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 Hi! I am the developer of Psoriasis-Aid.com and a psoriasis sufferer for the last 16 years of my life.
Now I am 29 and my psoriasis started when I was 13.
I have been fighting psoriasis ever since it started in my teenage years. During those years I have collected loads of information that helps me battle psoriasis and to keep it under control.
I am happy to share hundreds of pages of unique information on psoriasis, various psoriasis treatments, my thoughts and the thoughts of other psoriasis sufferers with other people here on my website: Psoriasis-Aid.com
In the nearest future I am going to implement a Forum and a Dating Site for people with psoriasis.
I am very eager to find out what you think about this website so don't hesitate and write me if you would like to say something about it. If you have any questions regarding psoriasis I would always be willing to help you shed some light. Please use the contact from on the bottom of this page and drop me a couple of lines, or just use my email:
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How my psoriasis first started
I was just a teenager troubled with all the teenage things when my psoriasis first started. I was nervous, not eating well etc... Just like any other normal teenager.
I remember very well the first time I went to the doctor with "some red spots" on my skin. Funny but the doctor first diagnosed me with some kind of skin parasite (I wish it was a parasite) and prescribed me the "corresponding" ointment.
The ointment of course did not help me and only aggravated the lesions...
The next time I went with my mom to see another dermatologist who looked at me and told my mom the following: "Mom, prepare... Your daughter has psoriasis. A dermatitis that can not be cured... All that we can do is try to keep it under control." It was pretty easy for him to diagnose me as he himself had psoriasis without any visible manifestations though, (well, I did not notice anything on his skin after he told me he had psoriasis too). My mom almost fainted back then. She had all the thoughts and questions like "Why? Where from? How could that be?"
Well anyway, since then I started my battle with psoriasis or should I say my "trying to keep it under control".
I remember how psoriasis had appeared on my hands right on the spots of the scratches from a kitten that I had at the time, as well as, on my ears right after I have pierced them.
I remember one time going to school wearing some very bright beige pants. I was around 15 and I had a few very bad plaques on the back of my legs. I dropped a pen and squatted to pick it up from the floor - that's when one of the plaques on my right leg cracked open (it was very painful) and started bleeding very badly... The blood started showing through my pants so I had to go home.
At some point - I think at the age of about 16 - psoriasis has also moved onto my scalp. If you have psoriasis you know that the scalp is one of the worst locations for psoriasis. Abundant "dandruff", that you are trying to hide and to get rid of, being forced to change your hair style (I really liked my hair up in a knot, and now I only wear my hair straight as you can see by my picture) and constantly looking in the mirror to make sure that there are no flakes on your hair, thinking to yourself - does the person sitting behind you in class or on the bus see the flakes or the lesions etc...
Who else from my relatives?
Well, as far as I could find out, my aunt from the side of my father has psoriasis and my great grandmother also from the side of my father had psoriasis.
What did I try for treating psoriasis?
What did I try? Practically everything of course. Starting with hormonal medicines and then finishing with a couple "healers" that tried to get rid of my psoriasis with the aid of "cosmic energy", with their bio-field etc. Needless to say that it was mostly all in vain and my psoriasis is still here with me.
What did help me: the sun and salty water, the use of UVB lamps (at a dermatology clinic and at home) and eliminating alcohol from my diet.
What did not help me: corticosteroid hormonal creams and PUVA at a psoriasis clinic (I went there twice for 2-3 weeks at the age of 16 and 18 and both times the effect lasted for only about a month), quitting smoking (I managed to quit only for a month so it was not long enough to say anything for sure of course), a "healer" that healed with the use of "cosmic energy" gave no effect, and the "healer" that healed with the use of her own "bio-field" also gave no effect, use of Diprosalic lotion for my scalp psoriasis would only relieve the symptoms for 2-3 days maximum, the use of some vegetable oils on my scalp would also not do much, the Tar shampoo that I heard so much about from other psoriasis sufferers seemed to help for the first day of its use but then it only agitated my psoriasis (Though I believe that it might have been my own fault as I kept it on my head for an hour instead of massaging-rinsing twice); colon hydrotherapy did not help me at all; baths with the salts from the Dead Sea did not help (I guess they only help is on the Dead Sea itself in combination with the sun, natural sea water, air etc.); homeopathy did not help me but I have to admit that I did not give it enough time.
