Embarrassing Illnesses

I have only had Psoriasis this year, I am thankful that my case is only mild, It covers the bottom of my face and I have recently started to develop it on my back.

I am the only one in my family to have gotten it so I don't understand how it could be genetic, I feel like no one understands and when I ask for help in what to do about it they kind of brush it aside, It is painful, ichy and as if I didn't have lowselfesteem already, it has completely ruined my time that I spend with my Boyfriend, I won't even let him touch me. It Keeps me from sleeping half of the time because it is so itchy.
I know that it could be alot worse I just don't know what to do first.

I was diagnosed with psoriasis approx 5 years ago. I am 22 now & it covers my scalp, elbows & legs. After trying pretty much every cream out there (and wasting so much money on presciptions that didn't work), I now only use moisturisers. They don't really help with the redness, but the scaliness is reduced & I feel much more comfortable during the day.
In the past, I have let the condition ruin my relationships & get in the way of socialising. It still gets me down but fortunately my partner & family are very supportive & always put a smile back on my face. It's important to remember the person that you are & to not let psoriasis hold you back from anything.

I am currently suffering from my second attack of guttate psoriasis. I had the first attack over 20 years ago after having glandular fever and it took several months of treatment to clear up. I have never been ill since until four week ago when i got tonsellitis. Sure enough, i am now covered in little red dots which are getting bigger. I went straight to my doctor, who in spite of my medical history, told me that the dots were not guttate psoriasis but something called halo spots and there was no known cause or cure. However, i have ignored his advice, am going on the sunbed and putting Dovobet on the dots. I have also started following a healthy diet to try and get my immune system back up and running. I have a new partner and am finding it hard to show him my body. My doctor had no time for me and was not interested in the emotional effects. In fact he said, what are you crying for, you cant see them with your clothes on, assuming that now i am over 40, noone would want to see me with my clothes off. It is a very underrated illness. The only advice I can give is to try and stay positive and be as healthy and happy as you can.

my mum has an ulesrs on her leg and they are really sore . It looks like big holes in her legs.She has been to the doctors and they have do loads of thing. Its not getting better what wounld you think i can do?

hi, i've had this confident destroying disease for 8 years, i ve had it on most of my body but over the years and various treatments i now only have it on my legs and lower back. some of the places which i did have it are scared from me scratching it. every year i have a hot sunny holiday and it tends to feel and look better, but a few months back and its back to square one. my gp had no idea what to do, looked it up in a book, my last visit he did not even have a look, just signed me off another prescription. im determined to beat this thing, i like wearing shorts to much, they can stare but they wont bring me down.

Hi I also have suffered from psoriasis from around 13 years old I am 23 now. From experience the only cream ive found thats worked for me personally is Dovobet all the others just seemed to do nothing.
I have also had the Ultra violet treatment which had minimal effect.
I also suffer from kobleus phenomenon which means whenever I break the skin it reappears as psoriasis after healing.
The best thing without a doubt is 2 weeks in the sun and sea in a hot country where you can relax I can highly recommend both greece and egypt.

It's definately worth it.
Don't let it effect your social life or confidence I have visible psoriasis on my arms which is quite bad and sometimes small bits on my face isn't as bad as it sounds. Just bare all because the more you cover it up the less chance you have of it getting the sunlight.
Psoriasis isn't very aesthetically pleasing to the eye but that's just the world we live in today where you get judged on appearance. If people ask you tell them its psoriasis its not contagious and its not your fault.
May i also recommend not smoking as I can guarantee it will make things worse.

9/10 people i have had ask me about it have heard of it or at least heard of eczema.

Hope this helps fellow sufferers!!

I'm now 34 and only had psorasis for the past 4 years but it has affected my life severely. I am the only one in a large family that has it and don't feel that anyone else understands what I'm going through, I've tried allsorts of creams that haven't worked and it has gradually got worse. It is on now my feet, legs, groin area, hands, elbows, belly button, base of back and behind my ears. My long term girlfriend left me and my self esteem is really low and I don't want to participate in any activity that involves me revealling my body. I would really like to find a way to help myself so that I can try and lead a normal life so any information would be greatfull.

i have had psoriasis on my scalp for a year now, it started off like a little scab at the back of my head then spread covering the left side of my head. recently there has been a few tiny paches on my back. i cant help but pick at it especially when the skin starts to thicken. i try and hide it from people so they dont see it, when it gets itchy i hate wearing black tops because the flakes show on my shoulders. i have tried ointments but this only reduces it and it wont go away. i feel really selfconscious and dont know what else to do.

I have suffered from psoriasis nearly all my life and I am now ninteen. I just want to respond to Jack's comment, I know exactly how you feel. When I was at school I was called names about my psoriais and was always scared someone would see it when I had an outbreak and because of your age, your peers won't fully understand what it feels like to have psoriasis. My psoriais was really bad when I was in secondary school, I was scared to get changed for pe and always had to make excuses to my teachers why I wasn't participating in swimming lessons. The advice I can say to you is just be strong, being a teenager with psoriasis is really tough. But just be optimistic because there are really good treatments out there that can help to control it. My skin has come on leaps and bounds over the past few years with the use of creams. Also, from my experience, getting upset and stressed about your psoriasis will make you have a flare up. I am really lucky now, my friends and family are really supportive and know what I am and had to go through. And I have a really supportive boyfriend who fully understands too. You just need to keep your head up and work with your GP on treatment that is best for you and don't let this horrible disease ruin you! And I also agree that GP's should also help or give advice with the psychological impacts of psoriasis because I sure could have done with the support throughout secondary school.

I’ve suffered from psoriasis since I was 12 with some small patches on my elbows and Knees, scalp which was bad enough, although Xamiol Gel cleared my all my scalp up its new product which was only released this Year my LEO pharmaceuticals. Ask your doctor for the gel and the likely hood is there probably never heard of it because it’s so new but it should be on their systems if they type the name of the product in. The gel is odourless and you apply it on a night for 7 days and wash it out on a morning.
But recently I have developed Guttate psoriasis which has is rather wide spread across my body and I am currently receiving light treatment for it. Although I understand the disease and its side effects and there is no apparent cure. But what I don’t understand is the lack of support from GPs who don’t fully understand the emotional effects of the disease they seem to use trial and error methods for the treatment, as some of the creams that they prescribe my cause the psoriasis to become inflamed even more. I feel my psoriasis is my cancer its stopping me from living the life that I want to live. And more research needs to be done for people that are suffering.