We are continually being told to beware of scams with hundreds of new ones popping up every day. The scammers one and only aim is to part desperate people from their money.

One of the most prolific scams seem to be concerning ‘cures’ for various medical conditions, including lupus.

The scammers actively seek out pages, such as ours where there are thousands of patients gathered, and try to convince them that they can cure various conditions by way of some ‘magic herb’ made by a ‘doctor’. They hope that someone at the end of their tether with their illness might decide to try these so called ‘cures’ and bombard our page with a constant stream of adverts.

Sometimes they actually claim to cure lupus, this one invites you to ‘massage’ him on his page to be cured by his ‘herd’!

“I was cured of lupus by the herb of Dr ******* and I want to thank him for his herd and I want you all to help me and thank him to because if not for I could have be dead now and you can also contact him on his WhatsApp number or massage him on his page”.

This one says you can be cured in 2 weeks of the lupus ‘virus’ - which shows how much this so called ‘doctor’ knows about lupus.

“Hello everyone help me to thank Dr ***** for helping me cure my sickness lupus after taking his prescription for 14 days I was totally free from the virus. I don't know what I would have done if not for Dr ***** herbs who God has ordained to free people from bad diseases God bless you Dr.”

Some claim one ‘remedy’ can cure every known ailment you might have - if in doubt throw them all into the mix, there’s bound to be one of these conditions that you have!

“you need a legit cure or remedy for Epilepsy, umbilical hernia, Hepatitis B, HPU, back pain, Cancer, infetility, weight loss, Fibroids, diabetes, herpes, pile, arthritis, weight loss,hernia Staff hemorrhoids, penis enlargement, high blood pressure, covid Cure, imfammation, remoutish, Cytomegalovirus etc contact DR *** on email as ************** he's 100% legit follow his page for more information about his remedy.”

If all these claims were true the NHS and other healthcare agencies would be buying the herbs in bulk as it would save them a fortune in expensive drugs and if patients are cured that again would save them millions of pounds.

The scammers usually don’t get seen by anyone on our page as I have it locked down tightly and am very vigilant when it comes to advertising. The interesting thing is that even thought these people are giving completely false medical information Facebook don’t take it seriously if you report it as such. I find this extremely annoying as these scammers could, at the least, part people from their money and at worse, potentially kill someone. I have now taken to reporting them as spam as Facebook seems to be far more interested in spam than false medical information. I report and block every single one of the scammers but every day dozens more pop up - they’re relentless.

So what about other ‘cures’/alternative medicines available? In general our advice is avoid them, they may look harmless as they claim to be ‘natural’. Even if they are natural, some herbal supplements interact with other medications and can be very dangerous. There’s also currently little/no research into alternative medicines and whether they benefit lupus patients.

One of our patients bought an over the counter detox remedy at a legitimate health food store and it caused serious problems, luckily she was visiting the lupus unit for an appointment and they quickly caught the issue. For the full story please click here.

Some people may want to try Chinese medication, again we would say please don’t. It’s not regulated and you don’t know what you’re being given. Often things are not what they seem at all as you will see from the following story about some very interesting research carried out into Chinese herbal creams which Professor D’Cruz told me about:

The reason for the research.

Dermatologists became interested in Chinese herbal medicine as several patients reported improvement of their eczema when using alternative treatments. Alternative therapies are becoming increasingly popular, particularly among patients with chronic skin disorders such as eczema which are not cured by standard treatment. Parents of children with eczema and adult patients tend to regard herbal remedies as natural plant derived products which are therefore without side effects.

The conclusion?

In a nutshell the researchers found that all the creams contained steroids which is exactly the reason why they worked.

The report said: “Dexamethasone is a prescription only, class II, potent steroid and its supply by unauthorised people is illegal in the United Kingdom. The risk of side effects with such potent steroids is increased by their inappropriate use and application to areas of thin skin such as flexures and the face. We have no knowledge of the original source of the preparations or whether they all originated from the same supplier. The varying amounts of steroid found in each cream, however, suggests that some preparation and mixing occurred at each shop.

Chinese herbal medicines are widely available, but there is no governing body regulating practitioners or controlling their appropriate training. Greater regulation needs to be imposed on Chinese herbalists to prevent illegal and inappropriate prescribing of potent steroids”.

As I’ve said on many occasions, if there is something that will help lupus we will tell you about it, you can rest assured that when a cure is discovered we will be announcing it from the rooftops, so unless a treatment is recommended by a legitimate health professional do not take it. If you want to try a natural supplement of any kind please speak to your lupus specialist before trying it as it could potentially be a life or death decision that you make.

Angie Davidson

The content on this blog should not be seen as a substitute for medical advice. If you have, or think you may have lupus, always seek advice on a qualified physician. Find out more in our Terms of Use.