TAKE IT FROM THE EXPERT

I BELIEVE THE REASON I HIT ROCK BOTTOM WAS SO I COULD BOUNCE BACK. EVERYTHING I WENT THROUGH WAS AN OPPORTUNITY

Dubai- based consultant rheumatologist Humeira Badsha says she sees lupus patients “every single day” at her specialist clinic — and they range from very young girls to adult men. “Lupus or systemic lupus erythematosus ( SLE) is a rare, autoimmune condition, usually found in young women, that attacks the person’s own body,” she explains. “The name comes from the Latin word for wolf, owing to the disfiguring rashes that can make the face look like a wolf’s.”

Symptoms can include ( but are not limited to) skin rashes, joint swelling, fevers, hair loss and organ failure — and it is because of the diversity of symptoms that the condition is often called ‘ a great mimic’.

Thankfully, where the prognosis was once bleak and patients diagnosed with the disease often died young, today, with careful treatment, the majority of patients can expect to live a normal lifespan. “There is so much more we understand about the disease today that help us to manage it better,” says Dr Badsha. “With an early diagnosis and the right treatment, one can live a normal, fulfilling life.”

The management of the disease isn’t an easy one, the doctor agrees. “Treatment can be difficult, especially for young girls, as the medication tends to have a lot of side- effects. The steroids are lifesaving but they can affect weight badly. For this reason, some patients often choose halt treatment and try alternative therapies, only to come back with terrible outcomes.”

Her advice for anyone recently diagnosed? “Keep a positive outlook, knowing you have to get beyond this. Lupus is not cancer. It is highly treatable, and very much possible to get your life back on track.”