As part of our foundation initiatives, since 2021, we have been conducting The Autoimmune Community® meets. The Autoimmune Community® is a support group of 135 autoimmune under the aegis of Kindness Practice Foundation, our NGO.

The 10th Autoimmune Community Meet® was held on July 24, 2024. It was an online meet, with 40 Warriors joining in from various parts of the world.  Commenced by our community founder, Dr. Rachna Chhachhi PhD, and Rheumatoid Arthritis Warrior, it was a wonderful balance of warrior learnings, practices and practical advice from our Chief Guest Dr. Hardik Parikh, MBBS (Opthal). Jayshree Gupta, our first speaker, founder of Cazaro India, and an Ankylosing Spondylitis and Hashimoto’s warrior shared her brave journey and highlighted the importance of consistency, a positive attitude, discipline and finding a purpose in life. Jayshree answered queries about the value of disciple and not letting stress or busy work months hinder her routine as a warrior. Rohit Patwari, another warrior with a rare autoimmune condition, FSGS, spoke about how he overcame the difficulties he faced with his inability to move, and began his healing journey with holistic practices. Now, 7 years later, he’s lived in different countries across the world with high energy and a good quality of life. As warriors, Rohit and Jayshree had different circumstances, while Rohit had the complete support of his wife and family, Jayshree’s healing began with no support. However, they both emphasised a key element alongside their diligence in being holistically consistent – they spoke of rest, holding it all together and anchoring their healing. 

Many Autoimmune warriors struggle with secondary AI conditions or symptoms such as dry or itchy eyes. Warriors in our community have had concerns about this for a long time and that’s where we were lucky to have Dr. Hardik step in. Dr. Hardik gave valuable and daily implementable tips to improve care for the eyes, including advise on screen time, eye hygiene and its importance in reducing common issues such as styes. Warriors had questions regarding developing cataract due to long term steroid use, and they were reassured that cataract surgery is a permanent solution. Dr. Hardik advised them to continue with their medications as advised by their doctor for their condition while getting regular eye check-ups. He also explained that dry eyes can be a symptom of blepharitis, an autoimmune disorder that can cause meibomian gland dysfunction, where he suggested using tea tree oil for blepharitis. Doubts about pink eye and eye dryness were discussed in cold countries. Dr. Hardik suggested that low humidity due to dry weather conditions and disruptions to the sleep cycle could be contributing factors. He also recommended using a humidifier to increase humidity levels and advised consulting an eye doctor for any concerns, as symptoms can be caused by various factors. With the highest attendance and participation ever, we ended this session with gratitude and actionable steps, including warriors being able to get in touch with Dr. Hardik and Jayshree for any further questions.