Where's My Psoriasis Never Affected? The Soles of My Feet!

I have written lots of articles for this platform on my plaque psoriasis. After first showing symptoms when I was 11, I have almost two decades worth of life experience with this awful condition. I have written lots of articles about where my psoriasis breaks out, but recently I’ve been thinking where I’ve been luckier and where, on my body, psoriasis hasn’t yet featured.

The only notable place where my psoriasis has never broken out on is on the soles of my feet. I often read and hear from other sufferers how painful psoriasis on the feet can be. Cracking, bleeding, can make everyday tasks and getting around much more difficult.

But it’s never affected me. I have had toenail psoriasis and that is tricky to navigate. I find it particularly challenging cutting my toenails when my toenail psoriasis breaks out as you can’t always see where the nail bed starts and ends. I have to admit, it has bled a few times when I’ve been cutting them.

Psoriasis comes in waves

So, the soles of my feet, I’ll reiterate, is the only notable area of my body where my psoriasis hasn’t affected. There was one point where most of my body was covered in plaques and it resembled a world map-like image. It was painful, angry and very red, and took a huge toll on me both mentally and physically.

The thing about psoriasis is that it comes in waves and there will often be areas of your body where one flare-up will not affect while another does. I speak to sufferers all the time who tell me only their scalp is affected. They get thick scales on their scalp, and occasionally have psoriasis on their hairline, but it never spreads further.

Mine started like that. When I was going through a particularly tough spell as a teenager with school exams, tests and lots of revision, my psoriasis in my scalp was terrible. The scales were very thick and it made everything from washing my hair to going to the barbers very tricky indeed.

Other flare-ups since then, however, have gone the other way. Only affecting my scalp in a minimal way, while totally covering my chest and legs. It stinks.

Always check with your doctor

You have to be careful with medication and treatments too. Some can make a relatively minor outbreak much worse if they rebound, so be sure to check in with your medical team if you’re worried. That happened to me when I came off some topical treatments, and my healthcare professionals were great in suggesting other options which should help.

So, I’m not trying to alarm anyone with this article, as I know it may be difficult to digest the fact your psoriasis can break out on your body just about anywhere. Psoriasis has not affected the soles of my feet, but just about everywhere else. Except, of course, my eyes and in my mouth, although, I’ve had stubborn patches around the eyes and around my mouth.

You may have to go through a rough patch, but with the right treatment, you can stop your psoriasis breaking out in a widespread way. Be strong, communicate and go to your healthcare appointments. That’s the best way of preventing psoriasis breaking out of control and it reaching new areas.