blog

Jude Duncan is a content creator, blogger, chapter director at Start-up Grind Glasgow and all-round impressive lady. In this blog, she shares her psoriasis journey; from diagnosis to treatment and finally to embracing her appearance and challenging others to do so through her blog. As this month is psoriasis awareness month stayed tuned at the end for a collection of the best research on psoriasis recommended by our F1000Prime Faculty.

When did you first become aware of your psoriasis?

I was first diagnosed with psoriasis in my early 20s. I had just started my third year at university and noticed a small red mark growing above my left eyebrow. I wasn’t sure what it was and after a few weeks when it didn’t go away, I went to the doctor in November 2013. I’ve always struggled with various skin issues from adult acne to shingles, and lots of rashes and reactions. It was at the appointment I was told I had psoriasis and given some cream to help with no further explanation or help as to what it was.

What followed was a vicious cycle of trying to cover up my psoriasis with makeup, which usually irritated my skin and made it worse. I suffered from severe depression and developed a deep hatred for my appearance. I became very insecure about my psoriasis. I was fearful that everyone was looking at it and judging me for it. It became a very lonely place for me to be, as I felt that no one understood what I was going through.

In November 2014, almost a year after my initial diagnosis, I was finally referred to a dermatologist to receive oral treatment for psoriasis. After seeing a dermatologist and finding treatments that worked (if only short term), I found more confidence in myself again and didn’t struggle as much with feelings of self-loathing.

Did you find there was ample support and resources available to you?

No, I felt that it was incredibly poor and that I was pushed aside because it was just a ‘skin’ condition. It was not explained to me that it is an autoimmune condition, what this means and what the implications are – I was just given the name, the cream and off I went! I believe that many non-life threatening  dermatological conditions are not taken seriously enough by the medical profession. I also think that by not fully explaining the condition to people, treatment options or possible side effects, you leave them feeling vulnerable and desperate to seek out any solution, even if that means risking deteriorating their health further.

How do you feel the lack of representation for psoriasis and other skin conditions can be best addressed?

I feel that because we live in a world where ‘insta-perfect’ skin is considered normal, we are going to have to work even harder to attain the diversity of any skin normality. Wrinkles, blemishes, and skin ‘imperfections’ need to be normalised as well as psoriasis and other skin conditions. It’s a long road to go but if you look at brands who are starting to include models who are diverse and have conditions such as vitiligo, you can see we are moving in the right direction. The process is incredibly slow though.

What inspired you to share your experiences of dealing with psoriasis?

I wasn’t aware of anyone else currently promoting facial psoriasis. I had found the community of people talking about body and scalp psoriasis, and I wanted to meet more people who understood facial psoriasis and the difficulties that can come with it. I started posting to boost my own confidence and the blog came from people wanting to know more. Every time I get a message about my content, or a question, or someone saying they felt better in their skin because of the community I am inspired to continue. We have only just started advocating for psoriasis really, there is still a long way to go and lots of people to reach. I hope one day everyone has the self-love for their psoriasis that I have grown to have for mine. 

Can you tell us about a positive experience you’ve had since you started your blog? 

Oh, there are so many! I think for me the BEST positive experience has been able to meet and chat to so many people from around the world. I am a super inquisitive person, so getting to chat with new people, learn about them and discuss topics with them is very fulfilling. I have made so many new friends since starting the blog and sharing my experiences.

What changes do you want to see in the future of psoriasis awareness?

I would honestly love to not have to post about psoriasis awareness anymore. I would love for it to be accepted and understood, and not have to deal with stares or negative comments. I would love to see more people with psoriasis being portrayed in the media, not as a story on a person with psoriasis – just as a person telling a story who happens to have psoriasis. Psoriasis isn’t anyone’s defining feature and I wish the media would stop portraying it like that. 

To check out Jude’s posts head over to her webpage.

---

If you like our recommendations, why not consider checking out F1000Prime? F1000Prime is our literature recommendation service, which has a peer-nominated global Faculty of more than 8,000 of the world’s leading biomedical scientists and clinicians. The Faculty select those articles which they think are particularly interesting and important and write recommendations explaining their selection. From the numerical ratings awarded, we have created a unique system for quantifying the importance of individual articles.

“This review article well explains the pathomechanisms in both atopic dermatitis and psoriasis, which enables readers to understand the skin abnormality of these diseases and select the best treatments, particularly various recently available biologics against different cytokines and their receptors, in clinical practice.”

Takashi Hashimoto, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan

“This analysis was extremely resourceful in using an incredibly extensive and ongoing study, which perfectly met their needs. They were, however, limited in the fact that patient treatment history for psoriasis was not provided. It is recommended that providers be aware of the increased risk of NMSC with psoriasis, but whether the treatment or the disease is to blame is still up for debate.”

Kavita Mariwalla & Kieran Donnelly, Mariwalla Dermatology, West Islip, USA

” In the last decade, various portable and lightweight handheld phototherapy units have become available for the treatment of localized psoriasis in the office and at home, and this article provides a good guide for practitioners on how these units can be prescribed for patients with psoriasis in various situations”

Tina Bhutani,University of California, San Francisco, USA

---

Current Top 3 recommendations

Rankings are generated using the article recommended in F1000Prime during the preceding 30 days.

“This fascinating paper uncovers a role for the enigmatic eosinophil-derived Charcot-Leyden crystals that have been known for 160 years to associate with allergic asthma. The authors find that they are composed of crystalline galectin-10 dimers, which can be dissolved by specific antibodies that target the crystallisation interface or by mutation of that interface.”

Caetano Reis e Sousa, The Francis Crick Institute, London, UK

“The background for conducting this study revolved around the fact that the most effective intravenous fluid regimen for abdominal surgery had not been well-defined. This study was undertaken to shed light on this issue and determine if one type of therapy was better than the other.”

Zulfiqar Ahmed,Wayne State University, Dearborn, USA

“This is a fascinating article showing that a very small number of senescent cells can decrease the survival of mice. This appears to be due to the secretion of pro-inflammatory cytokines. The authors go on to demonstrate that occasional oral administration of two small molecules, which target the viability of the senescent cell population, can increase the survival of mice that are aged or senescent cell-transplanted young mice. This is a very thought provoking manuscript well worth a read.”

John Lazo,University of Virginia School of Medicine, Charlottesville, USA

---

Hidden Jewels

Hidden Jewels rankings only include articles published in specialist journals, recommended in F1000Prime during the preceding 30 days.

“Clever approach and important study highlighting the remarkable interplay between non-myogenic and myogenic cell populations residing in skeletal muscle, and the contribution of fibroadipogenic progenitors to muscle health.”

Nathan LeBrasseur, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA

“This interesting article offers a general proposal for the identification of allosteric modulators beyond the G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). “

Jean-Pierre Changeux, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France

“A great leap forward in plant transcriptome analysis occurred in 2003, with the introduction of cell type-specific expression profiling by Kenneth Birnbaum, Philip N. Benfey, and colleagues.”

G Eric Schaller, Dartmouth College, Hanover, USA