Your stories

I was 13 when diagnosed with psoriasis i am 17 currently. It all started when I had bad acne and was taking a tablet to dry them out, I found a small patch of dry skin thinking it was caused by the tablets and within two weeks my whole face was covered! Going to school was hard as I tried covering it up with makeup and had a bad habit of scrubbing my skin as I didn’t know what it was at this point. Boys at my school would ask why my face was peeling and I would feel incredibly self conscious. I got to such a low point that I didn’t want to go out and I was crying all the time. When I finally got a hospital appointment with a dermatologist (for acne) and got diagnosed I was so glad to be getting it sorted. I was perscribed steroid creams for my body and had phototherapy for 2 months and all seemed to clear up! Only recently has it started to come back on my face, behind my ears and in my hair again and I feel that this has been triggered by anxiety and stress which is out of my control and feel like nothing is really working for me anymore. When I was 13 I used steroid creams on my face as I wasn’t told I couldn’t but now I know I try not to go near them with my face. Just knowing that other people know what it’s like to not feel confident in your own skin is so much easier to deal with :) my boyfriend and Mum are very supportive and tell me not to worry because I only have a small amount at this moment in time, but I think I’m more worried about it getting as bad as it was when I was 13.

Hi. I was 11 when I first got diagnosed with Psoriasis. Since, I have been using different creams on my head and on the patches on my body. Recently I have discovered that staying in the sun as much as possible helps it. But, if your Psoriasis goes in the sun, it may come back in the wintertime and Autumny weathers. Also, if you have not been prescribed any shampoo’s, I really recommend using T-Gel. I shower with it every morning before school to make sure I have worn down the dead-skin for the day. In my first year of secondary school, I got questioned by a lot of people. Then, I only had small patches on my forehead and had it all over my scalp. I was bullied for having it on my forehead and often called gross by others for having bits of dead-skin all in my hair. I went through tough times and really getting down when it flaired up in places. Luckily, my friends are really understanding about it and look out for me. They totally understand what I am going through as I have explained to them in detail what it is and what I can do to help it. In school if they see bits of dead-skin in my hair they will pick it out for me, making sure I don’t get too self conscious about it. Make sure you explain to someone you trust and who is understanding about what you’re going through. You don’t deserve to be going through having Psoriasis alone. Having someone beside you helps a whole lot on your stress levels. I hope my story has helped anyone.