Real Life Stories
Guidance for confident skincare choices
Young mum skin shamed about her psoriasis
Mum of one Kirsty Jennings, 29, is a freelance writer from Malvern, Worcestershire who lives with her partner Rick, 33. Kirsty suffered regular stares and had even been skin shamed about her psorisis in public, which only added to her anxiety about her skin until she same accross a chance review that helped her find Oregon skincare products which she says have been a 'total first' after they improved her skin better than steroids. ‘I was 17 when I first noticed some plaques on my elbows. At first I thought it was dry skin as my dad and brother both suffer from eczema and so I just kept chucking moisturiser on the dry patch. But when it quickly spread further on my elbows and then appeared on my knees and scalp I realised it was something else. They say psoriasis is usually triggered by something, either a physical trauma or emotional stress. Mine was triggered just as I was moving out of my parents’ house. I guess I was quite scared at the prospect of fending for myself as I was still quite young. Once the plaques spread to my knees and scalp I immediately went to the doctor who diagnosed psoriasis and prescribed me steroid ointments and a scalp treatment that was very greasy. I was given Dovobet and cetraben for my skin, and another very strong medicated scalp application for my scalp. When I was told I had psoriasis it hit me pretty hard, especially when I realised it was something that would never be cured. I wasn’t too bothered about using the steroid ointments as they were easy to apply and effective. However, the ointment for my head was very greasy and thick, and because I worked every day I was reluctant to apply it. The first time I used it I couldn’t wash it out of my hair and I had to spend the day at work dodging glances from people wondering why my hair was so greasy. I remember crying on the phone to the doctor begging to be given something else. The problem with the steroid treatments is that you can’t use them for long periods of time. So, I soon entered the cycle of coming off steroids and experiencing my skin flaring up again almost immediately. With more steroid applications over the years my psoriasis spread and got worse when it came back after I finished a course of steroids. With every new flareup new plaques showed on other parts of my body. I experienced my worst flare up ever this year without a doubt. We’ve all been suffering through the pandemic and had a lot of stress built up. At the start of this year I also started a new job and my anxiety levels shot through the roof. In the space of two weeks my psoriasis spread to my scalp, hands and finally my face, which was the more horrifying thing of all. Having scalp psorisis and faceial psoriasis make it even more visible as you can't cover it up. At a total loss of what to use on my skin when I couldn’t use the steroids I tried just about every miracle cream advertised on the internet. At best all they did was keep my skin moisturised but other than that they did nothing at all. It was devastating for my self-confidence when my psoriasis appeared on my hands and face as you simply cannot cover that up. I found the endless starring very upsetting. People can be very cruel. During the early heatwave we had this year I kept myself completely covered up in fear of comments and stares. There were no bikini beach days or shorts for me. Once I braved a pair of knee length shorts and I had a woman in a shop comment on my knees about how disgusting I looked so I went back to wearing trousers despite the heat. Even friends can be insensitive. I’ve had some making comments about my skin. They didn’t mean it in a nasty way but it always hurts my feelings. In terms of my personal relationship my psoriasis has really affected me as its got worse and spread. My partner Rick is amazing. He knows how I feel about myself sometimes and always calls me beautiful and supports me. He will also happily help apply creams or run a saltwater bath for me. Even so I often don’t feel confident in myself or my appearance and I often wonder how anyone could ever find me attractive. I know it sounds like a pity party, but psoriasis is much more than patchy skin. I would often just sit and cry when I saw my skin in the mirror. Suffering from this skin condition is emotionally very draining as well as being physically quote painful. Most days I’ll admit I feel depressed about my psoriasis. I feel that it's unfair that anyone should have to go through everything that I suffer. The only thing that has given me any hope of my skin improving without the use of steroids is a treatment I found two months ago through my Instagram. I follow a lot of psoriasis related accounts and also share many of my own struggles with my skin on my account. I saw someone I follow making a comment about the effects of Oregon Skincare on their psoriasis, so I immediately investigated. The more I researched the more comments I found. They were not adverts but comments from real people with psoriasis so I decided to try the products to see if they helped me. Within a week the redness on my hands and forehead had dramatically reduced. Within a month the difference was incredible. Apart from steroid treatments I have used I’ve never experienced any topical treatment reducing the appearance of my psoriasis, so this was a total first for me. The added bonus was the Oregon treatment serum was not greasy or smelly. The company also make a Oregon shampoo too with the same ingredients in which crucially was not greasy on my hair and really helped reduce my scalp psoriasis. My scalp was thick with plaques and after the first wash with the treatment shampoo they loosened enough that I could gently pull them away. You only have to look at the photos I took before using the Oregon products and after two months of use to see how dramatically my skin improved. There’s a whole range of Oregon products but the Oregon serum is my favourite. It’s been with me constantly since receiving it. Since using the serum I’ve not used steroid treatments and have not felt the need to either which makes me feel very happy.”
