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Kim Kardashian is known and well-recognized for her good looks and flawless body. Her life revolves around being an entrepreneur, reality TV star, model, wife and most importantly a mother. Her career heavily emphasizes on good looks. She noted that the pressure is on when it comes to taking care of her looks from head to toe.
In one of the episodes of the “Keeping up with the Kardashians” series, Kim reveals that she has a few red patches on her body which her sister dismisses as ringworm. She consulted to a dermatologist, Dr Harold Lancer who then told her she has psoriasis.
Kim was obviously devastated and that just might be her biggest problem. The worst part of all, there isn’t any cure to it at the moment. As you can see, Kim is a model so having perfect skin is part of her job requirement. If her condition worsens it might affect her career. She once remarked that even if they could Photoshop the patches out, you can’t do in a video.
So what is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is basically a form of disorder that affects the skin. In simple terms, it is a condition whereby the skin cells multiply up to 10 times faster than the normal rate. As these cells reach on the surface of the skin and die, the huge volume causes a sort of raised red plaque to form on the skin with same white-silver scales. Psoriasis usually occurs in areas like the knee, elbow and scalp as well as other places like the torso, palms and the sole of the feet.
How do you get psoriasis?
As of now, nobody knows what causes psoriasis despite it being a common condition. But what we do know is that it can be genetically passed down to the next generation, which is what happened to Kim. Kim’s mother, Kris previously also had psoriasis which started around the same age as Kim. The disease occurs mostly around the age between 15 and 35 though it may appear at any time. It does, however show some form of link with the immune system.
There are some known triggers that cause psoriasis such as stress and lifestyle, but Dr Lancer did caution that psoriasis may be triggered by different factors depending on the individual. Not everyone with the condition shares the same trigger. On the other hand, Kim noted that sometimes women develop psoriasis after the birth of their child, which suggests a link to the stress of childbirth.
The ‘solution’
Why do I put ‘solution’ within inverted commas? Because scientists today have yet to find a proper cure for the condition. It does haunt sufferers long term as the condition is chronic. However, there are still ways to control the symptoms and prevent it from worsening. One of the suggestion is to try a change of lifestyle. Ditch the hectic and stressful life. Adapt a more healthy diet and exercise as well. All these help to reduce stress. By doing so, it helps to reduce spreading of the symptoms to make sure your skin gets to grow and rest properly.
Medical Treatment – 3 possible options
- The first one is the topical category, where you apply creams and ointments on your skin.
- Next, there is also phototherapy available where your skin would be exposed to a certain type of ultraviolet light.
- The third one would be the usual systemic treatment (oral and injection medications).
Most of the time, psoriasis is usually treated with a combination of treatments.
Additional notes
Similarly with millions of other Americans who have psoriasis, Kim has an increased risk in contracting other serious health conditions such as heart disease, heart attack, hypertension, diabetes, obesity and even depression. There are as many as 30% of people with psoriasis who also develop psoriatic arthritis which causes painful swelling in the joints.
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by Nicky Lee
Your typical neighbourhood ah pek who roams on the internet to satisfy his curiosity. Bold. Loud. Talkative. View all articles by Nicky Lee.
