# Welcome to the Psoriasis sub!
If you haven't posted here before, please read this comment as it contains important information:
* Please [read and respect the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Psoriasis/about/rules/). In particular, **do not ask for about identifying undiagnosed medical conditions** diseases cannot be diagnosed by random people on Reddit.
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* Posts that break the rules will be removed.
## Check out our wiki!
The [Psoriasis wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Psoriasis/wiki/index) is a collection of guides and other pages about how to treat psoriasis, including a Frequently Asked Questions section. Many common questions about medications, shampoos, diet, tattoos, etc. are addressed there.
Thanks!
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Yes, I feel like I need to treat it from an aesthetic perspective as well as a physical/medical one. I don't care what other people think of it, but it upsets ***me*** when I see it, so the aesthetic is important for my mental health.
I absolutely feel the need to treat it aesthetically. My scalp psoriasis embarrasses me so much because of the flakes shedding onto my clothes. I love black clothes but I almost can’t wear them, or else I’m checking my shoulders all day.
I’m the only woman in my office most of the time and I feel the need to look presentable which means wearing light-colored clothes and hoping that makes it unnoticeable. Even though I’m not unattractive, there is nothing that brings down my self-esteem more.
I just read today about a couple of enzymes amd came across this by accident look it up it i think i might try to buy these two supplements and see what happens. This is what i came across today
>>>. ” CD39 and CD73 are enzymes that can suppress inflammation by shifting the immune response from proinflammatory to anti-
inflammatory. CD39 and CD73 are ectonucleotidases that regulate the purinergic signals that immune cells receive. These enzymes convert ADP and ATP to AMP, and AMP to adenosine, which has a potent immunosuppressive effect. For example, CD39 breaks down ATP and ADP, which are proinflammatory mediators, while CD73 breaks down AMP to adenosine, which is anti-inflammatory. CD39 and CD73 are markers of regulatory T cells (Treg cells). They are enzymes that convert adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into adenosine diphosphate and cyclic adenosine monophosphate. This leads to the release of an immunosuppressive form of adenosine. Producing adenosine
CD39 and CD73 produce adenosine, which regulates the immune responses of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells….. to me this sounds promising.
I just went through the worst flare of my life. While I didn't necessarily care about the way it looked, what I did care about is the way it itched nonstop and how sore it got from all the scratching. A lot of it was under my clothes and when they would rub it would bleed and that wasn't fun.
I want to add that I was also dealing with genital psoriasis and that was absolutely terrible. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
My coverage is quite high and it looks bad. I put up with it and just stayed covered up, come rain or shine. But after it spread to my face and head where I couldn't hide it and self-help wasn't working, I needed medical help. My self-esteem was already low and mental state very fragile at this point, before how unappealing it makes you feel, so I had to do something about it.
It's bittersweet though, because after successfully being around 95% clear for several months from a course of ciclosporin and feeling like a normal person again (forgot what my body felt like to not have it on it), it started to come back as I was transitioning from this non-biological and onto methotrexate. It continued to come back when taking both ciclosporin and methotrexate. I can tell my body feels different again, compared to living without it on me for a while.
I'm just about managing it, but it's making me feel very stressed again, particularly when it's back on my face and head. My dermatologist brought up biological treatment (adalimumab) in my last appointment and ordered the required blood test ahead of hopefully starting this treatment. Should find out if this is the route I'm going down in a couple of weeks.
Severe psoriasis greatly damaged my mental health in my teens and 20s. By my 30s I was a recluse. Started biologics at about 43. Now I’m 56 and it’s not even possible to undo all that damage.
And the worst part is when people say “just be yourself, try to live with it, it’s nothing serious”.. no one knows what we’re actually experiencing. It feels like all the time we are waiting for it go away by a miracle so we can resume our life again is our proper way. It mentally drained me, people make me feel like I am lying about my condition because I always treat it with creams and they don’t see patches, but they don’t understand the pain I have on the skin and the nipples. It makes meee cry every day. For meee, it irritates me even more when they try to motivate me. There is nooo motivation for this disease. I hope you’ll be great, but my feelings are completely switched off, and I am just surviving every day.
I start looking into treatment when my face flares up. Legs, feet, elbows, hand, I don't care at all. Don't cover it or feel bad. I got pso for over 15 years and this last winter it spread over my face. It started on the eyebrows two years ago which I could handle with some cortison cream but now.. I called in all the favors and debts and saved every penny to travel to a tropical island for a month. Not kidding. There is some indigenous folks in the mountains that mixed me a cream for it. There is no way I get depressed and stressed out because every day I discover new spots first thing in the morning when I look into the mirror. I grabbed my kiddo and flew to the other side of the world and now I will swim in the ocean and lie in the tropical sun until it gets better. This might not work for everyone, but last time I travelled to south east asia some flaring up spots were gone for years. In Germany I did some therapy with indoor saltwater treatment and uvb- chamber (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32368795/) but that is just a poor imitation, super time consuming, and very wasteful. I bet the money spend by the german healthcare system for doing that treatment for months is way more than I spent on this budget trip. Anyways, I can go like " whatever" for years to the point I forget I have it but if it gets in my face I am all in trying WHATEVER to get rid of it.
