Have you ever heard a word and not known what it was? That happens to me all the time. I hear something, I think it sounds like something else, and I assume that the two must be related. In most cases, this works. Take for example “castrati.” When I first heard that word, I thought it was a type of Italian pasta that I had never been exposed to. It doesn’t mean anything of the sort.
The same thing happened recently with the word “sarcoid.” It sounded to me like an app that you can get on your phone so that when you text a friend and you’re being sarcastic, you friend would notice. People with sarcoidosis will help you understand what it is.
It turns out that the “sarcoid” part of “sarcoidosis” has nothing to do with phones. It’s a flesh-like (“sarc” meaning “flesh” and “oid” meaning “like”) mass in your body. Flesh-like mass in the body? Isn’t the whole body flesh-like? You would be correct if you said some of your body is actual flesh.
Sarcoidosis is a rare disease that can attack various parts of the body. Most people first contract it in the lungs, but lymph nodes, skin, and eyes are also fairly common places for initial occurrences. Doctors believe that something causes the immune system to start attacking the body, and the sarcoid is the result.
Thankfully, for most people, the disease is relatively free of complications. There can be unusual and embarrassing side effects of the disease. One blogger posted her experiences. She notes that she has the “sweats”. Her body will unexpectedly break out in clothes-drenching sweat.
Unfortunately, sarcoidosis can cause permanent damage to other internal organs. Herein lies the problem. If you know that you have sarcoidosis, you need to be on top of your health.
Really, this is good advice for everyone, healthy or ailing. However, people with sarcoidosis need to check every abnormal reaction to make sure that it is not their diseasing moving into a new organ.
In rare instances, sarcoidosis can kill. Late great comedian Bernie Mac died from pneumonia and a weakened immune system because of his sarcoidosis.
Some people laugh off sarcoidosis as an inconvenience rather than a serious medical condition. You should not be lulled into a false sense of security because it is “only” sarcoidosis. You should be vigilant with regards to your health.
Sadly, the sarcasm app has never been invented. However, you are now prepared for sarcoidosis should you ever be unlucky enough to develop it.
