Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Celine Deon, Shaun Romy disclose their autoimmune disorders: Why are they on the rise?

A few days ago, Kammattipadam fame actress Shaun Romy, who is also into modelling, revealed that 2024 was the year in which she battled an autoimmune condition. Shaun, who also shared glimpses into her hair fall and skin condition due to the disorder, said that she had to get steroid shots every two weeks for a long to handle the disease. It even resulted in her getting her period whenever she did anything intense. However, taking a few steps of recovery, like moving to Goa, reconnecting with her best friend, and taking medications, helped her heal as well. In recent years, many celebrities like Selena Gomez, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Celine Deon, Kim Kardashian, Gigi Hadid, Zoe Saldana, and more have spoken up about their autoimmune conditions. Why is it on the rise? 

Reason for increasing cases
The Yale School of Medicine says autoimmune conditions are the 'modern epidemic.' It's a condition in which our immune system attacks our body's cells instead of protecting them. From joints and kidneys to skin, the condition urges our body to attack itself, considering the organs as foreign parts. According to Dr Andrew Wang of Yale Medicine, though the human genes haven't changed much in the past 70 years, the environment we live in is extremely different. Funnily enough, many patients noticed that their immune systems started having issues when the sanitation of their surroundings increased!

Without anything better to do, the immune system apparently starts finding 'inappropriate work.' Certain studies also showed that those who grew up in rural areas and farms had fewer autoimmune conditions or allergies than in urban areas. Dr Wang also highlighted stress, chemicals in our food and sleeping late as some of the triggers for this condition. His team is researching the topic to discover medicines to help the condition. 

Symptoms and cure
According to the Cleveland Clinic, experts aren't sure what causes the autoimmune conditions and, hence, aren't sure how to cure them. They are chronic conditions that can last your whole life. However, healthcare providers can guide patients on how to live a quality life, despite the condition. Here are a few of the symptoms you should watch out for:
1) Inflammation
2) A feeling of warmth or heat
3) Skin discolouration or redness
4) Pain
5) Swelling
6) Join pain
7) Stiffness
8) Blurred vision