Dedicated to raising awareness about the illness, August is widely known as Psoriasis Awareness Month. Read on to gain some insight on the struggles that people affected by Psoriasis have to face regularly.
Psoriasis is a skin condition which affects around 125 million people worldwide. The condition forms when there is a buildup of skin cells and patches of dry skin appear on all parts of the body (more commonly affects the lower back, elbows, knees, legs, soles of the feet, scalp, face and palms). The inflammation on your body can be quite painful, it is often itchy and sore. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this condition, however, there are several treatments available to help reduce the pain and patches on the skin.
The condition is known to show up on someone’s body between the ages of 15 to 35 years. This condition can cause as much suffering inside as out, and it often affects an individual’s social well-being. Common activities most people would not even think twice about participating in, such as swimming, eating red meat, processed foods, dairy products and eggs, drinking alcohol, wearing certain materials, all aggravate the skin terribly. Psoriasis can negatively impact one’s self image due to the amount of restrictions the disease proposes. Statistics demonstrate that an individual with psoriasis has a higher likelihood of struggling with mental illness.
To get a better understanding of how this condition affects one’s life, we spoke to two psoriasis patients to gain some insight on how it has affected them throughout their life. 30 year old, Kazi Tahreem Asad says, “Living with psoriasis can lower one’s confidence, and sometimes make one try to hide oneself due to the way it looks – but remember, it is not the end of the world! Psoriasis can be managed well with proper treatment. It is not a contagious disease and both the symptoms and treatment vary from one person to another, so take your time and treat yourself with care.” Sumnoon Humaira, a 32 year-old female, says “Because psoriasis is a chronic and incurable autoimmune condition, people like us who have it will have it for life.
It’s not the end of the world, but it’s not as good as it can be either. Psychological and social lifestyle needs to be constantly modified in order to live an overall healthy life. Psoriasis doesn’t always need a reason to flare up and get worse – a slight change in mood, activity or even the weather can trigger it.” It is important to keep in mind that some people with psoriasis have triggers that can irritate and flare up the condition, internal stress can become visible on their skin and become painful too.
Humaira then adds “My symptoms started at the age of 10, I went undiagnosed till I was 15. I suffered from a young age because the doctors insisted it was just corn and calluses; I was treated with the wrong medications for a long while. It was my mother who insisted on a biopsy which confirmed it was psoriasis. Get diagnosed early, misdiagnosis will only make it worse. By the time I was diagnosed, I already had psoriatic arthritis.” Psoriatic arthritis is a common form of arthritis that occurs once one is afflicted with this condition. The symptoms include joint pain, morning stiffness, and swelling. It may get as extreme as needing joint replacement surgery.
When asked for advice to give someone who has just been diagnosed with psoriasis, Humaira says “I’ve been living with Psoriasis for 22 years now. It might seem like the worst thing ever, but it gets better. The more time you spend understanding it, the better you can control it. Yes, you can control your psoriasis to a certain degree; which helps my case as I don’t need any other treatment anymore aside from some topical ointment during my flare up. The sooner you learn to embrace it, the easier it will be for you to manage living with psoriasis.”
This condition can be very detrimental for one’s self-esteem. However this month helps individuals who suffer from the disease know that they are not alone and there are millions who are going through the same thing. Education on the disease can help you understand ways that you could support the community and can also help psoriasis patients understand how to live with the condition.