My Health Experience: ‘One child asked if I had leprosy’

Exercise and a healthy diet help prevent my psoriasis flaring up

Psoriasis is still a taboo subject, and most people who have this skin condition are too embarrassed to talk about it. I have had it since I was a child and learned how to manage it properly only in my 20s. I am now 29.

When I was in primary school, my psoriasis was really bad and flared up between the ages of five and 10. My parents brought me to several doctors and I had various skin treatments– special creams, soaps and shampoos. I was always advised to stay away from perfumed soaps and bath products but I’ve never checked to see if I am allergic to anything in particular.

My arms, knees, scalp and stomach were covered in flaky, silver patches when I was a child.

Between the ages of eight and 10, my psoriasis was at its most severe and I ended up in the Children’s University Hospital, Temple Street, for “light therapy” for eight weeks, three times a week. My school work suffered and I nearly had to stay back a year.

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The other children didn’t know what I had and some thought it might be contagious. Others thought I had head lice because it was at its worst on my scalp. One child even asked me if I had leprosy.

The teacher explained to the children that I had psoriasis, but that didn’t really help me at the time.

My parents used to tell me not to listen to the other children’s comments, but I became a bit of a loner in the playground.


Diet and exercise
I began to grow out of the problem a little towards the end of primary school, but was always aware that it might flare up at any time.

In secondary school, I ate a lot of crisps, chocolates and takeaway food. I wasn’t interested in fruit and vegetables and there were no healthy lunch options in my school. We just had a tuck shop full of crisps and chocolate. My psoriasis remained quite bad on my scalp through my teenage years.

It was really only when I left secondary school that I started to improve my diet and to exercise, and I now realise these moves have helped me hugely.

My psoriasis started to calm down a lot when I ate healthy foods and, particularly, when I exercised. I also realised that it was worse when I was stressed, so I exercised to deal with the stress and that, in turn, helped the psoriasis. I also realised that it flared up when I was run down and didn’t get enough sleep.

I have been working and studying since I left school. I did a certificate in business management at Dublin Institiute of Technology and then studied radio broadcasting at the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dún Laoghaire. Then I studied journalism and did a degree in marketing.

At the moment, I am finishing a masters in marketing at the Michael Smurfit Business School. I love studying and I like to upskill constantly but sometimes it puts a lot of pressure on me because I have always worked while studying.

I still live at home with my parents and they are very supportive. I have worked part-time in Q102 radio station as a presenter/producer for the past seven years. I also write on a freelance basis. Because I work on the breakfast show on Q102, I get up at 5.45am most days. Sometimes, I am still in the office at 7pm but I try not to let that happen too much. I have to be careful not to overdo it.

As I am freelance, I take whatever work I get but if I feel stressed, I have to cut down a little. I try to make sure I get rest when I’m wrecked.

I have been going to the gym about three times a week for the past five years. This helps me manage my stress, which I believe is the root of the problem. I also regularly use the sauna and steam room in the gym which helps reduce flare-up and itching.

I cook for myself and eat a lot of vegetarian food. I have only one takeaway meal a week now. I had a lot of puppy fat left over from my teenage years but I lost all of that in my early 20s, which also helped.

The thing about psoriasis is that it’s incurable. But you can learn to manage it, just like I have. A lot of people compliment me on my skin now.

I still use the treatment shampoos when I feel it is getting worse. Sometimes I have to wear my hair a certain way to hide the patches on it, but I haven’t used the skin creams for two years now. I have had to cancel interviews with celebrities on a few occasions as I was too embarrassed to meet them during a flare-up.

It’s important for me to keep the condition under control for my work, particularly because I’d like to do television work in the future.

In conversation with

Sylvia Thompson

Sylvia Thompson

Sylvia Thompson, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about health, heritage and the environment