What I did not try yet and want to try: vitamin E in capsules - especially for my scalp (if I can afford that many capsules); relocating to a warmer climate (just a dream really as I think I will just stay where I am); I want to try drinking more of green tea (completely substitute coffee with green tea) as I have read a lot about the antioxidant qualities of the green tea etc.; I would also like to try laser phototherapy as they say its faster and much more effective than UVB; I would also like to go to the Dead Sea as it is so famous for helping people with psoriasis and you can just relax there as nobody will even look at your plaques as probably the majority of the people on their shores have psoriasis!
What I did not try and would not even want to try: I never tried nor would I ever want to try an immunosuppressant like Raptiva and others. f
Raptiva really helps to get rid of psoriasis - for example CariDee English (Cycle 7 winner of America's Next Top Model). Similar to me CariDee suffered from psoriasis for about 15 years and she believed she would never become a model because of her psoriasis. However, after CariDee started to weekly inject Raptiva, she has cleared her skin from the external manifestations of psoriasis. Raptiva does not cure psoriasis of course. Furthermore it suppresses your immune system, and in children it may permanently suppress the immune system with its repeated administration. Due to the suppressed immune system there can develop serious (up to even fatal) infections. Immunosuppressant's also increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer. And in some rare cases Raptiva has been associated with new or worsening cases of psoriasis...
So would I risk my health and immunity in order to get rid of my psoriasis? No. But I believe that every case of psoriasis and every person with psoriasis are unique. The benefits simply should always outweigh the risks - i.e. you want to be a model, or if psoriasis covers most of your body, or if you tried everything and nothing has helped your psoriasis etc. - then of course it is possible to try Raptiva as well.
How it affected my life
Well, the little incident (about the beige pants and the blood from the cracked plaque on them) that I have mentioned earlier was probably one of the smallest inconveniences that psoriasis has brought me.
I could never really force myself to go in for sports (I used to play tennis for about 5 years before psoriasis had started on me) or go to the gym as I was very conscious of getting undressed in front of people. I never really went to the pool except for 1 or 2 times when my psoriasis was not present on my skin temporarily.
I had troubles letting my dates caress me as I did not want him to feel the bumps on my skin. For the same reason I "preferred" sexual encounters in the dark.
Did anyone ever ask me if my psoriasis was contagious? No. Everyone pretty much always knew what psoriasis is or had someone they knew or heard of with psoriasis etc. Even when going to a hairdresser I would not have any problems. Nevertheless I always tried to stick to the same hairdresser instead of going to different ones.
I started to wear predominantly white and beige clothes as they hide the scales that may fall from my scalp and before I used to like colorful clothes - black, red etc.
Of course I often wear cloths with long sleeves and pants instead of shorts in the summer, unless I went for a couple weeks to the sea (like to Greece) or went through a month of UVB treatments prior to the summer.
Right now (November 2008) I have about 20 spots of the size of a 1 cm on my body and one large plaque on my knee. My scalp is covered with psoriasis but I keep the hairline clear with the use of my home UVB brush.
I have 2 spots from each side of my nose which I also "kill" with my UVB brush and several months ago I have developed a spot on my eyebrow which I get rid of the same way.
I have psoriasis on 19 of my nails because when I was about 20 years old I have tried artificial nails - they looked very pretty but they also have provoked psoriasis to start on my nails. I constantly paint my nails with a nail polish so psoriasis on my nails is not visible.
Conclusion
Overall I have to say that I handle my psoriasis much easier and better than when it first started.
I was pretty excited to recently find at least 70 famous people including Ben Franklin, Henry Ford, CariDee English, Amy Winehouse and many others had or have psoriasis.
6 years ago I have met the love of my life who does not care about my psoriasis at all except for that he is hurt when he sees me suffer at times.
I will keep fighting my psoriasis, keep putting my thoughts and different information on psoriasis onto my website and keep expecting for the miracle - the CURE FOR PSORIASIS - to come!
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