Craziest thing ever said about your psoriasis
Today I am thinking back to one of the craziest things I have ever been told about my psoriasis. Here is what led up to it. I was volunteering for the National Psoriasis Foundation at a senior citizen event. A lady walked up to me and told me that she believed I got my psoriasis from putting my elbows on a dirty table in a restaurant. I was floored. What is some of the craziest things you have been told about your psoriasis?
Wow,
, how did you respond to that?! I'm not sure I would have known what to say as that is so far off the truth of how people get psoriasis ! Crazy how much misinformation and ignorance there is out there.
I haven't had too many completely "out there" things said about my psoriasis. The main one when I was a child was "you have dandruff". Several people just came up to me and said that. The other one I often got (and still get actually) was people asking me if I fell over or "what happened to your elbow?". It looked like I'd grazed my elbows and knees but actually it was the psoriasis. Lastly, I do remember a family member, upon my telling them that I have psoriasis like my grandad did, saying "Eww, yeah I remember him having that, that was gross!". I was just speechless... They knew I had psoriasis as well. The weird thing was that they weren't saying it in a nasty way at all. I think they were trying to let me know that it must be hard to deal with, but calling it gross to my face was extremely bizarre (and for anyone reading this, your psoriasis is not gross!). I truly wonder what some people are thinking sometimes! -Catherine, Community ModeratorI look back on times when I was in school. I remember being picked on because of all the flakes in my hair. At the time it was chalked up to having dandruff but now I believe it was the psoriasis. In my school years my bellybutton would get really red. I thought it was the button on the jeans rubbing it. Now I wonder if it was inverse. When my psoriasis was at it worst as an adult my hands were covered in plaque psoriasis. I remember so many times being asked if I had been chemically burned. It's things like people asking that which makes it hard to deal with when someone like the dirty table comment lady. Now I am all about educating people. Vickie, Team Member , that must have been hard at school, and later on in life when people were asking if your hands had been burned 😢 These interactions do really affect us. The weird thing about all of the comments I've had is I genuinely believe that everyone was just commenting on my psoriasis and not intending to be rude. There was no malice in their voices. Of course, commenting in an unsolicited manner on another person's psoriasis is often rude. It's peculiar that others don't get that. I would never dream of telling people what they have or, like in your experience, telling someone their psoriasis came from a dirty table. The whole thing is just bizarre to me.
Ooh yes, it's certainly possible you had inverse psoriasis in your navel during your school years. I had that in my late teens. Horribly uncomfortable. Were you able to find something that helped with that? I know you've written about your experiences with psoriasis in the belly button before. For anyone interested, I'll leave a link to your article here: https://plaquepsoriasis.com/living/symptoms-navel
So glad that these ignorant comments didn't deter you from raising awareness and educating others, Vickie! Hugs 💕 -Catherine, Community Moderator
Wow, that’s unbelievable! It’s amazing what some people think can cause psoriasis! I can’t believe she assumed it was from something as simple as a table. It just goes to show how little awareness there still is about autoimmune conditions like psoriasis. I have to know how this story ends. What did you say or do? -Latoya (Community Moderator) I gave her every pamphlet about psoriasis I had and asked her to please read them. I told her in my case the psoriasis is genetic on my father's side. I also guaranteed her that no one ever got their psoriasis from having their elbows on a table dirty or not. I can only hope that she did read the brochures. I agree that there is still so much more awareness that needs to happen. Vickie, Team Member
, the one that I still laugh about to this day!! This comment was made to be well over 30 years ago. Are you ready for this? Okay, brace yourself!!! Black people don't get psoriasis. I'm leaving it at that. Diane (Team Member)
