Please help me feel less upset about DD psoriasis

[MrPianoManPlayUsASong]

I'm pretty sure DD, at nearly 10, has just developed psoriasis. Seeing GP this week.

I'm gutted for her, really gutted. Also catastrophising about what this means.

Please can someone tell me (kindly) I need to pull myself together and deal with this positively, tell me there are decent treatments and no need to despair. Please no horror stories - can't take it right now.

Sorry for being a bit pathetic, and thanks in advance.

I’ve had psoriasis since I was 15. It’s quite well spread but very well managed. There are several treatments available.

It’s never bothered me particularly- the only thing that upsets me is how much it clearly bothers my family. I was also not taken to the gp until it had gotten much worse so it’s great that you are taking her now.

It’s honestly quite manageable - I’ve never been hospitalised with it or anything like that. Sunshine is so good for it. I find cold really affects me and certain fabrics irritate my skin but these are things that are easily overcome.

Can I ask, why are you gutted for her? As someone with psoriasis I genuinely struggle with why others find my skin so distressing to look at.

(Sorry, I mean this kindly!)

Honestly, I developed psoriasis in my early teens. It was quite severe at first and a pain in the arse... then it was gone after a couple of years. I’ve had occasional flare ups, little patches here and there, usually on my scalp. Then gone again. It’s not in any way a problem.

Of course it can be long lasting and painful but that’s not necessarily the case. I really would not worry about it unduly, especially when you don’t know how well it will respond to treatments yet.

I have mild case. I get flare ups when I'm run down or stressed.

I dont care if people dont like the look of it.

My friend has had it for years and is far worse than mine. Received lots of UV treatment etc and had it all over their body. Much better now but still noticable.

Dont attach shame or pity. Teach confidence in her skin.

I’ve had psoriasis since I was eight. It has presented some challenges, but I’ve also had success with some medications and long periods of remission. I’ve had a flare up recently after having a baby, but I’ve been having light therapy treatment for the past couple of months with excellent results.

Although I live in the U.K., I’m American and my dad has told me that there are some new treatments available over there that are extremely effective. I imagine it will only be a matter of time before they are more widely available here. It could be that managing her psoriasis is much more straightforward in the future.

Psoriasis is a nuisance, but I’ve always managed to find ways to work around it. I hope she can find a treatment that works well for her. Remind her that she’s beautiful regardless.

Can I ask, why are you gutted for her? As someone with psoriasis I genuinely struggle with why others find my skin so distressing to look at.

It's not about how other people view the psoriasis though, it's about how it affects OPDD.

You are lucky if the worst effect of your psoriasis is how other people look at you.

@rainbowconfetti it’s not - by far. But op asked for no horror stories. My point is is that she needs to be careful to not let her feelings about it affect her daughter.

Sorry, feeling rather sensitive about mine this evening

As am I @rainbowconfetti, sorry. Think tone is hard to convey online sometimes! This thread has obviously hit a personal note me.

OP I hope the gp appt goes well. Let us know how your daughter gets on x

Please don’t be gutted for her. How old is she? I have psoriasis all over my body and as a teen it was pretty visible. I have to put a bit of time into controlling it now, and it’s still visible but I’m confident, successful and dare I say attractive. A family member in comparison had psoriasis on her fingernails and really struggled with this and I felt a bit sorry for her. Life is so much easier when you are resilient and confident.

Oh thank you all so much X

I will reply more fully in the morning. And I will update after the doc appt. Pretty sure it's going to be that - looks pretty text book. But in any case, I'll let you know. Thank you all again. I'll be careful to be more relaxed about it with her. I FEEL more relaxed now.

To answer briefly from above - I don't find psoriasis in itself difficult to look at at all. I just imagined DD's future pain and distress and difficult teenage years, and I panicked. But I am going to chill the out and deal with it day by day. Right now, it's a few patches. I will deal with that as it is, and get on with having fun with DD.

You're all brilliant, and this has given me a well needed gentle slap.

Our 24 yr old has had it since puberty, our 7 year old for a year. They are perceived as smart, pretty and happy girls. It’s a small part of them. Creams are annoying, you wouldn’t pick it. Puberty was challenging with light therapy, but I wouldn’t say it’s shaped them or really been who they are in any way. They are certainly bright happy girls, it’s an annoyance only

Feel free to be gutted, it can be shit. However, I have it and manage it through diet.