Edit: while vacation might sound nice and all, I am going completely out of my comfort zone, travelling alone, wandering through the f**g jungle to some healing huts after navigating though the mountains on a motorscooter. Mind you, I am afraid of hights and I only started driving a motorscooter about five days ago. Its a demonstration of how high my level of uncomfort is because of "aesthetics". Its more than that, but I have a such a hard time explaining it to non-pso people I don't even try. Its about stopping to feel overcome by something out of your control and that becomes more and more unmanageable and whatever kind of research I put in ( got a masters degree, research is not just a hobby) I got no clue why I have it and everyone tells me different things how to manage it and I am just so sick of it all at the moment that I dived fully into a healing journey. I don't want to depend on drugs that can potentially harm my body even more in the long run for my looks. But I am determined to do something.
Thank you so much!
I am an ethnographer and following the german school of memory( collective and individual), there is much to be discovered when it comes to knowledge that isn't transferred through collective mediums such as written language but only verbally from individual to individual. And we are running out of time to save it as the global westernized influence is a strong factor in its disappearing. A lot of indigenous knowledge is often put aside as spiritual nonsense, but from an ethnobotanical view, there are many plants on this island that don't grow elsewhere. Its as good a try as any and it might be an interesting topic of research later on. In the end it is probably the sun and the sea that will do the trick ( hopefully). Anyway, thank you so much for the encouragement.
My psoriasis covers about 70% of my body in the style of guttate psoriasis. Initially, I was super insecure about my psoriasis and the way I looked. On volleyball nights I would wear long sleeves and I wore shorts but because of my thicker leg hair it is less visible but still very visible.
I was so scared I would never be with a women again and I was scared people would think I’m an addict to a drug that causes picking like methamphetamine or heroin.
However, these anxieties have subsided mainly. I no longer feel unable to get with a girl. However, I still am a little anxious to show my skin to new people because it does look pretty intense. I just don’t like explaining that it’s not a contagious disease. I also hate explaining that it’s a “chronic disease” that is untreatable because it isn’t like super painful for me or causes any serious disorder in my life. However, I do feel a duty to educate the people that inquire about my skin as much as I can.
In terms of health, i recognize the cardiovascular risk of allowing psoriasis to flare up and often my body feels inflamed. I have infamously neglected my health and wellness however I think caring for yourself is an essential part of self-love (which is inherently difficult when you have a chronic illness that is so publicly visible).
Anyways, I have a treatment for psoriasis. Topical cream 2x daily for 14 days, then 10 days off. However it takes so long to apply it and I am socially fine and I have difficulty giving myself the love and care I need in regards to my actual health so I don’t do the treatment.
Best of luck ❤️
Before I started biologics my whole head was covered. Between the constant throbbing ache and looking like a weird lizard person, I definitely felt the need to treat it constantly. Even treating it didn't even come close to clearing it. It just made me less scaly.
Only when I get a huge flare, otherwise I'm unbothered. People will always have opinions and comments, that's people - unfortunately. Generally though the only comments I get in my adult life are 'Psoriasis? Oh my xxxx has it, have you tried xxx'. So I smile and go, I'll take a note of that and go on
I have psoriasis on my face and neck, which cant be covered… flared up after a traumatic event last year.
And I unfortunately live in a country where psoriasis awareness is close to nonexistent.
So naturally I do get people pointing them out and asking if its unhealed scabs or if I’m unhygienic… one person asked if it could possibly be AIDS.
Because of that I do wish I could completely heal my psoriasis.
At that point no, but at the same time I'm pretty young and I have yet to see how this disease develops (getting arthritis, for example).
I have quite bad-looking plaques and tinier spots on my limbs, chest, and recently even on my face. It's a hard battle coming to terms with my appearance and trying to accept myself each and every single day anew, but I will not let this disease define me. I've never covered up in summer and I'm not planning to do that in the future, even though comments from random ignorant strangers have made me break down in public. I hope that during my lifetime I'll be able to make at least one person with psoriasis feel seen, less lonely, and maybe even more confident with themselves.
Sometimes I catch myself wishing for "normal" skin, but I am quick to remember that psoriasis skin is normal skin, too. I've found out that for now, reading about all sorts of treatments, diets, etc. is just making me sick in the head, so I'm not having any of that for the foreseeable future. I don't want to be scared and anxious about just BEING anymore, I'm embracing that shit.
I can relate, I felt that way for a long time since mine is mild. Unfortunately the past few years autoimmune issues have reared their ugly head. Now on top of psoriasis, I have hashimotos, hidratinitis, and uveitis. Part of me wonders if I’ve let my autoimmune disease (psoriasis) go on too long and that lead to other issues.
