My Living With Psoriasis Blog

Being contacted by the British Skin Foundation was a compliment but being e-mailed by someone to be a part in their documentary about the effects of Psoriasis is more than I could have asked for. I have never really been one of those people who enjoys their photo being taken (unless it is by myself so if it looks hideous it can easily be deleted and unseen by anyone), let alone being videoed talking openly about something which I don’t even like to think about. BUT I started this blog for a reason and to have other people contact me to help them raise awareness of psoriasis is not something which I can turn a blind eye to. Hayley Arnold  is a final year university student and has taken it upon herself to create a documentary dedicated to psoriasis as she comes from a family who knows and understands the detrimental effect that it can have. I think that this is a really honourable thing to do and could never imagine saying no to a project as special as this.  If anyone wou

I’m not a massive bath person but recently I’ve been trying to bath more than I shower so that I can put oats into the bath. Oats are brilliant for your skin and since I have been doing it my skin has actually felt softer and my psoriasis seems to lack in the ‘flakes’ that form on top of the patches. I never used to want to have baths as I was told that it is not good for your psoriasis and that it was best to have luke warm showers that dont last long.  It is really simple: get a pair of tights, put oats into one of the legs, tie it up, cut it away from the rest of the tights and let it soak into the bath water, giving it a squeeze every now and then to let the juices out. It genuinely takes less than 30 seconds to prepare and is worth it if you are a bath person!! If you are like me and prefer showers, after you see the effect it has on your skin, you will probably want to bath more as well! I'm not saying that putting oats into the bath is the cure for psoriasi

I had a reply today from someone who also has psoriasis on one of my blog entries. This is exciting as when people comment back to me and tell me about their experiences it really encourages me too keep putting this blog up!!  He said that nearly two years ago he stopped using steroid creams and went for natural remedies for psoriasis and through doing this he has seen great improvement and may even be clear from psoriasis by Christmas.  His wonderful advice was to take:  3x Cod Liver Oil Capsules and 3x Evening Primrose Capsules a day. Take one of each with meals and drink plenty of water. He also advises to use aqueous cream on the affected areas. Even though he said it took about a month to see the first sign of improvements, it was well worth it as doing it this way has changed his life!  If this helps internally, even though it may be a life-long commitment to make, it is surely worth ago! I know that I will be stocking up on these and seeing if it makes any diffe

When you don’t have to put on make-up, don’t! Let your skin breath as much as possible. This is especially important if you have psoriasis on your face (like me).  When you are not going anywhere, let your hair dry naturally, blow drying your hair will dry out your scalp more. When brushing your hair try not to press to hard into the scalp as it will loosen the flakes of skin, also, where possible avoid going from your roots where your parting is, flakes are easily hidden beneath hair, but when it comes to your parting they are really visible. Always carry around some form of moisturiser in your bag so when you feel conscious of the flakes on your skin, moisturise. Avoid itching and scratching as much as possible. It is literally a testimony to your will power sometimes, but the less you scratch the less the need to scratch spreads. Once you've itched in once place, it spreads like wild-fire. Just distract yourself and the need goes away. If you itch and s

On my hunting for information on psoriasis I came across a site called  "Papaa"  which stands for The Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Alliance.  So I had a little nosey around and found that they had some leaflets which you are able to download. The main one that caught my eye was the psychological aspects one. I know from having the condition that it can make you depressed and self conscious but seeing it written down really puts into focus how much of a negative affect it has.  I can't say that the information in the leaflet is wrong, but i wanted it to be as seeing in black and white really brings home the way that myself and others may all be feeling. It just encourages me to keep up with this site and reach others to try and help!  If you want to give it, and other leaflets, a read then the link is... http://www.papaa.org/resources/downloads It has some helpful relaxation techniques that might help in situations where you feel rather over-

So after posting a blog on Health Unlocked: British Skin Foundation yesterday they got back to my post and asked me to become a case study for them. If you'd like to see our conversation. Click here. This is exactly the kind of thing that I want to get involved in. It would be amazing to talk to others who also suffer from psoriasis!! So i sent off the form and will just have to wait and see what they say back to me :D If anyone else out there would like to be a case study and give themselves a voice the link to the form is: http://www.britishskinfoundation.org.uk/Getinvolved/Shareyourstory.aspx I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous, I am pretty nervous talking to anyone about the condition as I never really have before. I really don’t want to be trapped inside a room of self-conscious anymore and think that this would be a brilliant start to break out!! Fingers Crossed for their reply

This treatment basically involved standing in an up-right sun bed and being subjected to UVB rays for a period of time which is increased as the sessions go on. The period of time which you start at is depicted from the test done to acquire what your skins sensitivity is. This is often done by strip placed onto your forearm that contains circles with different light intensities; they're held onto the skin and then left to develop over a day or so. The one which doesn’t leave a red mark on your skin is then calculated (somehow) to decide how long you start off inside the “sun bed”. When I was still at secondary school, in years 10, 11 and 12 I used to have UVB treatment. Can’t say that I was ever really a fan of it, but in the winter when my skin was worse due to the cold weather, I used to want to go. It was a lot of hassle, for not a lot of benefit. I used to have to go 3 times a week and the sessions I used to start with (as I have sensitive, pale skin) used t

I am new to blogging but a veteran with psoriasis. My sister was the one who encouraged me to start a blog with the hope that I will stop letting psoriasis rule my life and so that I could help others who have psoriasis. So with a shove from the right person, in the right direction, here I am – a blogger. A little bit about me: I have lived with psoriasis since I can remember and I am now 21, and still living with it. Psoriasis has affected my life greatly but I don’t want to be a ‘sufferer’ anymore and because my symptoms are the worst that they have ever been and my confidence levels are at an all time low I want to overcome my psoriasis and be proud of myself for doing so and stop hiding it away hoping that it will go away. I don’t actually know anyone else who has psoriasis, and this affects my ability to talk about it with someone, or in fact anyone who understands how it can make someone feel. I therefore hope to connect with those people via this blog!! My m