with LUREG Support Foundation and Beleaf Autoimmune Support Foundation Lupus Advocacy Center.
Nigerian Pilot reports that Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the immune system defaults, and mistakenly attacks healthy tissues in the body. This can cause widespread inflammation and damage to body organs, including the skin, joints, kidneys, heart and lungs.
Dr. Pam Stephen, a Rheumatologist while assuring that medical efforts are underway to find a cure for Lupus, urged government and private stakeholders to champion community awareness. “Government has a critical role in enlightening the public. You can’t contact Lupus by hugging or eating from the same bowl with a carrier,” he said.
Dr. Pam said the presence of “estrogens in females”, makes it more common for them to have Lupus than males. “Some other people have talked about cosmetics. You know, females tend to use more cosmetics than males. Some others have implicated the extra X chromosome in females. You know, females have 2X chromosomes, while males have 1X chromosome, 1Y chromosome. Experts have postulated that the extra X chromosome in females predisposes them to systemic liposome”.
Laraba Sanusi, a Mental Health expert decried the financial constrain patients with Lupus are faced with, a situation she said, leads to depression and other mental health complications. “There is also social isolation. Some patients may have rashes, and because of that, they don’t want to be seen in public. We need the government to do more on access to healthcare”.
In her remarks, Safinat Emengo, a Lupus survivor and a member of the event organizers, recalled how she lived with, and overcame “systematic Lupus” of 20 years. “I decided to start this Foundation to be able to help people, because a lot of the sufferers are not being heard.
“We have been doing amazing so far. We have over 700 Lupus warriors that we are aware of. We’ve not really gone into the rural areas. As a survivor, our mental state is one of the major challenge. There is a lot of stigmatization,” she said, commending the Federal Ministry of Health for its support so far.
Nigerian Pilot reports that the Lupus disease is diagnosed through blood tests, physical exams, and a review of medical history. Treatment involves managing symptoms with medications like anti-inflammatory drugs, immunosuppressants, and antimalarials, depending on the severity and organs affected.
