You may have seen people on social media laughing, dribbling and creating funny videos in their kitchens with lemons and limes in their mouths and wondered to yourself “what is this all about?” Well it’s the latest charity challenge to take socials by storm with the aim to encourage the early detection, testing and treatment of autoimmune disease and symptoms so that nobody suffers in silence.
The phrase “Autoimmune Support and Awareness Foundation. Educate, test, treat. Don’t suffer in silence” is repeated with a spicy, cold or sour food of your choice in the mouth, tagging friends, family and work colleagues to take part too and help to raise awareness.
Whilst hilarious and heartfelt videos have been submitted to this trend from across the world, many have decided to bravely share their own experiences with autoimmune disease and the symptoms that they silently face everyday as shockingly 4 million people are currently living in the UK with autoimmune disease and cases are rising by a huge 9% each year!
The fact of the matter is, autoimmune symptoms are expansive and most people that you know will have personally experienced (or know somebody who has experienced) conditions such as Cancer, Fibromyalgia, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Multiple Sclerosis, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Lupus, Scleroderma, Raynauds Syndrome, Eczema, Asthma, Psoriasis, Autism, Sjogrens and Diabetes to name but a few.
Taking part in these social media challenges takes just minutes to do, is free, often fun and a selflessly positive thing to do to raise awareness within your friends, family, colleagues and the wider world as a whole. Together we can change, improve and save so many lives when we unite for the greater good.
Please Join In And Help Us To Make A Difference!
The more that we open up and encourage a healthy and honest debate about the importance of the immune system the sooner we can change and save lives. You do not have to constantly feel weak, tired and unable to go about your day; being a parent, working long hours, menstruation and age are not an umbrella excuse to disregard these chronic symptoms any longer. Have a blood test, get checked and save yourself and the NHS the suffering, worrying and financial burden of preventable illness and diseases so that you may live a long, happy and healthy life with your loved ones for many years to come.
I strongly urge you to take part in this wonderful charity campaign and help to raise awareness to educate, test and treat autoimmune disease so that nobody has to suffer in silence. It’s entirely free to do and takes just a handful of seconds; you could change and save so many lives in doing so.
- SAFELY put a sour / spicy / tangy / cold piece of food / sauce into your mouth (perhaps a peeled lemon or lime) and have fun trying to say the following phrase:
“Autoimmune Support and Awareness Foundation. Educate, test, treat. Don’t suffer in silence” - Post your content on social media and tag the charity @autoimmuneawarenessfoundation and nominate your friends, family and work colleagues to do the challenge and help us to raise awareness worldwide!
Being An Ambassador For Auto Immune Awareness
As an ambassador for the ASA Foundation, I am honoured to be able to use my platform as a social influencer to be able to speak out about the importance of having a strong and healthy immune system.
I personally think of my immune system like the foundations of a house; if you have a strong and stable foundation you can build a happy and secure life upon it. But if you leave cracks to worsen when they appear, disregard or ignore them completely then entire sky scrapers can come tumbling down!
The team at ASA Foundation are such selfless, incredibly hard working and inspirational individuals that are all so incredibly successful in their own field; coming together as a collective to donate their time and expertise to drive the charity forwards, they make a difference to not only people but also the NHS by reducing the strain put upon waiting times and extensive and expensive treatments by spotting symptoms early and quickly preventing them from worsening.
Led by the inspiring charity owner and humanitarian, entrepreneur and scientist Asal Shirazi, who has battled terminal auto immune conditions and exceeded her life expectancy, she is a beaming ray of hope to us all for this legacy that she has so selflessly created.
I see on a daily basis the suffering that auto immune conditions cause to myself and family, with every age and generation at risk of falling victim to symptoms at any time without warning. This is why it is absolutely vital to raise awareness and catch symptoms early on in order to preserve life wherever possible.
You contribution to this cause, as big or as little as it may be will make a difference. Whether it involves educating yourself, loved ones or others with the content that you share on social media to your network and circle of friends, family and work colleagues.
My Personal Experience With Auto Immune Conditions
I’ve sadly had my fair share of autoimmune symptoms and conditions which have ranged from the daily struggle of battling Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) to abnormal cervical cells, growths in my bowels, hair loss, sensitive skin, inflammation and severe fatigue.
We can all too easily take our health for granted and think that we will be young, indestructible and tireless forever… until the day comes when even getting out of bed or staying standing without fainting or being in pain after five minutes becomes a reality!
Over the years I have spoken out, openly and honestly, about my own experiences with physical and mental health as a mother and influencer in newspapers, magazines and on television. I was the first person in the world to share a photo of abnormal cells within my cervix to raise awareness for the importance of attending smear tests when shockingly uptake in examinations had fallen. I feel incredibly reassured that a school vaccination is now available for young girls to prevent such tragic loss of lives through cervical cancer in future generations, but my generation and those previously still run the risk of this silent killer which starts with a weakened immune system.
Aside from our body’s own mishaps of creating abnormal cells, we are also subject to harm caused by the perfumes, cleaning products, clothing and cosmetics used in our daily life, as ruptured breast implants led to my hair falling out, severe tiredness, fragility, breathing difficulties and abnormal tissue growths as my immune system tried desperately to fight off the chemicals which flooded into my blood stream and has affected more than 400,000 women worldwide – in some cases proving fatal.
We innocently believe that the things that we use, buy, wear and consume day to day are safe for human use, yet such a large part of our daily routine puts us in danger of potentially life-threatening illnesses, disease and allergic reactions at any given moment.
I’ve sadly seen my loved ones suffer with multiple cancers, health complaints, a poor quality of life and premature death because of the stress put upon their immune system which is a silent war that we all face internally each and every day. My son also has Autism and ADHD which is rife in this generation and is also an auto immune condition, yet nobody talks about it.
It is incredibly important to recognise the symptoms concerning autoimmune disease and to seek medical help as quickly as possible before they worsen. Not only will this increase your quality of life, but it may also save the NHS thousands of pounds per person if it is not left untreated to worsen and undoubtedly require greater treatment, surgery or end of life care when it could have been prevented.
www.asafoundation.org.uk
Instagram: @autoimmune.london
Tik Tok: @autoimmuneawareness
