Jude Duncan
Influencer
How do you manage a condition that is visible but also invisible; living with symptoms daily, but people only sympathise when they can see it? That’s what it’s like to live with psoriasis.
Psoriasis is a condition that is so used to being characterised by the skin element that when the skin is clear, people struggle to understand that the symptoms, effects and mental toll never leave.
Let’s talk about psoriasis
Psoriasis can be so easily dismissed as just a ‘skin problem’. While, yes, the patches appear on the skin; it isn’t the whole condition. In fact, psoriasis is classified as a chronic, autoimmune condition due to how the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy skin cells, creating the patches. It is important that we break down these misconceptions in order to not only understand the chronic illness better but also the impact that it has on those living with the condition.
The more we raise awareness of our chronic
conditions, the more we can learn to live with
them in society and not have to silently suffer.
Invisible yet itchy condition
While so many parts of psoriasis can be visible, the invisible urge of the itch is, in my opinion, one of the worst parts of the condition. It is something that people who don’t live with the condition don’t seem to realise: my skin is constantly irritated, whether I am covered in psoriasis or clear. In fact, having lived with the condition for 10 years now, I have no recollection of what it feels like to go a whole day without having the urge to scratch and tear at my skin.
The stares are worse after Covid-19
One thing that I have noticed since Covid-19 is that people stare more at the patches on my face. Perhaps wondering if my skin is contagious or not. Perhaps wondering how I could leave the house looking the way I do. It makes the prospect of a flare even worse. So, try not to stare. We understand the curiosity, but we aren’t contagious — we’re just incredibly itchy.
The more we raise awareness of our chronic conditions, the more we can learn to live with them in society and not have to silently suffer.
