Lupus awareness walkathon on May 15

A walkathon to create awareness about lupus will be held on May 15, 8 to 10 am. It will start from Lalbagh west gate and end at the same point.

Organised by the Lupus Trust India, South Indian Medical Students Association and the Indian Rheumatology Association, the walkathon marks World Lupus Day, which is observed on May 10 every year.

Dr Priyamvada Mady, a fresh MBBS graduate, lupus patient and an advocate of the Lupus Trust India, participated in the event in 2019 and is taking the initiative ahead with a few others.” During the pandemic, we held webinars and Zoom call meetings. Our first edition saw around 80 participants and we hope to see 200 this year,” she says.

Priyamvada, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2019, says creating awareness about the condition is important. “Lupus is also known as an invisible disease. Often symptoms connected to it can be assumed to be just joint pain and fatigue. After a few months of ongoing discomfort, my general physician suggested that I meet a rheumatologist since my condition looked like a connective tissue disease. This was when I was diagnosed with lupus,” she explains.

In this autoimmune condition, multiple systems get affected due to inflammation.

“Our body is basically fighting with its own self. it is not able to identify its own self from germs or external elements. The symptoms are different for different patients,” says Priyamvada.

For details, visit lupustrustindia on Instagram. To participate in the walkathon, call 96322 50725.