Psoriasis : Things People Say

Things people say about my psoriasis: 

Some helpful, some not so helpful. 

 

• Are you Stressed? 
• What's happened to your nose?
• I have this cream, trust me it will work.
• Have you tried [insert random vegetable / fruit ] face mask.
• Are you allergic to something?
• Change your washing powder.
• Change you pillow.
• Wash your bed sheets at over 80 degrees to get rid of the bugs.
• Treat your mattress with a special UV Hoover lamp. (Hoover lamp was left with me to try it out.)
• You have to tried Hijama / cupping. 
• Is it related to your hormones? Go back on the pill. 

More about my psoriasis story here

I'm still considering the hijama, I also think the pill is likely to help. I didn't change my pillow but I did wash my sheets at 80 degrees. It's not my washing powder, I'm constantly changing washing powder as my kids both have eczema so I usually go for something that is suitable for their sensitive skin. 

I tried the UV light Hoover once. To be frank, I don't have time for this.

I've never had any skins problems before, So this is all new to me.  I'm becoming self conscious about the flakey skin on my scalp, forehead & nose which everyone can see. I can literally see flakes of skin falling from my forehead during the day. It's been really awkward when having my waxing done or eyebrows threaded, I just imagine that people don't want to touch my horrid skin. 

One day I got talking to a lady who was threading my eyebrows and she told me about her son who had severe exzema until he was about 10. She had tried everything for him. It was so bad that the school would sometimes call her and say his skin was bleeding, causing him pain and he was crying. 

I could completely relate to this as my daughter had awful eczema until she was two. We were at the eczema clinic every other week and would try anything to give her some relief. (Luckily my little one grew out of the worst of it and is left with a mild condition.) 

She told me that she took her son to see a homeopathic doctor after a recommendation from a friend of a friend. 

She told me about the appointment, the medicines she was given and the diet plan she was given for her son. She told me that although they never made a second appointment, they had cleared at least 80% of the problem. 

I left the salon that day with the homeopathic doctors phone number.

To be continued...

Psoriasis : Diagnosis and the doctors who gave up.

I've developed Psoriasis over the past 6 years. Since around the time that I had children. 

It's taken different forms over the years, initially it was small itchy patches all over arms and legs, leaving white patches on my skin. More recently it's been a scaley scalp, small patches all over my body, very flakey and very itchy, sometimes they are bright red and other times they are white and flakey. 

I've been seeing the doctors at my local surgery intermittently over the past 5 or 6 years. Each time I've been prescribed a variant of a cortisone cream. The creams seemed to work for a short time but then after a few weeks, the creams would have no effect.

I started out using a tar based shampoo and then I was prescribed a shampoo which helped for about 6 months. I couldn't believe it! After I got a second prescription of the shampoo, this also had no effect.

On my last visit I was told that there probably wasn't much more we could try and that I would probably have to learn to live with it and manage it the best that I could. 

It's been a couple of months and the condition has only got worse. Not only is it extremely itchy it's embarrassing too. My scalp and face are flaking right in front of everyone's eyes.

The doctors have given up on me. Should I go back and insist on a referral to a dermatologist or is this it for me now?

To be continued