As of: February 8, 2024, 3:10 p.m
By: Jasmina Deshmeh
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Sometimes the body can no longer distinguish between “foreign” and “own” and attacks itself.
Like Erika, who has been living with lupus for years.
“If I had one wish, I would want a life without lupus,” writes Erika Tan-Sapin under a photo.
So many things in the Malaysian-born woman's life seem perfect: she is a successful actress, singer and model and has just married her boyfriend, with whom she lives in Switzerland.
But Erika is also what she calls a “lupus patient, fighter and survivor.”
Eye swelling, edema, skin rashes, fatigue and pain all over the body are just some of the many symptoms that the 33-year-old has to deal with in everyday life.
Lupus is often not visible to those affected
In the autoimmune disease lupus, the fingers sometimes suddenly turn white and blue or swell (symbolic image).
© Pond5 Images/Imago
“Although I look completely fine on the outside, I still struggle with the disease every day and cannot live without daily medication,” Erika writes under a picture on her Instagram story in which she appears to be laughing happily at the camera.
And further: “Be kind to one another.
You never know what others are going through.”
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Erika has been living with a diagnosis of lupus for sixteen years.
Her mission: to educate people about the disease on her Instagram account
erikahuey
, to encourage and inspire those affected.
Because if undiagnosed, lupus is very dangerous.
Since the disease is not always externally visible, according to Erika, it often happens that those affected are labeled as “lazy, dramatizing”.
For example, if they can't make it to school or work again.
Or slowly “losing their social life” because they keep having to cancel appointments.
“I swear we’re not doing this on purpose, friends.”
Erika doesn't let herself get down
Even though everyday life with lupus often costs her strength: Erika doesn't let it get her down and works on various projects.
She and her crew even won several awards with their short film Lily.
In her free time, Erika plays the guitar and piano, shares her songs on YouTube and TikTok and has even composed music for a Singaporean series.
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In addition, the ambitious artist lets her followers share in everyday life with lupus and posts recipes for the #Lupus diet, which primarily consists of anti-inflammatory foods such as vegetables, fruit and whole grain products.
She always wants to show that life with lupus is exhausting and unpredictable - for example when she is plagued by a severe headache and is about to do another shoot.
Or being kept awake at night by pain all over the body: “I have pain, we [note d.
Editor: Lupus and I are at war” – and yet you can live with the disease and achieve a lot.
“I’m proud of how far I’ve come.”
In lupus, the body turns against itself
Lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system turns against its own body.
So-called autoantibodies trigger inflammation in the organism.
Sometimes only the skin is affected or inflammation occurs throughout the body, as was the case with Erika.
In some pictures, her cheeks and the bridge of her nose are red.
This “butterfly rash” is often triggered by UV light (sun rays) on fair skin.
In other photos, Erika shows a round scar on her leg or her hands turning white-blue when cold and stressed.
The so-called Raynaud's syndrome, which Erika herself describes as "zombie hands", occurs when the fine blood vessels in the fingers contract spasmodically.
According to the German Rheumatism League,
lupus can
affect different areas of the body:
Joints and muscles (shown by pain)
the kidneys
the cardiovascular system (e.g. arteriosclerosis develops at a young age)
the lungs (painful inflammation of the pleura)
the central nervous system (symptoms such as headaches, lack of concentration, fatigue)
Lupus is a disease with many faces, but it occurs rarely.
It is estimated that one in 1,000 women and one in 10,000 men will develop the disease during their lifetime.
Celebrity lupus patients include singer Selena Gomez, who speaks openly about the disease and was donated a kidney by a friend in 2016.
Or Cori Broadus, the daughter of the successful US rapper Snoop Dog, who recently suffered a stroke at the age of 24 due to lupus, and the singer Seal with his noticeable scars on his face.
This article only contains general information on the respective health topic and is therefore not intended for self-diagnosis, treatment or medication. It in no way replaces a visit to the doctor. Our editorial team is not allowed to answer individual questions about medical conditions.