Alicia Dalton-Tingler, United States of America’s Mrs. West Virginia 2023, holds up the proclamation from Gov. Justice making March Autoimmune Diseases Awareness month in West Virginia.
Alicia Dalton-Tingler, United States of America’s Mrs. West Virginia 2023, holds up the proclamation from Gov. Justice making March Autoimmune Diseases Awareness month in West Virginia.
Submitted photo
Alicia Dalton-Tingler, United States of America’s Mrs. West Virginia, with Gov. Justice at the capitol tree lighting ceremony.
Type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, Crohn's disease and psoriasis are some of the most common autoimmune diseases. An autoimmune disease is any type of disease where the body’s immune system attacks healthy cells. None of these diseases have a cure.
They often go undiagnosed for long periods of time because symptoms aren’t always visible and are caused by other common conditions. According to the Autoimmune Association, there are more than 100 autoimmune diseases and 50 million Americans have one or more autoimmune diseases. That is why March is Autoimmune Diseases Awareness month nationally.
Alicia Dalton-Tingler, Mrs. West Virginia 2023, petitioned Gov. Justice to make March Autoimmune Diseases Awareness month in West Virginia as well.
“Science isn’t really caught up with autoimmune disease yet. This will put it in perspective, the federal government just in December put money forward for the National Institute of Health to create an office of autoimmune disease research,†she said.
Dalton-Tingler learned she had some nodules on her thyroid at a health screening event more than 10 years ago. After getting it checked, she eventually learned that she has Graves disease. She opted to have her thyroid surgically removed and now takes medication to replace the hormones her thyroid would produce.
“There is still so much to learn,†she said. “So if you show up at a doctor’s office saying, ‘I’m tired all the time, I feel like I can’t think straight and my joints ache,’ there’s a million other things that they’re going to try to look for before they try to figure out autoimmune.â€
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