A California lupus sufferer says she was left embarrassed and in tears after she was denied a manicure at a nail salon due to her scars from the disease.
Jeniffer Dreyer Brown shared an emotional video in which she explained how she went to Happy Nails in Laguna Niguel, a city between Los Angeles and San Diego, on Friday to get her nails done.
It was the hottest day of the year, with temperatures reaching 110F, and Brown had worn a sundress, which exposed her blistered lupus scars, which are a result of previous flare-ups.
Brown says one of the manicurists explained to her that they would be unable to serve her because of her skin, even as Brown tried to explain that the scars were not a result from a contagious infection.
‘I’ve never felt more like a leper or more judged,’ Brown says in the video through tears.
Jeniffer Dreyer Brown, from Laguna Niguel, California, posted a Facebook video in which she explained that she was left embarrassed and in tears after she was denied a manicure at a nail salon due to her scars from lupus (left and right)
It was the hottest day of the year, with temperatures reaching 110F, and Brown (pictured) had worn a sundress, which exposed her lupus scars that had become blistered
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack your own tissues and organs.
The internal inflammation can affect several different body parts including your skin, blood cells, kidneys and lungs.
It is often hard to diagnose the disease because the signs and symptoms can mimic other conditions including arthritis and fibromyalgia, a disease that causes pain and stiffness in the muscles and joint of which Lady Gaga is a known sufferer.
According to the National Resource Center on Lupus, an estimated 1.5 million Americans live with the disease.
Among those suffering is singer Selena Gomez, who revealed her diagnosis in 2016.
However, the actual number may be higher because no large-scale study has ever been conducted on how many Americans have lupus.
Exposure to sunlight may trigger skin lesions in those who have lupus, the same condition Brown experienced when she visited the salon.
‘One woman comes over and she said: “We can file your nails and we can polish them but we can’t do anything else”,’ Brown said in her Facebook video.
When Brown asked why, the woman said it was because of her skin.
‘I said: “What about my skin? My fingers – there’s nothing wrong with them.” And she said: “No, the rest of you”.’
The video has more than 1,300 reactions and has been shared more than 700 times.
The Yelp page of Happy Nails has since been inundated with people leaving one-star reviews, attacking the business over its seemingly cruel behavior.
According to Scott Wellman, the attorney for Happy Nails, the manicurists were simply following state law.
‘The law is clear that if a customer shows up with either infection or sores or abrasions or discoloration on their arms or hands or skin, then the law mandates that the manicurist cannot do a service,’ he told FOX 11.
Wellman says that the employees may not have not known that lupus is not contagious.
Lupus is an autoimmune disorder that causes the body’s immune system to attack your own tissues and organs. Exposure to sunlight may trigger skin lesions in those who have lupus, the same condition Brown (left and right) experienced when she visited the salon
According to Scott Wellman, the attorney for Happy Nails (pictured), the manicurists may not have not known that lupus is not contagious
Lupus became a topic of national conversation in 2016 when Selena Gomez disclosed she was suffering from the disease.
The singer said she was diagnosed in 2015 and would often suffer from symptoms, including panic attacks and depression, that caused her to cancel concerts.
In September 2017, Gomez underwent a kidney transplant. Her new organ was donated by her best friend, Francia Raisa.
Kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death among lupus sufferers, according to the Mayo Clinic.