Psoriasis can have a significant impact on both your physical and mental health, resulting in impaired emotional and social well-being due to low self-esteem and possibly impaired functioning at work and in relationships.
Quality of Life
Psoriasis patients can experience many feelings about their diagnosis, inlcuding:
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| Effects Of Psoriasis |
If not recognized and treated, these emotions can strain relationships, careers, and self-esteem. Ultimately, these pressures can have an extreme impact on a patient's quality of life.
Quality of life is measured by the impact of disease on a patient's lifestyle and emotional well-being and ability to participate in day-to-day activities, including:
- normal daily activities
- work activities
- relationships
- social life
Studies show that people with moderate to severe psoriasis experience a greater negative effect on their quality of life because of their disease. In the United States, the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) surveyed thousands of psoriasis patients from November 2001 to January 2002. The NPF found that of those patients with moderate to severe psoriasis, 77 percent felt the disease was a moderate to large problem in their lives. In addition, 26 percent said that because of their psoriasis they had to change or stop normal activities; 40 percent said they wear clothing that covers or hides their skin condition; and 36 percent said their psoriasis affects their ability to sleep.
Many times, those who don't suffer from psoriasis fail to understand the significant negative, physical, and emotional impact the disease can have on affected patients. Even doctors may not realize how this disease can negatively affect patients.
In 1999, a survey was done of patients with different medical conditions, including psoriasis. These researchers measured the physical and mental impact of having these different diseases. They found that psoriasis patients experience among the greatest negative impacts on physical and mental well-being. The impact was so great that it exceeded that of high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, and even certain types of cancer.
Patients' quality of life is an important factor in treating the disease. One of the tools that researchers use to study the disease's effect on patients' lives is the Psoriasis Disability Index, a simple, disease-specific questionnaire containing fifteen questions, the answers to which are based on a patient's routine for the previous four weeks. The overall score reflects the degree of impact the patient has experienced during that time.
Dr. Stephen B. Perrott, a psoriasis patient who is a professor of psychology, wrote the next section. His unique experience and background is ideal for further explanation and discussion of the emotional, psychological, and physical impact of psoriasis. The purpose of this section is to educate you about the emotional and social effects that moderate to severe psoriasis can have, and what you can do about it as a person with psoriasis, a family member, or a friend.
Stephen's Story: A Personal Account
"It's gross." True enough. I have frequently thought of my moderate to severe psoriasis as being gross, not to mention embarrassing, painful, humiliating, time consuming, and depressing. However, for me to say my psoriasis is gross is one thing - for someone else to say it is wrenching. So, it is not hard to imagine how awful I felt about myself when my wife of more than twenty years made reference to my condition in this way in the dying days of our marriage. As much as people with psoriasis tell themselves so, and despite the reassurances of people who love us, it is not much of a leap from thinking that our psoriasis is gross to thinking that we are gross.
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This is not to say that my wife did not have a point, or that my psoriasis did not have an impact on her life. After all, my constant shedding meant that I could never keep up with the flaky scales sprinkled across the hardwood floors, and it is not pleasant to wake up with bedsheets soiled with blood from cracked lesions. Let's face it; you have to look well inside a person before you can find much delight in cuddling up to someone covered in psoriasis plaque. To find out more, you can check out Effects Of Psoriasis.