Prof. Femi Adelowo, a Consultant Rheumatologist at Lagos State University, College of Medicine, on Saturday advised people with scleroderma to stop going to seek healing from spiritual doctors for scleroderma cure.
Adelowo, gave the advice at a book launch to mark World Scleroderma Day (WSD), at Ogba, Lagos.
The book written by Mrs Elizabeth Onuoha Ozumba, a survivors story of hope against all odds, is titled“Living with Scleroderma’’.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that WSD is a global event, marked every June 29 to spread the scleroderma awareness and draw attention of the public to the life-threatening disease.
Adelowo said: “”One major challenge we have in the ward is that Scleroderma does not have a cure but the good news is that researches are ongoing for possible remedy.
“”Scleroderma is not a spiritual attack as some people think and say it is people should stop going to seek for help from spiritual doctors. It is only a medical expert that can properly manage scleroderma patient,’’ he said.
He said scleroderma was an autoimmune disorder which affects the skin and causes it to become thick and hard; it also affects the internal organs.
He said scleroderma was a rare disease that had no cure and was very common in women of ages between 30 and 50.
He said its risk factors include family history, certain genetic factors, and exposure to silica adding that if not well managed it could lead to death.
A Consultant Pediatrician from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Dr Olatunde Odusote, said scleroderma might be similar in adults and children but there were some specific characteristics that were more pronounced in children.
He said scleroderma in children and adults was not contagious so people could not pass it on to someone else.
He said there was no cure for scleroderma but with an early diagnosis, it could be managed and treated.
Odusote said scleroderma was expensive to treat saying it depended on the child’s overall health, the type of scleroderma, medical history and the presence of other symptoms and its severity.
The book reviewer, Dr Ayesah Akinkugbe, a Consultant Dermatologist at Lagos University Dermatology clinic, said the book gave an insight about people living with scleroderma.
She said it was a 135-page book with 11 chapters and gave information about scleroderma, tells how a person with scleroderma feels.
“She used the book to tell her story and inspire people living with various autoimmune disorders wherever they may be and create awareness.
It is a must read by all including Doctors, nurses and even patients,’’ (NAN)