Vasculitis Awareness Month

Vasculitis Awareness Month takes place in the month of May. Since I don't really have the resources to host "awareness events" or anything of the sort, I've decided to make an attempt at blahg-ing at least one fact each day about my disease, in an effort for more people to understand what it is, how it effects those who have it, and what is done to treat it.

Vasculitis is an inflammation of the blood vessels, arteries, veins or capillaries. When such inflammation occurs, it causes changes in the walls of blood vessels, such as weakening or narrowing that can progress to the point of blood vessel blockage.

Members of the vasculitis family include:

• Behcet's Disease
• Churg Strauss Syndrome
• Henoch-Schonlein Purpura
• Microscopoc Polyangiitis
• Rheumatoid Vasculitis
• Buerger's Disease
• Cryoglobulinemia
• Hypersensitivity Vasculitis
• Polyarteritis Nodosa
• Takayasu's Arteritis (I read a book written by a woman with this disease once - it's called Sick and Tired of being Sick and Tired. The book was absolutely phenomenal --- and hilarious.)
• Kawasaki Disease
• Polymyalgia Rheumatica
• Wegener's Granulomatosis (my particular disease)

Symptoms of vasculitis include abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, asthma, severe headaches, chronic sinusitis, nasal allergies, cough/shortness of breath, fatigue, weakness, fever, joint pain, facial soreness, kidney problems, lung inflammation, nerve problems (numbness, weakness, pain), skin lesions/rashes, and vision changes.

Finally, I wanted to add that my motivation for participating in Awareness Month stems from not only the fact that I am impacted by this disease on a daily basis, but because more people are effected by autoimmune diseases in this country than are people with breast cancer. And while breast cancer foundations and events are definitely worthy causes, there is in no way, shape or form the same kind of support for the autoimmune family. Members of this family are also without a cure, and are often at the mercy of their disease. Something needs to be done for these people as well, and I would love to some day see people wearing not only the color PINK, but also the color RED.