Me and psoriasis, not Psoriasis and me

UK based normal-ton suffering with psoriasis. Hi! I’m Ailie, its like “Hayley” but without the H. I was ten years old when I first got psoriasis and now, as a twenty-something year old, I thought it useful to document my experience of living with psoriasis. In the last few years, I’ve had two friends reach out to me after they have experienced a break out of psoriasis asking for tips on what works. This is my journal, my memories, my experience. This is how I got through and how I am getting through living with the disease. These are my dark days and my clear days. I am in no way a writer and definitely not a medical professional, I’m not telling anyone what they should be doing as we are all different. I’m just here to share and to take on suggestion.

[ailiebailey]

My least favourite place for a flare up but got to stay positive and not let it beat me. I am still strong and beautiful even with patchy, red skin.

[ailiebailey]

Splish splash I was taking a bath

And I take a LOT of them. Probably have one a week.

They’re like a 2 in 1. Not only does it de-stress (which we all know helps my psoriasis) but it totally nourishes my skin in a way nothing else does. So when my skin is getting on top of me and I feel like the psoriasis is taking over, I just run the taps and I know when I get out it’ll all be better.

But what to put in the bath? I’d love to jazz it up with a funky rainbow bath bomb however that’ll give me an itch in more ways than one lol!

I’ve gradually started to create my concoction of a “bath bomb”:

I started with porridge oats. A man I met in work approached me and pointed out my skin. He told me he suffered from eczema and he swore by porridge oat baths. And it totally made sense because there are oats in the Aveeno moisturiser. So I fill my Nutri-Bullet with oats and ziz them to a powder so it mixes better with the bath water.

My next ingredient was something my mum used to always put in my bath as a child and I added it to my perfect bath recipe after reading up on it. Lavender oil. That powerful little bottle of oil is anti fungal, anti inflammatory and is full of antioxidants. So a psoriasis sufferer’s best friend for helping with those pesky, red blotches.

Last ingredient I use is the newest. I received a small bottle of Black Seed Oil from Santa this year from Christmas. He’d obviously done his research on its benefits for psoriasis. I wasn’t quite sure how to use it, my mum swears by it for her hair. But what about for skin? Do I rub it on the effected area? Do I take it orally? I tried both and didn’t see much of a difference after a week. But as I took my next bath and poured the lavender oil in, I thought about adding the Black Seed Oil as well and what a difference!

My skin feels silky smooth when I get out. I moisturise straight away and I can see it already starting to disappear on the difficult areas (elbows and knees). The red is deflating and slowly turning to white.

I swear by my baths and my bath potion to help when I feel like it’s getting on top of me. But I’m open to suggestions so if you’ve tried something in your bath that you swear by, then please comment or drop me a message. I’d love to try!

[ailiebailey]

Dressed with stress

Stress effects everyone. Of course.

For some their weight fluctuates, for others their sleeping pattern. For me, my skin. Stress plays a massive part on how my skin is feeling.

The funny thing is, I don’t normally recognise that I’m stressed until my psoriasis starts exploding all over my skin and then I think “OH YEAH! It has been quite stressful this week”. At this point if I have a breather or book some annual leave it will eventually calm down.

But for someone who works for the emergency services where anything can happen, stress is an obvious part of your life. You always need to be high energy and it constantly demands your attention and emotion. Where your actions have real and sometimes serious effects on other people’s lives. On top of that is the stress of working a different shift pattern from everyone else in your life and trying to balance a normal home and work life.

So I would say I’m stressed more often than not. Also, being a natural worrier doesn’t help. And then when you’re stressed and your skin is playing up, annoyingly it stresses my stress. And before I know it, I’m covered – great!

I just need to remember to sleep enough during the working week and when I am off to make the most of it and enjoy some good old R&R.

Moral of the story: calm me, calm skin.

