Don’t be quick to judge is a new addition to DeFY. New York. Through don’t be quick to judge we hope that you will leave the site with a better understanding of different diseases, ailments and other health problems that plague millions of people around the world and possibly help you with your own health. The message is always DON’T BE QUICK TO JUDGE. For our first post we will be focusing on Lupus. Recently, an interview with Lark Voorhies made its way to the internet. The Saved By The Bell star surfaced looking very different than the last time we saw her leading people to speculate everything from drug addiction to an overdose on plastic surgery.

Comments have gotten very ugly (even from reporting media) and we felt the time to step in was now. Talk has been circulating (NOTE: THIS HASN’T BEEN CONFIRMED YET) that Lark is suffering from Lupus. For those of you that don’t know what Lupus is, we’ll tell you. “Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that can affect various parts of the body, especially the skin, joints, blood, and kidneys.” Its estimated that ninety percent of the people with lupus are women (FELLA’S DON”T BE FOOLED YOUR NOT IMMUNE) and the disease is more common among African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and Asians.

Common signs of lupus are:

-Red rash or color change on the face, often in the shape of a butterfly across the nose and cheeks
-Painful or swollen joints
-Unexplained fever
-Chest pain with deep breathing
-Swollen glands
-Extreme fatigue (feeling tired all the time)
-Unusual hair loss (mainly on the scalp)
-Pale or purple fingers or toes from cold or stress
-Sensitivity to the sun
-Low blood count
-Depression, trouble thinking, and/or memory problems.

Treatment of Lupus depends on the severity, and in severe cases patients are prescribed steroids (no not the body building types). With these steroids comes side effects (many of which alter your appearance). Some common side effects of steroids used to treat Lupus are:

-acne
-development of a round or moon-shaped face
-weight gain due to increased appetite
-a redistribution of fat, leading to a swollen face and abdomen, but thin arms and legs
-the skin becoming more fragile, which leads to easy bruising.

Once again, NOT SAYING THIS IS LARKS CASE, but it could be the case for someone you know or have seen in passing. These medications can significantly alter someones appearance even as drastically as Larks. If your worried you or someone you care about might have the disease try to contact a physician immediately as early treatment is best, and remember, next time you want to call someone ugly, a crazy person or a crack head DON’T BE QUICK TO JUDGE. For more info on Lupus visit Lupus.org, or NIAMS. Before you leave check out some celebs below that are living with various forms of Lupus.

Toni Braxton

Seal

Cori Broadus (Snoop Dogg’s daughter)

Tim Raines

Trick Daddy

Nick Canon

Gourmet footwear has been in the game damn near 7 years strong now, and for good reason. Led by co-founders Greg Lucci & Jon Buscemi, Gourmet has been consistently cooking up the sneaker goods. Recently, DeFY. New York was invited to the Spotted Pig to check out the brands fall/winter 2012 lineup where we were greeted with warm welcomes, good food and more importantly dope kicks. If you’ve been looking for that fresh pair that you will ACTUALLY WEAR (we know you have a S&*% load of sneakers in your closet you have on ice thats part of your investment portfolio) then Gourmet has you covered. Our favorites are the Dieci 2 SN with leopard print which are yours? Check them out below!