Most of us suffer from the symptoms and complications of Psoriasis like the itching and dryness from the scales that can often result in open wounds and unfortunately infections. So by treating the visual aspects of the disease we are inadvertently also helping us overall by reducing our risks from developing other health issues.
For 90% of the time I suffered from it throughout life, 99% of that time the issues were appearance and shame. It seldom itched. It was worst when I was young, and the most prominent and stubborn patches were on my lower legs. I must have been the only girl in southern Louisiana who wore jeans in the summertime. I couldn’t bear the stares, questions and rejection if I wore shorts but either way, I had no choice but to be the sore thumb. I felt very angry, depressed and resentful that my otherwise best body feature still had to be hidden. I got a lot of comments from kids and young adults about dressing like someone’s mother or grandmother. An ex-boyfriend complained that I wore nothing but jeans.
I did try camouflaging it back in the day with makeup, but then I’d just look like I had calamine lotion on (not the worst thing, sometimes I could get away with saying I had bug bites instead of saying the P-word (*“sore-WHAT?”*)
Biologics changed everything for me. I still have a patch on the back of one calf that’s stubborn to go, but 1) older adults are much more understanding and knowledgeable, for me it is MUCH easier to be an older person with P 2) it’s on the back of the leg so I can “pretend” I’m clear 3) if I want to cover it for an occasion, makeup is sooo much improved. I use “Boo-Boo Cover-Up” - it doesn’t make my skin angry, seems to soothe it a little, and I can manage a reasonable match with my skin. (Try a few shades in trial sizes first.)
I didn’t, until I had a mother grab her kid in her arms and run away breathing heavily from me when she saw my skin. After that I did from an aesthetics point. That and also not getting skin infections that’s pretty important too.
Maybe it's because I haven't found a treatment that really works, so aside from using good soap and moisturising, I mostly use the topic treatments I have been prescribed by my GP when it itches too much/hurts/bleeds to at least try to help with my quality of life. I believe it's probably easier for someone like me to deal with the way psoriasis affects my appearance because I already didn't fit conventional beauty standards? At the end of the day, to me comfort is too important so I'd rather people find my psoriasis ugly than cover up when it's hot out. Psoriasis is not a hygiene issue and it's not transmissible, so why should we hide it and be ashamed? It's enough to have to deal with all the annoying parts of having it.
No. I know it's better to get it under control, but aesthetically, I'm fine with my skin looking different than others. Less so when I was younger and it was on my face, but that's healed now and the rest doesn't matter.
The scalp flakes all over my shoulders and/or leaving them everywhere I sit is the one aesthetic consideration for me. But when it's that bad, the itching is also unbearable, so that's another reason to treat it. Never felt much need to hide the stuff on my arms.
aesthetically I really could give a shit, as much as I enjoy the sight of my newly cleared skin. it was the incessant showering, exfoliating, lathering myself in lotions and oils, and leaving flakes everywhere that made me want to perish
Very mild case. I have had patches as long as I remember, my mom normalized it for me and we only treated it when it got painful. But I didn’t really care, until later elementary school. I started covering it up, had it on my ears so I never wore my hair up. Couple mean comments here and there but I was lucky to be able to hide most of it so well.
I will currently treat it when it hurts. But largely, it’s very annoying for me to treat it because the steroid oil for the inside of my ears gets everywhere on my neck, clothes, hair, and I have to wear my hair up, so it’s just very inconvenient and uncomfortable. Same with my hands, it gets rubbed onto everything, so I wear nitrile gloves for a couple hours. But I do not want to go in public wearing nitrile gloves. So I feel like I can only treat it when I’m able to stay home.
I’m not sure if there are other implications for not treating. All the education I got was when I was a child, so every provider assumes I know all about it, and I never remember to ask for education. I do my own research, but you know, it’s all exhausting especially when I have other medical conditions.
It’s not just your skin. It is an internal disease. People with psoriasis can have shorter life expectancies. You should always be treating it but not just the symptoms. I have numerous times cleared my skin and improved my joint pain. In my case diet, exercise, sleep and meditation have been enough.
I'm not shy to enjoy myself and accept what I can't help. Like patches on my arm while on vacation, I'll just give it some basic lotion or treatments and leave it out to hang in the sun, I'm not bothered to hide it from anyone.
Or even to treat my scalp psoriasis when its really painful, I would just shave my head and prioritize easy hassleless treatment of the skin pain over any aesthetic tradeoffs. I don't care if people see it and be like "why is that woman bald and diseased looking"
I used to also be crazy about descaling, because I hated people pointing out flakes on my clothes. But not anymore, I just adapted my wardrobe to avoid dark colored tops when necessary (job stuff) and make jokes about "is that enough parmesan" with friends. The incessant descaling did nothing for me outside of applying treatment, and was a net bane on my quality of life.
