Lisa has had psoriasis for as long as she can remember. She was removed from nursery school at age 3 with suspected chickenpox when patches of psoriasis were first noticed. It was then thought that she had eczema. Lisa was 11 years old when she was diagnosed with having psoriasis; she felt relieved to finally have an explanation for her symptoms. Lisa has guttate psoriasis, which can be bumpy, on the tops of her legs and stomach most of the time. Shaving her legs can be very difficult, as the skin tends to bleed a lot and become very sore, so she prefers to use hair removal creams. Stress is a major trigger for Lisa’s psoriasis. She also knows that injuries to the skin can cause patches to develop. Lisa had heard that diet, especially carbohydrates, can be triggers but has not found this to be the case for her. One thing Lisa finds helpful when her psoriasis is very itchy and inflamed is to make the room she’s in as cool as possible. She finds that skin flaking can be difficult to deal with and she uses a lint roller to remove these from her clothes.

Up to the age of 18, Lisa had tried steroids creams and light therapy for her psoriasis. However, she didn’t find the steroid creams helpful, just very smelly and time-consuming to apply, and her psoriasis returned soon after finishing light therapy. Lisa knew about other treatments from researching online; however, her GP refused to let her try any of these. Even once she had turned 18, Lisa feels she had to struggle to get the treatments that she wanted. She has since had cyclosporine and methotrexate, both immunosuppressant tablets, and Fumaderm. Cyclosporine and her current medication, methotrexate, have worked well. However, Lisa had to stop taking Fumaderm because of side effects, such as hot flushes and headaches. She also struggled remembering to take the Fumaderm tablets, as they had to be spaced throughout the day around mealtimes. Lisa has also asked her doctor about biologic injections but has been told that she’s not yet eligible. Lisa prefers to go to dermatology appointments on her own as she finds it’s less awkward to talk without her parents there.

Lisa says that psoriasis first began to negatively impact her self-confidence around the age of 15. She remembers that her PE school teachers weren’t very understanding and so she would write herself sick notes so that she didn’t have to take part or change in front of the other students. Lisa’s self-confidence was also knocked when she moved abroad for a year, meaning she had to stop treatment, and her psoriasis flared up quite severely. Psoriasis affects Lisa’s clothing choices, as she prefers to cover up and she worries about skin flakes visible on dark fabrics. She avoids wearing foundation as she finds it congeals on the dry skin on her face.

Lisa is part of an online discussion group about psoriasis. She finds it helpful to learn about home remedy treatments, especially when she’s not due to see a dermatologist for some time. Looking online for information about psoriasis has not always been helpful for Lisa though. For example, she remembers seeing gory photographs of severe psoriasis online when she was younger which frightened her. She also used her university library to look up medical research on psoriasis but found it confusing. In terms of emotional support, Lisa says that her boyfriend is very understanding. Lisa knows about psoriatic arthritis, as her dad has this, and she is unsure if this will affect her in the future.

Lisa encourages other young people with psoriasis to see a dermatologist, even if this involves persisting with your GP to get a referral. She adds that healthcare professionals should be aware that rejecting a patient’s request for a particular treatment can be upsetting, and suggests that they should also offer emotional support. Lisa emphasises the importance of finding a successful treatment as she has found that her confidence is boosted when her psoriasis is under control.