SARCOIDOSIS AWARENESS MONTH

SARCOIDOSIS AWARENESS MONTH

Sarcoidosis Awareness Month annually raises awareness about a non-contagious immune system disease. While most commonly found in the lungs, sarcoidosis is an inflammatory disease that can affect any part of the body, inside or out.

When it attacks the skin, it typically looks like a scaly rash or red bumps. Often, people don’t realize they have it and blame it on allergies or a simple reaction to something with which they came into contact. Sarcoidosis can affect muscles, bones, kidneys, eyes, liver, the heart, or any other part of the body.  When it affects the eyes, the usual symptoms are sore eyes. When internal organs or muscles are affected it can cause swelling and pain. In the lungs, it can cause a dry cough, shortness of breath, and mild chest pain.

Symptoms for this disease depend upon which part of the body is affected. In many cases, those with sarcoidosis will have the following symptoms:

  • Fatigue

  • Night sweats

  • Coughing

  • Weight loss

  • Fever

  • Swollen lymph nodes

Anyone can get Sarcoidosis, but it typically attacks people between the ages of 20 and 40.  In about half of the cases, Sarcoidosis goes away without treatment.  In more severe cases, for which there is no cure, the symptoms may last for years and cause organ damage. While scientists don’t fully understand Sarcoidosis yet, research continues to be done on it in the hopes of finding the cause and a cure.

HOW TO OBSERVE #SarcoidosisAwarenessMonth

Learn more about sarcoidosis and support research to cure this devastating disease. You can also wear purple to help spread awareness of the disease. Patients with sarcoidosis are encouraged to share their stories. To do your part, take a selfie of yourself in your favorite purple t-shirt and share it on social media with #SarcoidosisAwarenessMonth.

SARCOIDOSIS AWARENESS MONTH HISTORY

In April 2008, the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research declared Sarcoidosis Awareness Month. Eleven years later, the organization launched World Sarcoidosis Awareness Day in conjunction with the April observance. They hosted the first World Sarcoidosis Awareness Day on April 13th, 2019.

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