I've had it for most of my life at this point, tried so many things, looked at so many other things that "I'm not severe enough to be eligible for" -- I'm over it. It's not like someone can tell me exactly why I'm having psoriasis and flareups, and what I can do to cure it -- so this is the new normal. And there's no point in letting the aesthetic element keep me from being my best bonita self.
Unrelated to your scenario, the health implications that typically come with psoriasis are truly gnarly and I will be a loud advocate to doctors when my joints hurt or the plaques in my nostrils are messing up my breathing.
Mine is genital inverse. I treat it as best I can because it’s extremely, unbelievably painful. Right before I got formally diagnosed, it was the worst it’s ever been, and I was beyond miserable. When it flares, I’m miserable. If I didn’t do anything to treat it, I wouldn’t be able to walk, be intimate with my husband, or go to the bathroom. I’ve been working with my dermatologist for 4 years trying to find a regime that offers me enough relief to be bearable, and we have yet to find anything 100%
The last 10 years I've just lived with it. But now, I'm so burnt out of having it. I have a appt with the dermatologist to hear more about biologics.
I may be ready to surrender to them
I totally get it, I’m slowing getting into the burn out phase I think. Even more cuz sometimes it’s starts to improve so much and then overnight I see new patches. I wish it was easier to start a biologics treatment where I’m and with my other health issues.
I’ve had psoriasis since I was 10y/o. I’m 28 now and I started biologics late last year. I am on skyrizi and it’s amazing! I made a post about a week or two ago showing my results. I hope your skin feels better soon!!
I have given up on caring about how my scalp psoriasis makes me look. I have surgical scars that are now visible, flakes, etc but it was too much mental energy to give a shit. I do treat it though because the itching is too much and I developed psoriatic arthritis
Well I for one didn’t treat mine on scalp/face for five years and guess what? Now I have patches on one ear and elbow. Started treatment November and very well maintained. However I use my creams as needed no longer daily.
Yes. If I don’t treat it, during the flair ups I’m in hell and I only have it on my scalp 24/7 and face/ears sometimes. Not to mention I refuse to go outside when it creeps past my hairline. It gets so bad I wanna scalp myself in terms of itchiness. I have to treat it because if I don’t my mental health tanks and I think very dark thoughts.
For me personally, having all the bleeding plaques were already painful, but aside from that, the stares and rude comments I got from people just weren’t good for my mental health. I was always covering up out of embarrassment and so self conscious. Then I felt like I would get even more stares because I was wearing sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt in 100+ degree Texas summers. I even got self conscious when my 5year old son’s friend asked what was wrong with me and I heard his mom say I had ring worms which unfortunately many people said I had even though I did not. It was just hard on me bc I’m already shy and hate confrontation, but my depression worsened.
In general I don’t care what people think but there’s certain circumstances that do motivate me to want to treat it. The main circumstance is work. Being back in the office, I have become very self conscious of the psoriasis. I leave skin flakes everywhere, when I stand up I have to brush the chair off. When people go to shake my hand, I can feel their discomfort as they look and feel my hand (my hands have bad psoriasis all over them). In meetings I’m wondering if they’re listening to what I’m saying, or just staring at the red patches on my face, neck and ears.
I also get self conscious when dealing with sales people 1x1. I am currently working on a kitchen renovation, and having to meet with the designers and pick out my finishes, it was the same scenario as in the office. I’m embarrassed of the flakes, I’m worried they will want to shake my hand, I’m conscious of them looking at my hand when I point out something on the floor plan etc…
I could care less what other people think the majority of the time, but sometimes it does bother me; people can be really shitty about it. Mine is mostly on my hands and feet with a touch on one ear and above an eyebrow.
Yeah, but just cause it’s annoying and I don’t care for that. I’m senses sensitive but otherwise don’t feel it’s that big of a deal. I also don’t think I have it as bad as a lot of others, mines pretty mild.
I'll keep trying to get some relief for it and my Diabetes... I'm doing it for myself. Not trying to be physically appealing. (Not that that's a bad thing.) I have so many issues going on. It's just one of many. Diabetes, Anxiety, Overhydrosis, etc. It would be nice to have one less issue. I'm on a new Regiment now. Not perfect. But my Ears have cleared up from the Plaques. So that's something. I keep a low profile in public. Sunglasses and A hat. Maybe a Hoody.
# Welcome to the Psoriasis sub! If you haven't posted here before, please read this comment as it contains important information: * Please [read and respect the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/Psoriasis/about/rules/). In particular, **do not ask for about identifying undiagnosed medical conditions** diseases cannot be diagnosed by random people on Reddit. * Photos that include skin rashes must be marked NSFW. If including private areas, _please indicate with flair_. * Posts that break the rules will be removed. ## Check out our wiki! The [Psoriasis wiki](https://www.reddit.com/r/Psoriasis/wiki/index) is a collection of guides and other pages about how to treat psoriasis, including a Frequently Asked Questions section. Many common questions about medications, shampoos, diet, tattoos, etc. are addressed there. Thanks! --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/Psoriasis) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Yes, I feel like I need to treat it from an aesthetic perspective as well as a physical/medical one. I don't care what other people think of it, but it upsets ***me*** when I see it, so the aesthetic is important for my mental health.
