COVID-19: What You Should Know

Please take the time to read this information. It’s important, especially if you know and/or love someone who has an autoimmune disease. 

It takes an average of 3 years and 5 doctors for someone to get a proper diagnosis of an autoimmune disease. It is a disease where instead of the white blood cells protecting their body from invaders, they turn around and attack their cells, organs, and tissues. Chronic fatigue is another symptom. It is not a cold or the flu, they will never get better, and even a nap will not help. Just eating a salad and hitting the gym won’t slim their face or get the pounds off. Sleeping 10 hours doesn’t leave them well-rested, ever. The last minute changes in plans because of that "just got ran over" feeling never makes an appointment, it just walks in when they are not ready. Painful bones, joints, and muscles in addition to breaking hair, depression, dry skin, hair loss, and mood swings are just the tip of the iceberg. They are also prone to having multiple autoimmune diseases, which typically comes in pairs of two. They can easily catch bacterial and viral infections. And, no matter how hard they try, there are days in which they just can’t smile for anyone.

You are urged to think twice before passing judgment and thinking our nation is overreacting with the extra measures being taken to curb the spread of COVID-19. You might be able to recover from it with no problem—but if you carry it to someone with an autoimmune disease, that person won’t be as lucky. There are over 100 autoimmune diseases and here are some of the most common ones:

Ankylosing Spondylitis, Celiac’s Disease, CIDP, Crohn’s Disease, Diabetes (Type 1), Diabetic Neuropathy, Eczema, Fibromyalgia, GPA, Graves Disease, Guillaun-Barre Syndrome, Hashimoto’s Disease, Hemolytic Anemia, Hepatitis, Irritable Bowel Disease, Lupus Erythematosus, MCAD, MMN, Mold Illness, Multiple Sclerosis, Myasthenia Gravis, PBC, Pemphigus Vulgaris, Peripheral Neuropathy, Polymyalgia Rheumatica, POTS, Psoriasis, Raynauld’s Syndrome, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Sarcoidosis, Scleroderma, Sjogren's Syndrome, SPS, Thyroiditis, Ulceratic Colitis, Vitiligo, and Wegner’s Granulomatosis.

In honor of someone who is fighting an autoimmune disease, please share this information with others to increase their sensitivity to the needs of these individuals during the Coronavirus pandemic. Thank you!