According to Global standards at least 1 in every 1000 child will present with chronic arthritis
We had Paediatric
Rheumatologist, Dr Deepthi (Dee) Abraham who currently heads up and runs the
Paediatric Rheumatology and Immunology Outpatient department at Tygerberg where
she sees patients every Tuesday and Wednesday. Tygerberg Children’s trust in
partnership with Una from the Andrea’s Gift Foundation (SA) who is a dynamic
patient-centered, pro-awareness Non- Profit Organisation for people living with
lupus will be hosting there ever first WORD day which stands for World Young Rheumatic
Disease Day which serves to be held on the 18 of March 2020 at the C3a Paediatric OPD
ward at Tygerberg Hospital from 09:00 – 15:00.
They are hoping
that children from the Red Cross and Groote Schuur Hospital will be part of the
celebration that Tygerberg hospital will be hosting for the 1st time.
As a lot of people
only think that Rheumatic disease occur in the elderly or middle age individuals.
It is very few times that people actually understand and realize that children
also presents with Rheumatic diseases.
Dr. Dee explains: "So
when we speak about Rheumatic conditions we speaking about connective tissue,
so this can be bone, joints, skin or muscle, so children present with problems
in all of these areas including arthritis, hence the purpose for the event is
to raise awareness to make people known that diseases such as the above mention
do effect children and do occur in children and that early awareness and diagnoses
is able to bring the children into the hospital settings for the necessary help
and treatment”.
According to Global
standards at least 1 in every 1000 child will present with chronic arthritis
known as Juvenile Psoriatic Arthritis and we sit with a problem in Africa
whereby it is under diagnose. Hence early diagnoses are vital to prevent disability
and children below 16 as those are the ages it affects. Lupus is disease that
can mimic.
At the event will
be speakers to speak more in debt on the disease and the treatment process and
this event is open to the public, there will be people from supports groups, the
arthritis foundation and yoga will be done on the day. So let's get informed
and stop letting these diseases eat us up in silence, inform yourselves and
communities.
For more information, check out: Andrea Gift Foundation.
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