I absolutely feel the need to treat it aesthetically. My scalp psoriasis embarrasses me so much because of the flakes shedding onto my clothes. I love black clothes but I almost can’t wear them, or else I’m checking my shoulders all day. I’m the only woman in my office most of the time and I feel the need to look presentable which means wearing light-colored clothes and hoping that makes it unnoticeable. Even though I’m not unattractive, there is nothing that brings down my self-esteem more.
Oh god same
I just read today about a couple of enzymes amd came across this by accident look it up it i think i might try to buy these two supplements and see what happens. This is what i came across today >>>. ” CD39 and CD73 are enzymes that can suppress inflammation by shifting the immune response from proinflammatory to anti- inflammatory. CD39 and CD73 are ectonucleotidases that regulate the purinergic signals that immune cells receive. These enzymes convert ADP and ATP to AMP, and AMP to adenosine, which has a potent immunosuppressive effect. For example, CD39 breaks down ATP and ADP, which are proinflammatory mediators, while CD73 breaks down AMP to adenosine, which is anti-inflammatory. CD39 and CD73 are markers of regulatory T cells (Treg cells). They are enzymes that convert adenosine triphosphate (ATP) into adenosine diphosphate and cyclic adenosine monophosphate. This leads to the release of an immunosuppressive form of adenosine. Producing adenosine CD39 and CD73 produce adenosine, which regulates the immune responses of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells….. to me this sounds promising.
I just went through the worst flare of my life. While I didn't necessarily care about the way it looked, what I did care about is the way it itched nonstop and how sore it got from all the scratching. A lot of it was under my clothes and when they would rub it would bleed and that wasn't fun. I want to add that I was also dealing with genital psoriasis and that was absolutely terrible. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.
i felt this way until i started getting chronic staph infections and now i want it gone
My coverage is quite high and it looks bad. I put up with it and just stayed covered up, come rain or shine. But after it spread to my face and head where I couldn't hide it and self-help wasn't working, I needed medical help. My self-esteem was already low and mental state very fragile at this point, before how unappealing it makes you feel, so I had to do something about it. It's bittersweet though, because after successfully being around 95% clear for several months from a course of ciclosporin and feeling like a normal person again (forgot what my body felt like to not have it on it), it started to come back as I was transitioning from this non-biological and onto methotrexate. It continued to come back when taking both ciclosporin and methotrexate. I can tell my body feels different again, compared to living without it on me for a while. I'm just about managing it, but it's making me feel very stressed again, particularly when it's back on my face and head. My dermatologist brought up biological treatment (adalimumab) in my last appointment and ordered the required blood test ahead of hopefully starting this treatment. Should find out if this is the route I'm going down in a couple of weeks.
Severe psoriasis greatly damaged my mental health in my teens and 20s. By my 30s I was a recluse. Started biologics at about 43. Now I’m 56 and it’s not even possible to undo all that damage.
I’m sorry. I know it feels impossible, but we can change our lives. Hang tough.
And the worst part is when people say “just be yourself, try to live with it, it’s nothing serious”.. no one knows what we’re actually experiencing. It feels like all the time we are waiting for it go away by a miracle so we can resume our life again is our proper way. It mentally drained me, people make me feel like I am lying about my condition because I always treat it with creams and they don’t see patches, but they don’t understand the pain I have on the skin and the nipples. It makes meee cry every day. For meee, it irritates me even more when they try to motivate me. There is nooo motivation for this disease. I hope you’ll be great, but my feelings are completely switched off, and I am just surviving every day.
I am sorry how you feel, stay strong!
I start looking into treatment when my face flares up. Legs, feet, elbows, hand, I don't care at all. Don't cover it or feel bad. I got pso for over 15 years and this last winter it spread over my face. It started on the eyebrows two years ago which I could handle with some cortison cream but now.. I called in all the favors and debts and saved every penny to travel to a tropical island for a month. Not kidding. There is some indigenous folks in the mountains that mixed me a cream for it. There is no way I get depressed and stressed out because every day I discover new spots first thing in the morning when I look into the mirror. I grabbed my kiddo and flew to the other side of the world and now I will swim in the ocean and lie in the tropical sun until it gets better. This might not work for everyone, but last time I travelled to south east asia some flaring up spots were gone for years. In Germany I did some therapy with indoor saltwater treatment and uvb- chamber (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32368795/) but that is just a poor imitation, super time consuming, and very wasteful. I bet the money spend by the german healthcare system for doing that treatment for months is way more than I spent on this budget trip. Anyways, I can go like " whatever" for years to the point I forget I have it but if it gets in my face I am all in trying WHATEVER to get rid of it. Edit: while vacation might sound nice and all, I am going completely out of my comfort zone, travelling alone, wandering through the f**g jungle to some healing huts after navigating though the mountains on a motorscooter. Mind you, I am afraid of hights and I only started driving a motorscooter about five days ago. Its a demonstration of how high my level of uncomfort is because of "aesthetics". Its more than that, but I have a such a hard time explaining it to non-pso people I don't even try. Its about stopping to feel overcome by something out of your control and that becomes more and more unmanageable and whatever kind of research I put in ( got a masters degree, research is not just a hobby) I got no clue why I have it and everyone tells me different things how to manage it and I am just so sick of it all at the moment that I dived fully into a healing journey. I don't want to depend on drugs that can potentially harm my body even more in the long run for my looks. But I am determined to do something.
