psoriasisisfun-blog

[psoriasisisfun-blog]

It’s getting winter. I hate winter.

Actually that’s a lie. I love winter. But guess who loves winter as well? Right, psoriasis. 

And it grows, because sun and UV-rays just are too weak to hold it back. Psoriasis enjoys the cold weather. Psoriasis and me - a complicated relationship. Psoriasis is like a stalker. I think it loves me and its way of telling me I’m beautiful is peeling some of my skin off. I really don’t want that. 

Maybe I should give it a name and act like it’s my friend. But it isn’t. Especially as long as it’s winter. 

I’ve tried all sorts of creams, gels and ointments, all those things my doctor prescribed. I had even changed to gluten-free diet, all those things people recommend. (I stopped living gluten-free when I remembered how heavenly chocolate chip cookies and apple pie are. And how complicated gluten-free is.) Let me tell you this: it doesn’t help. It just doesn’t. 

Summer is like heaven. Salty water, heat, the sun and its UV-rays on the skin. The situation around psoriasis improves. The spots get smaller and they are less likely to become inflamed. Now - BAM - autumn. Cold, rainy weather, barely sun and looooow intensity of UV. While psoriasis had almost left my face during summer, now we go back to scaly skin around the eyes, behind the ears, all over the neck, in tiny spots on the arms and back and of course huuuge spots on the legs. 

Now I have one last advice, which is the only thing that helps me hold the psoriasis around me eyes at bay: Coconut oil. It really is the only thing that helps at least a bit. I recommend it to all those who have psoriasis around the eyes, because it is all natural and therefore doesn’t hurt or damage the eyes. 

And one very last thing for today: You are so unbelievably beautiful.

[psoriasisisfun-blog]

They aren’t just spots...

...they are your self-confidence peeling off your very skin.

Sounds weird? I know, and it is. I suffer from psoriasis, a disease which makes your skin peel off in random spots. It is more common than one would think, but almost no one knows about it. Friends and acquaintances come up to me “Uhm, your skin peels off there..” Oh! It does? Really? Man, I haven’t seen that yet! No, let me tell you - I know! So now I decided to start this blog, to let the whole world know about psoriasis and support my fellow-suffering.

I often hear “It’s just a spot.” or “It’s not that bad” or “I’m sure it will go away!”

It’s not just a spot, it’s psoriasis.

Of course it isn’t that bad, after all it’s not on your face.

And no, it won’t go away, because it is an auto-immune disease. 

In this case, auto-immune disease means: it’s a genetic disease, but usually not hereditary. It’s a malfunction of the immune system where your body thinks that parts of your skin are foreign and therefore rejects them. This leads to extremely dry skin and scaly spots, not only on top of your head.My form of psoriasis only forms small spots - luckily. But psoriasis can also spread over to deeper tissues, organs, bones and joints. This can get dangerous but it rarely happens. 

Another part of auto-immune disease is that they are chronic. They can be suppressed but not healed. 

I want to apologize to all those, who have it worse than I do. I know that you experience situations way harder than mine. But I want to encourage you anyway. 

And now to those who want to tell me that it isn’t bad. I know that (medically) it isn’t that bad. But for years I refused to wear short trousers because that would reveal that my whole lower legs were covered in scaly skin. I almost died during summer. Then, I finally got confident enough not to care about what others think about my legs. Psoriasis realized that, didn’t like it and started to grow around what I have always considered most beautiful about myself -my eyes. So very obvious and difficult to hide. Psoriasis covers half of my lids and the corners. And grows. It becomes inflamed, it’s itchy, it hurts, it bleeds. And make-up? Peels off. Oh, and shaving your legs in summer! It scratches off the scales and then in bleeds. And won’t stop. 

You don’t need to tell me that psoriasis doesn’t make me less beautiful. I know that. But understand that sometimes I don’t feel beautiful.

To all those who suffer with me - tell me you’re there. 

To those who wonder what on earth I am talking about - ask me.