I was diagnosed with moderate psoriasis in 1973 and have plaques on my scalp, hands, legs and back. I am lucky that I have a very supportive family. I am married with two children and my condition doesn’t bother any of them.
I also have many friends and nobody asks about the appearance of my skin. Instead they are interested in the sort of person I am, not my psoriasis.
I am the president of the Psoriatic and Atopic Eczema Association Czech Republic (SPAE CZ), and I get a lot of support from the members too. We relate to each other as people – not as patients. We speak about what we do, children growing up, how our grandchildren are getting on and our interests — only occasionally someone will mention how they are responding to a certain treatment.
The group organises awareness activities in the Czech Republic and I think its good to do educational programmes throughout the world.
There is a need to show and explain to people that psoriasis is not contagious. For patients, there is a need to improve the quality of life.
