June is Scleroderma Awareness Month – Help Spread Awareness #HardWord #Scleroderma #IC #ad

Scleroderma HardWord Img

I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Scleroderma Awareness. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Did you know June is Scleroderma Awareness Month? Do you even know what Scleroderma is? Many people don’t. In fact, if you or someone you know doesn’t have Scleroderma, you probably don’t know anything about it.

I first heard the word Scleroderma in 1985-86 when one of my best friends was diagnosed with it. Because of that, I’ve been familiar with the disease for awhile. Yet over the last thirty years, with the exception of my friend, I rarely hear the word.

This is all the more reason I want to help bring awareness to this disease. Since June is Scleroderma Awareness month you can join me in making a pledge to spread awareness of this oftentimes unheard of disease.

What is Scleroderma?

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease and at this time there is no known cause and no cure.  It is so important that there is more research, but because so few people are aware of the disease, the resources just aren’t there that researchers so desperately need.

Scleroderma is so rare; it affects only 1 in 906 people. Women are hit the hardest, with 80% of all patients being female.

Check out this infographic for even more info on Scleroderma:

Scleroderma Aware Infographic Updated

My friend has the Localized type of Scleroderma, which affects only her skin.

Scleroderma affects thousands of people, but as I mentioned earlier, there are billions who know nothing about this disease. As a mom, I do everything I can to stay healthy because I want to be around a long time… to watch my grandchildren and great-grandchildren some day.

Just because I don’t have Scleroderma now, doesn’t mean I couldn’t develop it some day. Or maybe my son will one day fall in love and marry a girl who will have it. I don’t want anyone to ever have to deal with this disease.

There are several tips to help manage Scleroderma if you do have it, like:

  • Use a humidifier to help keep your skin soft
  • Exercise to improve your circulation
  • Avoid hot baths and showers
  • Don’t drink alcohol
  • Order your drinks without ice
  • Steer clear of caffeine

You can learn more tips from the Scleroderma website.

Scleroderma can affect the digestive system and patients find it easier to eat foods that are easily digested. Here’s a recipe from the Scleroderma Foundation that sounds delicious (I think I’m going to try it myself)…

Italian Lover's Lasagna Scleroderma RecipeI believe knowledge is power and we need to learn more about Scleroderma so that one day we can find a cure!

Will you take the pledge to tell one person about the autoimmune disease that has no cause or cure?

21 Comments

  1. Thanks so much for helping to raise awareness. 1 in 906 isn’t a small number by any means.

  2. This is an very informative post. I appreciate you sharing this information with us. You never know when it will save someone’s life.

  3. My mother has this disease, and she suffers from it daily. Thank you for bringing more awareness about it.

  4. Thanks for enlightening us. I had heard the term before but I didn’t know anything about the disease.

  5. Very good information to have about the topic.

  6. Rare diseases are important as well!

  7. Never of this before but I like to be informed of everything including the rare diseases

  8. I honestly did not know very much about this until now. Thanks for sharing the cause with us.

  9. It’s important to bring light to rare diseases because funding often goes to the more common ones like cancer leaving no money for research for Scleroderma and others

  10. I had never heard of this condition before but I learned so much from your post! I’ll be sharing with others.

  11. I have never heard of Scleroderma. Interesting that is effects women more than men.

  12. This is the first time I heard of this disease. Thanks for this informative post. I should share so we could increase awareness.

  13. To be honest, I had heard the name, but didn’t really know what it was until now. Thanks for the information!

  14. I think it’s great that June is an awareness month for scleroderma because I had never even heard of it! Also that recipe sounds delicious!

  15. My niece Suzie died from this disease in 1983 when she was 20 years old. Since that time, it was only now I have seen a write up about this. May she RIP

  16. I live with this disease daily. I wouldn’t wish this disease on anyone. It horrible. thx for the tips

  17. This is great to make more individuals aware of this horrible arthritic disease. I thank the dear Lord everyday for allowing me to survive. I’m in my 19th year of being diagnosed. Important keyword……rest and littlest amount of stress. Happy to have such great doctors and info. on the internet!

  18. I was diagnosed with Systemic Scleroderma. The month of June is Scleroderma Awareness month. We need to make more information available regarding this horific disease. More funding is needed for research. There is no cure for this disease. It is now 30 yrs. since I was diagnosed. I thank God for giving me another day to live. I have been fortunate to have such excellent doctors and of course a very loving and supportive family and friends who have been there for me since day one. No matter whether I’m having a good day or bad day, life is precious and everyday is a gift.

  19. Thank you for the information. It’s a lonely disease not understood by many. I am a RN and was diagnosed 7 years ago. It is the unforgiving disease leaving no system of your body not affected. I don’t want to use this forum to complain but instead educate.

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