How Will This Skin Condition Affect My Dating and Sex Life?
- If you have psoriasis (a chronic skin condition), you may be wondering how the condition will affect your dating and sex life.
- Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin condition that presents with red scaly plaques on the skin. This condition tends to have a genetic predisposition.
- It's important to note that it's completely normal to feel nervous about having psoriasis, and to feel stressed about how it will affect your dating and sex life.
It's important to note that it's completely normal to feel nervous about having psoriasis, especially when it comes to intimacy, Dr. Saakshi Khattri, a certified rheumatologist dermatologist and internist practicing at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City, tells SurvivorNet.
Read MoreUnderstanding Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin condition that presents with red scaly plaques on the skin. This condition tends to have a genetic predisposition. However, "really anybody can get it, but the peak sort of seems to be between the ages of 30 and 50, but again, it can happen to anybody," Dr. Khattri says.Dr. Khattri explains that when a person has psoriasis, basically what's happening is that the body's own immune system "in some ways is going on this overdrive and causing changes on the skin that are seen clinically. And that's how a diagnosis of psoriasis is made."
There are many types of this skin condition, Dr. Khattri notes.
"I sort of joke … that not all psoriasis is equal," she says.
But, the "most ubiquitous" presentation of psoriasis is what is known as psoriasis vulgaris. This form of the condition presents with those red scaly plaques mentioned earlier in this article.
"If you have psoriasis, it's also important to understand that we have a lot of options to treat your psoriasis," she says. "If one doesn't work, we can move to a second. We can move to a third … We have an excellent systemic model that can, if successful, result in all clearance of your psoriasis."
How Will This Skin Condition Affect My Dating and Sex Life?
When asked if he had any tips for psoriasis patients who may be nervous or stressed out about their condition when it comes to their dating and sex life, Dr. Khattri offered some words of wisdom.
"It's OK to feel nervous about having psoriasis," Dr. Khattri says. "It’s OK to feel overwhelmed."
Dr. George Han, a dermatologist at Lenox Hill Hospital and member of the National Psoriasis Foundation Medical Board, tells SurvivorNet that doctors have discovered that psoriasis isn’t just in the typical areas that you see.
“People have come in with inverse psoriasis (a form of psoriasis that occurs in areas where the skin folds), even without psoriasis elsewhere,” he says. This means patients have painful inflammation in their private areas, “and it’s very embarrassing,” which is understandable!
“They don’t really want to talk about it,” he added, which can make it especially hard on a person’s dating and sex life.
“So it’s important that we diagnose it (the psoriasis) correctly and help counsel the patients,” Dr. Han explains.
Counseling patients can include explaining how to talk with potential sexual partners about psoriasis, especially if you’re experiencing inflammation in your genital region. Make sure to your doctor for further assistance.
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