'Itching to Tell You': Offaly woman works to raise awareness of living with psoriasis

Zoe  Ryan (age 27), from Tullamore, was diagnosed with psoriasis when she was 18, after what she now suspects to have been years of misdiagnosis of similar presenting ailments such as eczema, athlete’s food, and even irritation due to shaving. 

Zoe  has another autoimmune condition, Raynaud’s disease, and is prone to tonsil stones, paronychia infections, inflammatory acne breakouts (pustules, nodules and cysts), inflamed lymph nodes and haemorrhoids, all of which have been linked to her psoriasis.

What treatment have you received for your psoriasis?           

Initial treatment has included topical applications, both steroid and non-steroid (like tar). These only ever gave me short-term relief from my symptoms so, at one point, I sought out alternative routes. These included Traditional Chinese Medicine (ointment, tablets, acupuncture), seaweed baths, saltwater swimming, bathing in blessed/sacred/holy waters, and even blessings at the hands of a seventh-son faith healer.

Is ongoing treatment required and, if so, what is this?               

Over the years, from acquiring a better education, knowledge and understanding of my condition, as well as trial and error with products and treatments, I’ve found I can effectively manage the symptoms of my condition, through skincare, diet and lifestyle choices, and rarely have had to seek medical treatment for it.

Now I manage my symptoms more so than ‘treat’ my condition. A mantra I’ve adopted over the years, and something I’ve found better success with, is ‘treat your symptoms not your condition’. By that I mean, instead of using any general product marketed at someone with psoriasis, I ask myself what symptom (e.g., burning, itch, build-up of scale) is bothering me most on a given day and seek out products and/or foods that contain certain ingredients that will address and alleviate those particular symptoms. 

What is your attitude today to having been diagnosed with psoriasis?               

How I view my condition and how I feel about living with it has changed drastically over the years. When I was first diagnosed, I was devastated. Being delivered a diagnosis of ‘incurable’ was a hard pill to swallow and one I resisted for a long time. I really struggled to accept that I would have to live for the rest of my life with something that seemed to have appeared overnight. At my lowest point, I likened living with psoriasis to serving a life sentence. At the time, I was stuck in a vicious cycle of undergoing treatment after treatment and not seeing the results I wanted. In fact, the visual symptoms I so desperately wanted to ‘get rid of’ seemed to be getting more out of control and unstable.

I used to say that psoriasis didn’t really affect me because I don’t think I realised how much it did, how many aspects of my life it dictated. Or, at least, I didn’t want to admit how much it did. I used to feel very ashamed and embarrassed about it, so much so that I never wished to talk about it, not even to my father who also has it. I remember coming home from college at the weekends and I would purposely avoid engaging in conversation with him in case he asked me about it. So, in that way, something that you would imagine would have brought us closer together had the opposite effect for a time. Luckily, in recent years it has strengthened our relationship. Nowadays, we talk very openly about our condition, compare patches, recommend products we have found useful to each other and work together to spread awareness.

Now, I’m embracing, and quite proud of, the markings on my skin but it’s taken me a long time to get to this level of comfort with, and acceptance of, them. There was a time when I, sub-consciously, did everything I could to conceal them, through clever hairstyle, clothing, accessories and product (makeup and tanning product) placement. However, it reached a stage where the psoriasis on my scalp line became so extensive that I couldn’t hide it. You see, it was the fear that crippled me most. All I wanted was to get rid of them but one day I thought, this isn't working, they clearly are not going anywhere so either I continue to be miserable or I change how I feel about them.

Discovering the psoriasis community online helped me to do that. Seeing people baring the parts of themselves I was hiding for all to see, and hearing them talk so openly about the things I didn’t dare talk to anyone about, were so inspiring and empowering. 

Running my awareness platform (https://www.instagram.com/itchingtotellyou/)  has allowed me to take the negative of being diagnosed with an incurable condition and turn it into a positive by helping others going through the same thing. I used to ask ‘why me?’ Now I couldn’t imagine not having psoriasis. Since starting my platform, it has become such a massive part of who I am. My identity. It gives me purpose and drives me to do the work that I do. 

What hopes and aspirations have you for the future?                 

For there to be more widely available and easily accessible resources to help people living with psoriasis in Ireland. For psoriasis to be better understood, recognised and accepted by wider society.  For the  importance of the patient voice and the value of their input to be more widely recognised.

If you could get one message across in relation to psoriasis, what would it be?     

For psoriasis to be recognised for what it is, an  inflammatory autoimmune condition that affects the skin, not ‘just a skin condition’. I feel referring to it as a skin condition, rather than a  skin-related  condition, underplays its severity and leads people to believe that the issue starts and ends with the skin, which isn't the case. Psoriasis, and the people living with it, should be taken seriously and given the respect that they deserve.

Zoe  works as a Streaming Coordinator for RTÉ Sport and enjoys second-hand fashion and upcycling.