[ailiebailey]

Sticks and stones will... give me psoriasis

So a few weeks ago I cut my legs shaving around the ankle (but we all know it’s a tricky spot!) AS I was throwing tissues at it, another thought popped into my head “OFFS, that’ll be another patch of psoriasis”. I knew that after the skin heals, for some unknown reason the skin would turn into scales. Lo and behold, a few days after the scab disappeared, a new type of scab appeared.

This is something I’ve noticed over the years, if my skin experiences any form of trauma, part of the healing process is that it turns into psoriasis. As if getting hurt isn’t painful enough!

And its not just cuts and scrapes to the skin. Any form of rubbing or friction causes an outbreak. I currently have a small spot of psoriasis next to my belly button from the waistline (or maybe button) of my jeans.

For years I’ve had constant red marks from the underwiring and straps of my bra. I’d love to opt out of wearing a brassier, however with a large and FFabulous bust, it is unfortunately not an option.

Spots are annoying for most people. But can you imagine having a spot, it finally going away and a few days later a big scabby patch appears worse than the original cause?

Any form of skin problem for me will lead to psoriasis. Ingrown hair- oh let’s turn that into psoriasis. Irritating rash – now deal with psoriasis. Little blackhead- not without psoriasis.

I have a constant patch on my inner elbow from getting bloods taken or when I go and donate blood. Even why I try and do a nice thing my body punishes me.

Moral of the story? Don’t get hurt and it won’t hurt you.

[ailiebailey]

Sniff sniff cough cough

So this week I’ve had a dirty, rotten cold. Don’t worry, its not coronavirus. But its bloody annoying because not only does it come with constant coughs and sniffles, it also aggravates my skin. As if you feel rotten enough without looking like a giant scab.

Any attack on my immune system leads to the appearance of dry, red psoriasis. The worst is anything to do with strep throat or infection of the mouth (I have no idea why) but anytime I get an ulcer or cold sore (the little buggers) my psoriasis goes crazy.

But I suppose that’s how it all started with me, I got tonsillitis and then the psoriasis appeared. Ans after doing some research, I’ve discovered this is a common cause of making psoriasis angry.

So, how do you stop yourself getting ill? I suppose by boosting your immune system. Only thing is, I’m dreadful at remembering to take my Vitamin C and Echinacea. Or reducing stress? But when you bring your stress to your attention its quite difficult to stop stressing. And then I stress about being stressed. Big, fat, vicious circle.

In the end, I’ve decided to eat healthy, take my vitamins, exercise and stay happy.

[ailiebailey]

Baby it’s cold outside....

With the temperatures dropping, I thought this a good time to talk about my biggest trigger. The cold weather.

Being a Scottish national and growing up in constant cold , I didn’t realise this was a trigger to flare ups until I moved South where it is considerably warmer most of the year round.

I knew from being on holiday that the sun is a godsend but I didn’t realise that the cold affected my skin so much. Every year about this time, my skin gets considerably worse and the only thing I can seem to do is brace myself and put up with it.

The cold takes the moisture out of your skin, which makes sense in the same way the cold weather chaps your lips. So while most will be smothering their lips in Vaseline, I will be head to toe triple moisturising my skin.

This is not the only aspect of winter that affects me. The turning on of heaters and radiators which have been sitting all year, collecting dust and the lack of sunlight are all contributing factors as to why winter is the worst time of year for psoriasis sufferers.

So at a time of year that most look forward to, when they can get the jumpers out and start looking forward to Christmas, I’m dreading it because I know I’ll look like a pork scratching.

I guess all I can do is wait until I retire in the Bahamas and don’t have to think about Jack Frost nipping at my nose.

[ailiebailey]

Keep Calm and Moisturise Daily

Well, twice a day for me actually.

But where to start with what to use. I have tried so many moisturisers over the years and now I flip between two that work for me. With my skin, I find that something will work really well for a year or so and then my psoriasis decides its going to become immune to what’s working and I need to change it up again. Its rather irritating when you’re finally in a good place with your skin and then your body relapses.