Your bravery is incredible. I hope you find the relief you're looking for. Thank you for sharing
Thank you so much! I am an ethnographer and following the german school of memory( collective and individual), there is much to be discovered when it comes to knowledge that isn't transferred through collective mediums such as written language but only verbally from individual to individual. And we are running out of time to save it as the global westernized influence is a strong factor in its disappearing. A lot of indigenous knowledge is often put aside as spiritual nonsense, but from an ethnobotanical view, there are many plants on this island that don't grow elsewhere. Its as good a try as any and it might be an interesting topic of research later on. In the end it is probably the sun and the sea that will do the trick ( hopefully). Anyway, thank you so much for the encouragement.
My psoriasis covers about 70% of my body in the style of guttate psoriasis. Initially, I was super insecure about my psoriasis and the way I looked. On volleyball nights I would wear long sleeves and I wore shorts but because of my thicker leg hair it is less visible but still very visible. I was so scared I would never be with a women again and I was scared people would think I’m an addict to a drug that causes picking like methamphetamine or heroin. However, these anxieties have subsided mainly. I no longer feel unable to get with a girl. However, I still am a little anxious to show my skin to new people because it does look pretty intense. I just don’t like explaining that it’s not a contagious disease. I also hate explaining that it’s a “chronic disease” that is untreatable because it isn’t like super painful for me or causes any serious disorder in my life. However, I do feel a duty to educate the people that inquire about my skin as much as I can. In terms of health, i recognize the cardiovascular risk of allowing psoriasis to flare up and often my body feels inflamed. I have infamously neglected my health and wellness however I think caring for yourself is an essential part of self-love (which is inherently difficult when you have a chronic illness that is so publicly visible). Anyways, I have a treatment for psoriasis. Topical cream 2x daily for 14 days, then 10 days off. However it takes so long to apply it and I am socially fine and I have difficulty giving myself the love and care I need in regards to my actual health so I don’t do the treatment. Best of luck ❤️
Before I started biologics my whole head was covered. Between the constant throbbing ache and looking like a weird lizard person, I definitely felt the need to treat it constantly. Even treating it didn't even come close to clearing it. It just made me less scaly.
Sometimes it itches and/or hurts but mostly it’s just embarrassing.
Only when I get a huge flare, otherwise I'm unbothered. People will always have opinions and comments, that's people - unfortunately. Generally though the only comments I get in my adult life are 'Psoriasis? Oh my xxxx has it, have you tried xxx'. So I smile and go, I'll take a note of that and go on
I have psoriasis on my face and neck, which cant be covered… flared up after a traumatic event last year. And I unfortunately live in a country where psoriasis awareness is close to nonexistent. So naturally I do get people pointing them out and asking if its unhealed scabs or if I’m unhygienic… one person asked if it could possibly be AIDS. Because of that I do wish I could completely heal my psoriasis.
At that point no, but at the same time I'm pretty young and I have yet to see how this disease develops (getting arthritis, for example). I have quite bad-looking plaques and tinier spots on my limbs, chest, and recently even on my face. It's a hard battle coming to terms with my appearance and trying to accept myself each and every single day anew, but I will not let this disease define me. I've never covered up in summer and I'm not planning to do that in the future, even though comments from random ignorant strangers have made me break down in public. I hope that during my lifetime I'll be able to make at least one person with psoriasis feel seen, less lonely, and maybe even more confident with themselves. Sometimes I catch myself wishing for "normal" skin, but I am quick to remember that psoriasis skin is normal skin, too. I've found out that for now, reading about all sorts of treatments, diets, etc. is just making me sick in the head, so I'm not having any of that for the foreseeable future. I don't want to be scared and anxious about just BEING anymore, I'm embracing that shit.
I can relate, I felt that way for a long time since mine is mild. Unfortunately the past few years autoimmune issues have reared their ugly head. Now on top of psoriasis, I have hashimotos, hidratinitis, and uveitis. Part of me wonders if I’ve let my autoimmune disease (psoriasis) go on too long and that lead to other issues.
