{"id":30971,"date":"2019-05-15T13:09:17","date_gmt":"2019-05-15T17:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=30971"},"modified":"2019-05-16T08:22:52","modified_gmt":"2019-05-16T12:22:52","slug":"lupus-awareness-month-pop-day-may-17","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/lupus-awareness-month-pop-day-may-17\/","title":{"rendered":"Lupus Awareness Month – POP Day May 17"},"content":{"rendered":"
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May is\u00a0Lupus Awareness\u00a0Month.\u00a0 POP: Put on Purple\u00a0Day. Put on purple Day is an easy way to help expand awareness of lupus and show support for those living with the disease.<\/p>

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What is lupus?<\/p>\n

Lupus is a chronic\u00a0autoimmune disease that can damage any part of the body (skin<\/a>,\u00a0joints<\/a>, and\/or\u00a0organs<\/a>). “Chronic” means that the\u00a0signs<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0symptoms<\/a>\u00a0tend to last longer than six weeks and often for many years.<\/p>

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In lupus, something goes wrong with the immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally our immune systems produce\u00a0proteins called “antibodies” which\u00a0protect the body from these invaders.<\/p>

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“Autoimmunity”<\/a>\u00a0means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these foreign invaders and your body\u2019s healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”). As a result, it creates autoantibodies that attack and destroy healthy tissue.<\/p>\n

These autoantibodies cause inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.<\/p>

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Additional facts about lupus that you should know:<\/p>\n