Showing your body in public

[GSC]

I would rather eat rotting vermin than show my body in public!

Summer time long trousers and long sleeves all the time -

NEVER EVER EVER show anyone.

Only my parents know i have this demon condition and its staying that way.

[Violet]

I'm i hider usually, but difficult to hide my face and my hands. If im at work i will wear t-shirts occasionally if its not really red, but if im out running in the summer or of to sunbathe, then t-shirt and shorts as i have been a bit braver the last year. I guess part of me is ashamed of how i look. Stupid i know

You shouldn't be ashamed of how you look! I know how you feel but in all honesty other people will psoriasis don't put me off and the people that would judge you for it are shallow and ignorant.
Congrats on being braver, show a bit more 

[Samster]

It's great to hear there are so many positive people out there and some great stories.

I hadn't really thought about the hygeine issue but I've manage to shift all the scales from my P recently so i've just got the red patches.

[Shazza P]

Last summer was the first time in a  very long time that I did wear shorts and short sleeve tee shirts baring all to see! and even wore a bikini on the beach and even went topless to catch some rays!
At the mo i am feelin low about my P as its worse but no doubt I will be  doin the same again as last summer  my kids and friends dont like me to cover up !
Oct last yr I went on adult weekend to Butlins and I got forced into wearin my bikins and go into the swimmin pool! hadnt  done that for donkey yrs!
 I was dyin inside as  pool was packed
 as I stood at top of slide I go5t chatted up , my children and friends say that we make an issue about our skin and a good friend pointed out to me last night when I  was at my lowest, how many ppl have actually made comments about my P and  no one has!

I just want clear skin like everyone else 

[wendykg]

I would find it easier in public if you had some sort of badge or sign to say that you're not contagious or a risk to anyone. My p isn't too bad, but could sometimes also be mistaken for Impetigo (school sores), so I won't swim in a public pool in case people feel threatened.
The sad thing is tho, that if people see others with a missing limb or serious burn scars or some other awful physical affliction, those people are accepted as not being a threat. But because we can't explain what we have, and most people don't like to ask, it's often just assumed to be 'nasty'

[Roberto]

I will not wear short sleeves at work very often, my skin has to be on a good day for me to be comfortable doing that. Oddly, even though I know my firends really well, I usually cover up if I'm meeting them as well.

But if I am on holiday, or in a place where I don't know anyone, I'm quite comfortable with it. I am happy to sunbathe in just my shorts, or go swimming etc. No-one has ever mentioned it, at least to my face, be it positive or negative.

If I do see anyone out and about with obvious P while I'm covered I do actually feel angry with myself for not just getting on with it more. If they can walk around in t-shirts etc, so should I. I see it as a vicious circle, the more of us that are comfortable showing our symptoms, the more accepted it must get. If we essentially treat ourselves as different by covering up on hot days etc, then what do we expect others to think?

 

[Guy]

I will not wear short sleeves at work very often, my skin has to be on a good day for me to be comfortable doing that. Oddly, even though I know my firends really well, I usually cover up if I'm meeting them as well.

But if I am on holiday, or in a place where I don't know anyone, I'm quite comfortable with it. I am happy to sunbathe in just my shorts, or go swimming etc. No-one has ever mentioned it, at least to my face, be it positive or negative.

If I do see anyone out and about with obvious P while I'm covered I do actually feel angry with myself for not just getting on with it more. If they can walk around in t-shirts etc, so should I. I see it as a vicious circle, the more of us that are comfortable showing our symptoms, the more accepted it must get. If we essentially treat ourselves as different by covering up on hot days etc, then what do we expect others to think?

 

This really sounds like me.

Last year I was in central London with some PHO friends and as we walked through Cambridge Circus we saw the Naked Cycle ride happening and there was one guy covered in guttate p proudly cycling along - I was very impressed.

[Chappers_27]

I never ever show my psoriasis in public. I distinctly remember a very hot sunny day a couple of years ago, when my ex-wifes family came round for a barbeque. Nightmare for me. I was suffering bad P at the time, and didnt want the questions or the staring, so I was in a lightweight long sleeve top and long trousers. Everyone else, shorts (only) and bikinis. I was boiling, spent most of the time indoors or in the shade. Didnt enjoy myself at all.

When we went on holiday, it had to be a private villa with a pool, in the middle of nowhere.

I also avoided a works outing to surfing on the beach because of psoriasis - I was the only one that didnt go. I dont go the swimming pool. I went to a concert in the summer, and most people kept asking, "arent you hot in that?". I've stopped playing football because of it - the stares in the showers put paid to that.

It makes me quite sad and no matter what anyone else says, they dont understand... Plus it affected my sex life - getting naked in front of someone is difficult!!

[riaY]

I don't show my body in public (very very rarely anyway). I can't hide it when it's on my face and now on my hands for the first time ever. I wear a wig to hide my scalp p, but to be fair I have lost an awful lot of my hair due to p.
I don't mind talking about it to people who ask and if they're really interested I will show them. In particular the kids in our family are fascinated with it, and as there is a chance they could develop it (please God no) I am very open and honest about it to them.
My Husband hates it (but not me ) and doesn't like other people seeing it cos he thinks it upsets me, which it does sometimes depending on the person/comment.
Occasionally I think stuff it and wear short sleeves etc anyway, but it doesn't usually last long.
After light/tar treatment I was free for about 3 months and it made such a difference to me. I was more confident and out going. It was great to go on holiday and not cover up, things like that. I don't think I realised how much it did affect me until it was gone for a while. Unfortunately it's coming back with a vengeance

[MarieK]

I am a hider also - when I am away on hols and know no - one I do not cover up but am a big stressball most of the time !!!!! Thanks to Fumaderm this will be the first summer in 16years I will be relaxed to wear shorts and t-shirts. Well done you I wish I didn't care who saw and I hate the fact that I always hide my P because it is a part of me none of us should be ashamed of it....