Itchy, flaky scalp with scabs? You may have psoriasis (My Experience of Psoriasis)

Member Name: meumeu77

Product:	My Experience of Psoriasis
Date:	04/12/08 (863 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: It forces you to realise that you're stressed and need to sort it out

Disadvantages: Itchy, unsightly, upsetting, can lower your confidence, no real cure

I did not know what psoriasis was until I started suffering from it a few years ago now.

When I was 16, one of my classmates was doing my hair during break time and remarked out loud that I had a big dandruff problem as she peeled off flakes as big as a 5 p coin from my scalp. Needless to say I was very embarrassed as I was not even aware of it before she pointed it out.
As days went by, my scalp became more irritated and felt hot too. It was also covered in red patches. Although I tried not to scratch my scalp, I noticed I had scabs which just appeared for no apparent reason.

My mom decided to take me to a specialist who prescribed me some kind of special shampoo but told me that there was no real cure for psoriasis. So this is how I found out about psoriasis.

I was very upset about what the specialist said as he did not seem to care much and I felt very distressed at first. I tried the shampoo but it made my scalp very greasy and only helped relieve the itching to a certain extent.

Later on I just accepted psoriasis was part of me. The specialist had said that sun exposure would help temporarily but that symptoms would reappear come winter season so I was fine in the summer only.

After about 4 years, my mom took me to this "healer" and amazingly I didn't experience psoriasis again for several years. He told me stress had triggered psoriasis and when I look back I do believe he was right. I had experienced a big emotional shock just before having psoriasis.

But since then, I'm afraid it has come back and I feel it's a way for my body to say "Help, I'm stressed". So I tend not to worry too much about it. I use mild shampoos and try to see how I can lower my stress levels. I now experience psoriasis on my scalp about 2 to 4 times a year and have come to accept it but it can be upsetting at times. However I know my case is not that bad compared to other cases and I consider myself lucky the psoriasis has never spread further than my scalp.

Summary: Physically and mentally irritating