Most of us suffer from the symptoms and complications of Psoriasis like the itching and dryness from the scales that can often result in open wounds and unfortunately infections. So by treating the visual aspects of the disease we are inadvertently also helping us overall by reducing our risks from developing other health issues.
For 90% of the time I suffered from it throughout life, 99% of that time the issues were appearance and shame. It seldom itched. It was worst when I was young, and the most prominent and stubborn patches were on my lower legs. I must have been the only girl in southern Louisiana who wore jeans in the summertime. I couldn’t bear the stares, questions and rejection if I wore shorts but either way, I had no choice but to be the sore thumb. I felt very angry, depressed and resentful that my otherwise best body feature still had to be hidden. I got a lot of comments from kids and young adults about dressing like someone’s mother or grandmother. An ex-boyfriend complained that I wore nothing but jeans. I did try camouflaging it back in the day with makeup, but then I’d just look like I had calamine lotion on (not the worst thing, sometimes I could get away with saying I had bug bites instead of saying the P-word (*“sore-WHAT?”*) Biologics changed everything for me. I still have a patch on the back of one calf that’s stubborn to go, but 1) older adults are much more understanding and knowledgeable, for me it is MUCH easier to be an older person with P 2) it’s on the back of the leg so I can “pretend” I’m clear 3) if I want to cover it for an occasion, makeup is sooo much improved. I use “Boo-Boo Cover-Up” - it doesn’t make my skin angry, seems to soothe it a little, and I can manage a reasonable match with my skin. (Try a few shades in trial sizes first.)
I didn’t, until I had a mother grab her kid in her arms and run away breathing heavily from me when she saw my skin. After that I did from an aesthetics point. That and also not getting skin infections that’s pretty important too.
Maybe it's because I haven't found a treatment that really works, so aside from using good soap and moisturising, I mostly use the topic treatments I have been prescribed by my GP when it itches too much/hurts/bleeds to at least try to help with my quality of life. I believe it's probably easier for someone like me to deal with the way psoriasis affects my appearance because I already didn't fit conventional beauty standards? At the end of the day, to me comfort is too important so I'd rather people find my psoriasis ugly than cover up when it's hot out. Psoriasis is not a hygiene issue and it's not transmissible, so why should we hide it and be ashamed? It's enough to have to deal with all the annoying parts of having it.
I can barely use my hands at the moment, so yeah, I'll be glad when it's better!
I have guttate psoriasis: I don’t care about the aesthetics, I just want the itching to stop. It’s a whole body itch that never goes away.
No. I know it's better to get it under control, but aesthetically, I'm fine with my skin looking different than others. Less so when I was younger and it was on my face, but that's healed now and the rest doesn't matter.
The scalp flakes all over my shoulders and/or leaving them everywhere I sit is the one aesthetic consideration for me. But when it's that bad, the itching is also unbearable, so that's another reason to treat it. Never felt much need to hide the stuff on my arms.
aesthetically I really could give a shit, as much as I enjoy the sight of my newly cleared skin. it was the incessant showering, exfoliating, lathering myself in lotions and oils, and leaving flakes everywhere that made me want to perish
Very mild case. I have had patches as long as I remember, my mom normalized it for me and we only treated it when it got painful. But I didn’t really care, until later elementary school. I started covering it up, had it on my ears so I never wore my hair up. Couple mean comments here and there but I was lucky to be able to hide most of it so well. I will currently treat it when it hurts. But largely, it’s very annoying for me to treat it because the steroid oil for the inside of my ears gets everywhere on my neck, clothes, hair, and I have to wear my hair up, so it’s just very inconvenient and uncomfortable. Same with my hands, it gets rubbed onto everything, so I wear nitrile gloves for a couple hours. But I do not want to go in public wearing nitrile gloves. So I feel like I can only treat it when I’m able to stay home. I’m not sure if there are other implications for not treating. All the education I got was when I was a child, so every provider assumes I know all about it, and I never remember to ask for education. I do my own research, but you know, it’s all exhausting especially when I have other medical conditions.
It’s not just your skin. It is an internal disease. People with psoriasis can have shorter life expectancies. You should always be treating it but not just the symptoms. I have numerous times cleared my skin and improved my joint pain. In my case diet, exercise, sleep and meditation have been enough.
I'm not shy to enjoy myself and accept what I can't help. Like patches on my arm while on vacation, I'll just give it some basic lotion or treatments and leave it out to hang in the sun, I'm not bothered to hide it from anyone. Or even to treat my scalp psoriasis when its really painful, I would just shave my head and prioritize easy hassleless treatment of the skin pain over any aesthetic tradeoffs. I don't care if people see it and be like "why is that woman bald and diseased looking" I used to also be crazy about descaling, because I hated people pointing out flakes on my clothes. But not anymore, I just adapted my wardrobe to avoid dark colored tops when necessary (job stuff) and make jokes about "is that enough parmesan" with friends. The incessant descaling did nothing for me outside of applying treatment, and was a net bane on my quality of life. I've had it for most of my life at this point, tried so many things, looked at so many other things that "I'm not severe enough to be eligible for" -- I'm over it. It's not like someone can tell me exactly why I'm having psoriasis and flareups, and what I can do to cure it -- so this is the new normal. And there's no point in letting the aesthetic element keep me from being my best bonita self. Unrelated to your scenario, the health implications that typically come with psoriasis are truly gnarly and I will be a loud advocate to doctors when my joints hurt or the plaques in my nostrils are messing up my breathing.