Firstly avoid all processed food, take a decent probiotic, keep skin well moisturised and manage stress and stay on top of dental health. If you take a look at john paganos work and absorb it, you'll be doing great. There's also a Facebook group called. Psoriasis Buddies which advocates a clean eating diet, I imagine that at 10, with you fully in control of budgets and food, you're in a v good place to manage this.

I have it, I eat clean, it doesnt bother me much now.. Diet definitely made it much better.

I do t find it a major inconvenience. Of all the possible conditions your daughter could have, psoriasis is no buggy. Count your blessings.

*DONT

I developed psoriasis when I was 14. I'm 47 now and have guttate and plaque and have had it all my life. It's come and gone in various phases but I've never totally clear of any. I've just got over a terrible flare up that lasted about a year.
It's never stopped me from doing anything. As a teen I was popular, and dare I say it even attractive! I had boyfriends etc.

My dd is 15. She developed guttate psoriasis when she was 6. It was appalling. I didn't cope very well at the time. It took 12 months of various treatments before she was given UV light treatment at the hospital 3 times a week for around 8 weeks. It cleared completely apart from one or two tiny spots.
Dd carried on like that for years. She avoided certain shampoos, never used soap or bubble bath, was strict with moisturiser. Then last year she had another flare up. Not as bad as when she was 6 but pretty noticeable. The hospital offered her direct access again to light treatment but she decided to decline this time - saying she wanted to keep the option of further light treatment 'in the bank' for the future. She's carried on with creams etc and it's slowly on the wane again.

I say all this to reassure you. Dd doesn't seem bothered about her psoriasis. In fact she openly talks to anyone about it (and not only do people hardly ever ask but many hardly ever notice). She views it as a part of her, something that makes her a bit different. She gets more anxious about how big her bum is/isn't than her skin to be honest!

There will be many times in your DD's life when her skin is looking good, other times she will get through and manage. She'll be fine! There's lots of hope out there.

THANK YOU all again.

Please could I ask - does everyone get a dermatology referral for psoriasis, or can GPs prescribe the main treatments?

It’s probably gp for now, and if the treatments aren’t effective could ask for a dermatologist referral. I expect a dermatologist would be needed for light treatments, the stronger stuff and biological but there’s a good chance she never needs these.

I got referred to dermatology for diagnosis. I always wonder if that was strange, at the time I just had 2 small patches on my elbows.

Mines was from the GP. My friend had to see a specialist.

It took a while to get referred properly for us.

GP tried loads of different things, nothing helped. My dd got referred on to a dermatology nurse who was very good and more knowledgable than the GP, however when she saw that nothing was working and dd was actually in pain she referred us on to the senior dermatologist. SD took one look at Dd and had her in fir Light treatment within the week.

Now whenever she's had a flare we seem to have direct access to light treatment and only wait a few weeks to see a dermatologist. We have a direct line to her secretary. For us, once we were in - we're still in!

You might find the www.psoriasis-association.org.uk/ useful. My psoriasis has ranged from a very minor thing, to a huge problem; the association has been a really useful resource, especially reading about other people's experiences. Treatments aren't always great (messy, not always that useful), but there are options and 'biologics' especially are a game-changer for many people.

I'd wait until you get a diagnosis though. I've seen even dermatologists confuse other conditions for psoriasis, so it could well be something else.

Thank you again, all. I'd like to name-check everyone who's commented, as it's all been so useful, but not sure that's the done thing?!

I'm resisting looking too much up online as some of the info is quite scary-sounding, but it's good to know support is there if needed.
And hearing from people with/whose children have psoriasis in a non-alarmist way is great.

Will probably be back again if - as I think highly likely - GP agrees that's what it is.

Thank you all again, sorry for everyone's difficult skin experiences, and hope all is well at present.

I have severe psoriasis and am now on medication (a biologic) for it and it's been a lifesaver... I have gone from being sore and miserable and bleeding constantly to nothing. It's not been a easy ride with medication but once you find what works it works

It's not fun and she will need to start a decent course of moisturising but with a decent dermatologist they can sort your right out.