May is Lupus Awareness Month and represented by purple awareness ribbon, pins and wristbands. Tell the world how you feel about lupus with a customized personalized purple awareness ribbon pin.

Personalized Cause Raises Awareness During Lupus Awareness Month

This blog is dedicated to raising awareness for all kinds of causes and illnesses. We hope to send you out into the world with a wealth of practical knowledge to help loved ones. Or, make you able to recognize signs or symptoms of illness in order to achieve early diagnosis and the best possible outcome. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is prevention!

Now, I know our first lupus post covered a lot of the basics, so I’m going to share some fun facts about lupus.

Lupus Awareness Month – New Information

Let’s start off with the statistic that makes this second post about lupus worth doing. There are more than one and a half million people in the United States who have lupus. Regardless of how large the community of people with lupus is, over 70 percent of the U.S. population between 18 and 35 don’t recognize the name of the disease. They also know little to nothing more about it than the name. Those people are co-workers, employers, friends, family members, boyfriends/girlfriends. That means that the majority of lupus patients have to constantly explain their health situation to those around them in order to be understood. And, to get whatever accommodations they need.

So, not only is having lupus physically exhausting, it’s emotionally draining, too! Explaining yourself to people when you may not want to share your entire life story or medical history with them takes a toll. Your medical history is your business. This is why raising awareness is so crucial.

Getting a Diagnosis

Guess how many people were accurately diagnosed with lupus the first time? Only 63% of people who suffer from lupus were correctly diagnosed from the start. The majority of patients have had to endure a goose chase just to be properly diagnosed. Why is that, you ask? Because autoimmune diseases are like a shredded cheese blend, it’s hard to pick out one from the other when they’re all the same color.

Autoimmune disease symptoms tend to be common throughout many of the different diseases. Many of the diseases mimic each other. Patients are often misdiagnosed with the wrong autoimmune disease. The one comforting thing about that is that since the symptoms are shared throughout the different kinds of diseases, many of the treatments for symptoms are the same despite the diagnosis. The treatment for widespread inflammation are typically NSAIDs and steroids. Where the diagnosis becomes crucial is in how you prevent the disease process from progressing. Not all root causes can be treated the same way. Lupus, for example, may warrant chemotherapy, while others may require biologics. All in all, the average length of time it takes a lupus patient to be correctly diagnosed is six years.

Men and Lupus

Only about 10 percent of patients with lupus are men. If you’ve done the math, then you realize that that means around 90 percent of patients with lupus are female. Are you a woman of color? The rate of lupus is highest amongst African-American women.

Is Lupus a Women’s Illness?

As I mentioned in my last lupus post, autoimmune diseases tend to run in families, but they don’t always present themselves in the same way. Often, people who have lupus have a blood relative who has an autoimmune disease. In fact, 20 percent of people with lupus have a blood relative with lupus, as well. While this statistic tends to sound like a curse to most, it can also be a total blessing. When you consider just how isolating a chronic illness can be, that’s a pretty huge silver lining.

If you’re new to our blog, thanks for reading!!! I hope you found it to be a worthwhile read. If you have a second, I’d just like to tell you a little bit about our company and why it is that we have started this awareness blog.

Personalized Cause and Purple Awareness Products for Lupus Awareness

Personalized Cause® is an awareness accessory company based in the United States. We are unique because, unlike other awareness ribbon companies, we offer our customers the ability to customize their awareness ribbons. We are the only company in the United States that offers custom awareness ribbons without a bulk order. In addition, we are the only company to offer custom awareness ribbons with engraving.

Awareness Ribbons Make a Big Difference to the Community

This business was founded on the belief that awareness ribbons can actually change the community of the person who wears it. We have seen first hand how one personalized awareness ribbon can spark a conversation, and create a domino effect of compassion and understanding. We know that putting a name to a cause can help others to relate to that cause better. An awareness ribbon alone does not always convey the reason one wears it. That’s why we created personalized awareness ribbons. What better way to advocate for someone you love than to wear a personalized awareness ribbon with his or her name on it? You’d be surprised how many people respond to it with compassion, and a genuine interest in your story. And, there is no better way to raise awareness for a cause than through the stories of those affected by it.

Custom Awareness Ribbons

Custom awareness ribbons can also be a surprisingly powerful way for one to take ownership of one’s health. Often, people who experience a new diagnosis tend to feel like that illness controls their life or their choices. In my experience, wearing a personalized awareness ribbon with Lupus engraved on it was empowering. It allowed me to reclaim ownership of my life, rather than feeling like the illness owned me. That may sound strange to some of you, but I think there may be a few of you out there who can relate. I believe in these little awareness ribbons. They are a symbol of community, and belonging, and inspiration. They are a sign to others that you are fighting, either for yourself or someone else. And, they are a representation of quiet support. Long story short, a little ribbon goes a long way.

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