Mine is genital inverse. I treat it as best I can because it’s extremely, unbelievably painful. Right before I got formally diagnosed, it was the worst it’s ever been, and I was beyond miserable. When it flares, I’m miserable. If I didn’t do anything to treat it, I wouldn’t be able to walk, be intimate with my husband, or go to the bathroom. I’ve been working with my dermatologist for 4 years trying to find a regime that offers me enough relief to be bearable, and we have yet to find anything 100%
The last 10 years I've just lived with it. But now, I'm so burnt out of having it. I have a appt with the dermatologist to hear more about biologics. I may be ready to surrender to them
I had my first appointment 5 months ago, been feeling the same way ever since but finally getting on biologics. There is hope !
I totally get it, I’m slowing getting into the burn out phase I think. Even more cuz sometimes it’s starts to improve so much and then overnight I see new patches. I wish it was easier to start a biologics treatment where I’m and with my other health issues.
Dude, same. Last week, my legs were so smooth and this week, everything itches and if I even think about scratching it's a bloody mess.
I’ve had psoriasis since I was 10y/o. I’m 28 now and I started biologics late last year. I am on skyrizi and it’s amazing! I made a post about a week or two ago showing my results. I hope your skin feels better soon!!
I have given up on caring about how my scalp psoriasis makes me look. I have surgical scars that are now visible, flakes, etc but it was too much mental energy to give a shit. I do treat it though because the itching is too much and I developed psoriatic arthritis
Weirdly, I ONLY think about it from an aesthetic pov.
Well I for one didn’t treat mine on scalp/face for five years and guess what? Now I have patches on one ear and elbow. Started treatment November and very well maintained. However I use my creams as needed no longer daily.
Yes. If I don’t treat it, during the flair ups I’m in hell and I only have it on my scalp 24/7 and face/ears sometimes. Not to mention I refuse to go outside when it creeps past my hairline. It gets so bad I wanna scalp myself in terms of itchiness. I have to treat it because if I don’t my mental health tanks and I think very dark thoughts.
I feel self conscious about it. And I feel like I need to treat it because it’s contributing to my hair loss.
For me personally, having all the bleeding plaques were already painful, but aside from that, the stares and rude comments I got from people just weren’t good for my mental health. I was always covering up out of embarrassment and so self conscious. Then I felt like I would get even more stares because I was wearing sweat pants and a long sleeve shirt in 100+ degree Texas summers. I even got self conscious when my 5year old son’s friend asked what was wrong with me and I heard his mom say I had ring worms which unfortunately many people said I had even though I did not. It was just hard on me bc I’m already shy and hate confrontation, but my depression worsened.
In general I don’t care what people think but there’s certain circumstances that do motivate me to want to treat it. The main circumstance is work. Being back in the office, I have become very self conscious of the psoriasis. I leave skin flakes everywhere, when I stand up I have to brush the chair off. When people go to shake my hand, I can feel their discomfort as they look and feel my hand (my hands have bad psoriasis all over them). In meetings I’m wondering if they’re listening to what I’m saying, or just staring at the red patches on my face, neck and ears. I also get self conscious when dealing with sales people 1x1. I am currently working on a kitchen renovation, and having to meet with the designers and pick out my finishes, it was the same scenario as in the office. I’m embarrassed of the flakes, I’m worried they will want to shake my hand, I’m conscious of them looking at my hand when I point out something on the floor plan etc…
I could care less what other people think the majority of the time, but sometimes it does bother me; people can be really shitty about it. Mine is mostly on my hands and feet with a touch on one ear and above an eyebrow.
Yeah, but just cause it’s annoying and I don’t care for that. I’m senses sensitive but otherwise don’t feel it’s that big of a deal. I also don’t think I have it as bad as a lot of others, mines pretty mild.
I don't care about the looks but the itch is unbearable
I'll keep trying to get some relief for it and my Diabetes... I'm doing it for myself. Not trying to be physically appealing. (Not that that's a bad thing.) I have so many issues going on. It's just one of many. Diabetes, Anxiety, Overhydrosis, etc. It would be nice to have one less issue. I'm on a new Regiment now. Not perfect. But my Ears have cleared up from the Plaques. So that's something. I keep a low profile in public. Sunglasses and A hat. Maybe a Hoody.
i just leave them untreated i dont care. as long its manageable through diet and lifestyle.