So, when I was first diagnosed with psoriasis, I was prescribed Double Base Gel. I used it for years! Its a super sticky, weird smelling moisturiser but it does the job and is super hydrating. I’d always have to put it on half an hour before putting my school uniform on because it was so greasy, but makes a really good evening moisturiser before bed. Then my skin decided it didn’t like Double Base anymore and I had to move onto something else.

Next was Zerobase… similar in the sense that it has that clinical smell when you put it on but it soon goes away (or I’m nose blind to horrible smelling creams!). Much thicker emollient and more of a cream consistency. Again, worked for a while and then my body decided it wasn’t for me.

Then Aveeno came out, initially advertised by Jennifer Aniston and watching the ad I thought “great, another moisturiser that will irritate my skin”. But after speaking to a few other psoriasis sufferers, they had been recommended Aveeno by their doctor as a daily moisturiser so I thought I’d give it a go. Aveeno Skin Relief Moisturising Lotion (the one with the dark blue label) its still a thick consistency so feels a lot better than most high street moisturisers. It doesn’t smell too bad so you can lamp it on and you won’t smell like a hospital.

At this point I didn’t want a repeat of last time so I needed to find another moisturiser to circulate with the Aveeno so my body doesn’t reject another cream. My mum had heard about O’Keeffe’s Skin Repair and bought me a bottle to try out. Thinner consistency than the others and has a weird smell of PVA glue (lol) but is so deeply moisturising and seems to do the trick. Only problem with this one is the price… it is a lot more expensive than the others.

And those are the ghosts of moisturisers past. I’m sure there’s been many more that I’ve flirted with but I can’t remember so they’re obviously not worth noting. I would recommend any of the above as a daily moisturiser, I’m not sure what you can get on prescription so maybe best to check with your doctor.

In terms of times to moisturise, I normally do when I get out the shower and before I go to bed. If I’m getting out the shower, I make sure my skin is still a little wet so there is moisture under the cream to lock in. I know, it’s such a chore, especially in the winter when you get out the warm shower and you just want to shove your clothes on and get all cosy. I know though, if I miss a day of moisturising I can feel it in my skin; it goes all tight like at the beginning of a flare up.

This is my experience with those different moisturisers, as I say everyone is different so they may not work with you. But moisturising is the main crux of this, I don’t care what you use just moisturise, moisturise, moisturise.

[ailiebailey]

Baring All...

I’ve had a strange old week.

I was recommended by my brother to get in touch with a woman he knew who was doing a campaign for National Psoriasis Awareness Day, she was looking for people with psoriasis living in London. After reaching out, wanting to help she came back to me and said it would involve an interview and some photos being taken. This got me thinking, what do I talk about when it comes to the journey with my skin!

I was no longer needed to help with the campaign but it still got me thinking. I’ve suffered with psoriasis for well over 15 years now and I have never felt more confident than I have now so maybe it is my turn to speak up about it because this certainly hasn’t always been the case!

Two days later I received a message from one of my closest friends who suffers from Inflammatory Bowel Disease, telling me it has caused her to develop a skin condition that the doctor thinks could be psoriasis. She was asking what products I used and if I had any tips.

This must be a sign! Obviously my skin is always there but it never comes up THIS much in conversation (at least to my face anyway lol).

So I sat down at my laptop and started to think about where to start. Suppose a good place to start is with what psoriasis actually is. I’m no doctor but the basics are that it is a non-contagious, chronic condition that affects the skins cells, causing them to grow faster than normal skin. It looks like raised, red patches on the skin and can cause the skin to flake or scale.

All in all, its pretty embarrassing and very obvious. So when you’re trying to make a great first impression and your covered in red and your skin is falling off, its very hard try and love the person on the inside when you hate the outside.

I’ll be covering every aspect of how I have been affected with living with psoriasis, from treatments that I’ve tried to how it has affected my mental health.

As I said before, I’m not very good with words – definitely not a writer. I have no medical knowledge, everything I write about is from my experience and what works for me might not work for someone else. Everyone is different. And I’d love to hear from other people what works from them, send me your suggestions and I’ll give them a try.

Most of my life has been controlled by my psoriasis but I won’t let it change me.