Kim Kardashian West has never shied away from opening up about her psoriasis flare-ups, which she’s dealt with for the past 13 years. Now, the 38-year-old star has been revealing about her ordeal like never before with never-before-seen photos posted in her detailed blog on sister Kourtney Kardashian’s lifestyle site, Poosh.
In her blog, Kim admits that despite witnessing her mom, Kris Jenner, deal with her own psoriasis struggle, she truly had no idea what her life would be like as she dealt with an autoimmune disease.
For the uninitiated, psoriasis is a common skin condition that speeds up the life cycle of skin cells, causes them to build up rapidly on the skin surface. The extra skin cells form scales and red patches that are itchy and sometimes even painful. It can show up anywhere-on the eyelids, ears, mouth and lips, skin folds, hands and feetand nails.
What a flake!
Psoriasis often develops between 15 and 35 years, but it can develop at any age. The disease is associated with various other health conditions like metabolic syndrome, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dyslipidaemia, Crohn’s disease, osteoporosis, uveitis, cardiovascular disease, cancer and depression. While scientists do not know what exactly causes psoriasis, it’s known that the immune system and genetics play major roles in its development. “It is determined genetically. If a person in the family has psoriasis, there is an increased risk of getting psoriasis. Additionally, infections such as streptococcal respiratory infection can precipitate a type of psoriasis called guttate psoriasis. Smoking, stress and alcohol can also aggravate and increase the risk in people who are prone to the disease. A few medicines such as beta-blockers, antimalarial drugs and lithium can also aggravate psoriasis,” explains Dr Padmavathi Surapaneni, senior dermatologist and cosmetologist at Pragna Skin Laser Clinics. Dr Jaishree Sharad, celebrity cosmetic dermatologist and author of the book Skin Talks, calls psoriasis a multifactorial disease caused because of autoimmunity, genetic predisposition and environmental factors.
