Psoriasis and Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian showing off her psoriasis.

Here's the skinny, I have severe plaque psoriasis. It covers 100 percent of my scalp and ears and sometimes makes an appearance on my elbows. 

What is psoriasis you ask? It's the reason I've avoided black sweaters for the last 15 years of my life. It's the reason I look like the ideal model for a Head & Shoulders commercial. It's why people were afraid of my mother. It's why I scratch my head incessantly. 

Psoriasis is a skin disease which makes my skin regenerate every day- unlike normal people who have skin that regenerates every 21-28ish days. Think of it like a snake shedding its skin, only instead of the skin being left somewhere it builds and becomes like a plaque mountain range. It itches like hell, but it doesn't hurt to scratch.  It only hurts when you take a hot shower, or jump in the sea. (Think adding salt to an open wound). 

It's also why when I crashed Emmy, my scooter, that my road rash cleared within a day. I know- pretty cool right? It's cool, but not cool enough to be like a badass mutant from X-men.

If you're wondering if there's a cure, of course not. And in truth there are a lot of other diseases that should be cured first like cancer or Alzheimers. However psoriasis can attack internally which is v. dangerous.

Scalp psoriasis-mine has never looked quite sooo bad, but it's close. Also this was pulled from a google image because my own photos didn't do it justice. 

So what causes it? Doctors said genetics, but they also said it would skip a generation, but my mom had it sooooo not quite. Doctors also said stress, food intolerance and allergies....well I've got many allergies, have tried numerous diets and the two times I've been in remission I was in periods of insanely high stress.

Sooooo what I'm saying here is there's not a lot to go on and psoriasis doesn't make sense. 

Neither did Kim Kardashian's reaction to having it herself. 

The Kardashian's haven't done much for the world other than encourage young girls to contour their faces, get butt implants and take duck face Instagram photos on the off chance someone might pay them millions of dollars or be noticed by an NBA player.

What's annoying though is that they have the financial means to be good people, and I am sure they donate plenty of money to charity. I'm not saying people shouldn't enjoy wealth, but Wendy's wanted Kim to be the face of their campaign. Does anyone really think Kim K eats Wendy's? No.  But she will for a few million dollars.

Her sister is reportedly paying $25K/month for rent in Malibu. That's legit what my tuition for grad school cost and they can toss that around like potatoes. Potatoes they could use to feed the homeless.

And I digress....

But Kim K does have psoriasis and she is (as sad as it may be) an influencer. 7.5 million people have psoriasis, so she's not special, but she did have an opportunity to crush the stigma. 

My mother at certain points in her life had 80-90 percent coverage on her body. Think back to when you had the chickenpox- that's how she felt all the time. Can you imagine? What's worse though is the embarrassment it caused. People were afraid to shake her hand; to sit near her. Even if I hugged her in public, people shied away.

Now obviously there is a lack of education there and I understand people are afraid of things that are different, but Kim had an opportunity to support other people with the disease and instead she said "it would ruin her career." 

She called it "gross." 

It's not gross, it's just skin; it covers our entire body and we shouldn't be ashamed of our own skin.

So much for body positivity. Had she owned it and said, this is a "genetic disorder, no one really knows the cause, or a cure, but I still love my body,"  the public probably would have supported her and been like yeah girl, look at this ugly ass mole, but my body is still great...but nope she shamed her disease and the rest of us too.

I no longer avoid black sweaters or tops. They are slimming and I like wearing black. If it looks like it snowed all over my shoulders so flipping be it. This is my skin. I've always kind of thought it was the trade off for having such awesome hair, but it would be nice to not wake up in the middle of the night because my entire head itches. 

I mean I used to refuse to ride in cars with black interior because I'd leave flakes. I would cringe if anyone touched my head because I was afraid they might notice. I wore as much white and gray as possible through college so no one would notice my flaw. But seeing as I've tried everything from salt baths to prescription shampoo (which burns like hell btw) people will just have to accept that this is my skin and I have to live in it.

No, it's not contagious.

Also yes, I'm aware there's a drug called Humira with positive results, but the side effects include numbness in your legs, chest pains and ironically...itching.

To that I say, Nah. 

So Kim K, the song "You're So Vain" was definitely written for you, and thanks for continuing to use your fame to shame.

PS if you have psoriasis and have found something that works- please, share your wisdom!