Why is lipedema still an unknown disease?

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Today there are so many and so many diseases that are studied and known to the letter that there is a general tendency to believe that nothing escapes us and we can offer a practically safe diagnosis to patients. But this is not so. In fact, there are still many rare diseases that affect the general population and are forced to seek financing for their treatments because the ignorance greatly limits their diagnoses.

With the lipedema, that is, the abnormal distribution of subcutaneous fat in our body, something similar happens. It is not considered a weird illness, because this is the name given to those pathologies that affect less than 5 out of every 10,000 inhabitants and, however, lipedema is believed to affect about the 16% of the world's female population, but even so it has not received the attention it deserves for the moment.

The disease was officially recognized by the who on May 8, 2018 and although we are increasingly aware of its existence, it is not at all something that ensures its correct diagnosis, in fact, there are very few references to this disease. But why does this happen? From Lipepedia we tell you:

Although initiatives like this blog, designed to publicize this type of unknown pathologies, are a good way to present the disease to society, it is clear that it is most likely to reach people who already know of its existence or suffer from it. To make a disease "viral" today the simplest solution is social networks. Sharing a specific ailment through social networks, especially when this is shared by a figure with a certain public relevance, is enough to mobilize the population and open our eyes to new conditions that, although they are alien to us, affect our lives. a part of the population.

Like their Causes can be many, from hormonal disorders, reasons for puberty, pregnancy or menopause, but a sure or reliable cause is not really known, the identification and diagnosis of lipedema It can become complicated for professionals, which is why this tendency to confuse concepts is generated. The lack of information seems to be the worst ally of this disease and of those who suffer from it.

What consequences does ignorance of the disease have for people with lipedema?

At the treatment level:

One of the main consequences is at the level of treatment and is that confuse lipedema with obesity, cellulitis, lymphedema or the like, it can be very negative for patients to take action in this regard. This confusion can be fatal, because it prevents us from acting appropriately to treat lipedema. In the worst cases we can even wrongly medicate ourselves to solve a disease or ailment that we do not really suffer.

On a psychological level:

This is also a clear and difficult consequence for patients to bear and is that confusing lipedema with obesity, for example, can lead us to become obsessed with nutrition or sports to improve our physical fitness, and as we already know, the diet and physical activity They are important to mitigate the effects, but they will not improve our appearance or solve the problem. Therefore, ignorance of this reality would end up leading to serious psychological problems like eating disorders, depression, etc.

From Lipepedia We want to help and prevent these consequences that we mentioned with our information portal, in which we talk about the symptoms, possible causes, treatments, advice ... In addition, we also offer the possibility of contact doctors who specialize in treating lipedema to ensure your health and help you improve your mood.