A few years ago, Itziar Castro, who died in the early hours of Thursday to Friday at the age of 46, found out through social networks that her overweight and, consequently, her deformity, was due to a chronic disease called lipedema. While the haters disqualified her, a doctor commented constructively on what was happening to her health. It is an incurable disease that almost exclusively affects women.
It is a progressive condition of pathological fatty tissue accumulated in the legs and arms. Depending on the concentrated amount, there are four levels to classify it: normal, grade I, grade II and grade III. The protagonist of Vis a vis (2018-2019) had the most serious of all. If she had been subjected to a strict diet and intense exercise she would have noticed almost no improvement since the pathology has to do with a disorder of adipose tissue.
From a clinical point of view, although the origin is not known with certainty, lipedema is linked to genetic and hormonal components such as puberty, menopause, taking the contraceptive pill, etc. The most efficient way to diagnose it is through a specific physical examination and an anamnesis, which the dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy defines as “the information provided by the patient and other testimonies to prepare their medical history.”
Experts from the Barcelona Clinical Hospital assure that the disease affects 5% of women in the world and that in most cases it can be confused with obesity. Therefore, it is advisable to observe our body to detect some of the following symptoms: disproportionate and exaggerated distribution of fat in the extremities, hematomas and bruises for no reason, pain without any cause when touching the area or a feeling of tightness and heaviness in the legs and ankles.
In 2018 the WHO recognized it as a disease, but Social Security in Spain does not cover its treatment. Although there is no cure, there are certain treatments that help relieve pain such as manual lymphatic drainage, compression therapy or liposuction.
The beloved actress was in the municipal swimming pool of Lloret de Mar (Girona) inspecting that the lighting would work correctly since together with Anna Tarrés (56) they were preparing a synchronized swimming show. The world of entertainment and politics have been shocked by the tragic news, including Lidia San José, Santiago Segura, Samanta Villa, Javier Ambrossi and Javier Calvo ‘Los Javis’, Carme Chaparro, Yolanda Díaz or Pere Aragonès, among others.
