Psoriasis Awareness Week - Teenagers and Psoriasis

Our next dedicated day for Psoriasis Awareness Week is all about living with psoriasis as a teenager.

Anyone can have psoriasis at any point in their life, and one study estimates that around 1.4% of all people between the ages of 10 and 19 have it, and around 2-3% of the overall UK population is currently affected.

Scalp, guttate and plaque are some of the most common types of psoriasis in teenagers and young people. In all types of psoriasis, common triggers may be puberty, skin injuries, emotional stress or certain medicines (e.g. anti-malaria tablets).

Teen Talk – Instagram Live Q&A TODAY!

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Tonight at 6pm, we are hosting a live Q&A on our Instagram (@psoriasisuk), answering any questions you may have about living with psoriasis as a young person.

The Q&A will feature Prof. Tess McPherson, who works in Paedriatic and Adolescent Dermatology.

We look forward to seeing you there later on!

PsoTeen – Supporting young people with psoriasis

As we’re talking all things teenage psoriasis today, we have something exciting to share…

We’ve been busy redeveloping our PsoTeen website to make it bigger, better and more relevant than ever! Head over to our social media accounts (@psoriasisUK) to hear from some of the young people who have helped shape the new site and made sure it reflects what teens really need.

Keep your eyes peeled… we can’t wait to share more with you soon!

In the meantime, the current PsoTeen website is still available, and contains information on:

• School and university - It’s possible to end up in a vicious cycle where you’re stressing about school and exams, which makes your psoriasis worse, which then makes you stress even more…The aim here is to try and keep stress and anxiety to a minimum, and find ways of fitting your psoriasis treatment into your already hectic life - helping you to perform well in class, and stay feeling well by keeping your psoriasis under control.
• Lifestyle - Information about the effects of alcohol, smoking and drugs on people with psoriasis is available on the PsoTeen website. There are circumstances where they're legal to use, and circumstances where they're not, but you also need to be aware of how each of these may affect your psoriasis.
• Body image - Most people wear jewellery, style their hair and use skincare, and people with psoriasis are no exception. As with all areas of psoriasis, there’s no reason not to do any of these things, unless you find you have a problem with it. The body image section of PsoTeen breaks each of these areas down and gives some tips and tricks for young people looking for advice or support.