I don't talk about the fact that I have psoriasis very often. I've had it for so long that it is just part of who I am. I was only a young child in grade three when I was diagnosed. I have now lived with psoriasis for 38 years.
Not that I remember this but one day when I was still in primary school, probably not long after I was diagnosed, I came home crying my eyes out. Apparently the school didn't want me there because of my skin being the way it was. My Dad, who is my hero, went to the school and basically told them off for making me feel so miserable. My sister, Julie, told me that this happened. I have absolutely no recollection of it at all. I guess ignorance about psoriasis showed its ugly head and sadly still does.
Here are some facts about psoriasis that you may not know.
- it is NOT contagious. You will NOT catch it by being near someone who has it.
- psoriasis is an auto-immune disease
- there is NO cure. If you hear someone say that they have a cure for it they are fibbing. You cannot cure psoriasis but it can go into remission
- between 1 - 3 % of the Australian population has psoriasis and as many as 7 million in the US have it.
- Psoriasis can occur on any part of the body and is associated with other serious health conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease and depression.
- treatments: what works for one person may not work as well for another.
Here are some links that are useful if you have psoriasis or know someone with this condition or just want to learn a little more about it:
http://www.psoriasis.org/
http://www.psoriasis-help.org.uk/
https://www.psoriasis-association.org.uk/
http://lifewithpsoriasis.com.au/
If you have psoriasis you are NOT alone. If you need someone to talk about it feel free to contact me (bloss90 at gmail dot com). I am more than happy to chat with you about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment