The Voices of Psoriasis
The faces and voices of psoriasis. (Photography credits: David Walter Banks , Meenu Bhardwaj, Ken Cedeno, Ryan Collerd, David Eulitt and Shana Sureck for The New York Times) Many chronic diseases are invisible, taking a toll on the individual but not immediately apparent to outsiders. But the skin condition psoriasis causes obvious changes leading to itchy, scaly skin on the hands, legs, scalp and other body parts. Not only is it painful, but it can also be isolating, because sufferers are embarrassed by their appearance. Today’s Patient Voices by Karen Barrow focuses on seven men, women and children with psoriasis, a chronic disease of the immune system that appears on the skin, usually as thick, red, scaly patches. Many people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis . According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis. You’ ll meet Christine Morris of Limerick, Pa., who talks about mothering a child with psoriasis. Her 5-year-ol...