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A shampoo made from a plant root beat woman’s ten-year battle with scalp psoriasis
21-year old stay at home mum, Hannah Richmond from Washington in the US, has suffered from psoriasis and scalp psoriasis since she was eleven. Hannah lives with her partner Andrew, 24, a car mechanic and their one-year old daughter. Hannah says; “I first developed psoriasis when I was eleven years old. I’d had pneumonia and afterwards I was scratching behind my ear and felt something ‘crusty’. At the time I thought it was dirt, so I just cleaned the area and didn’t think much more about it. My grandfather had psoriasis and passed it down to my mother, but she didn’t have it as badly as I went to develop it. When the patch behind my ear spread and turned into a full flare we didn’t know what to do. It was chicken pox season, so my mother called my doctor to ask about it. They told me to stay home from school so I didn’t spread it. After about a week. we went to the doctor. It was then that they told my mother I had psoriasis and not chicken pox. I remember when she told me it made me feel really isolated. I was shocked and confused. I asked them over and over if it was something that would go away. I was really upset when they kept telling me that it wouldn’t go away, that I’d have it for life. What the doctors gave Hannah for her psorisais I was prescribed topical steroids to use behind my ears and a tgel shampoo as by then it was starting to spread over my scalp too. These products did work if my mother and I were consistent with the steroids and tgel. But it was exhausting for us and this strict regime was only really effective for about a year. My mother helped do everything so I didn’t have to worry about it but it was so time consuming and as time went on, I got more and more angry as my skin and scalp just wouldn’t clear. Over the following years my psoriasis got worse and became more frequent. Any cut or scrape I got would heal up and then turn into a psoriasis patch so my skin was getting more and more covered in patches. I’d also get a flare up if I got any kind of stress. Did steroids help? As the years went on, I didn’t want to keep on using steroids so three years ago I decided to stop using them. I went through Topical Steroid Withdrawal, which basically meant my skin went crazy. My scalp was effected the worst and was completely covered in white scaly psoriasis plaques. My hair started falling out and I was left with bald patches. I was determined to try and treat my psoriasis with something other than steroids. I tried anything I could get my hands on, drinking apple cider vinegar, coconut oil, probiotics, uvb light therapy, red light therapy, tea tree oil, African black soap products and others that I can’t even remember now. How Hannah's psorisis effected her life in the beginning My psoriasis has affected every area of my life. My confidence being number one. How she coped at school with her psoriasis The first six years of living with psoriasis was the worst for me. I would be getting ready for school and I would just break down, cry and scream into my pillow. I would try to cover up the plaques with makeup. I was so frustrated that I was different and people would stare. As I have the worst psoriasis on my face its very visible to everyone. In the beginning I was really depressed about my skin. I felt different to everyone else in the world. But things change when you start to understand the skin condition more and you can begin to talk to other people with it about how you feel. I do this through my Instagram account @prettypsoriatic and belong to a large psoriasis community which has helped me a great deal. How psoriasis effected her relationships It used to affect my relationships. I’ve lost a lot of friends due to my psoriasis. But now I know that if someone doesn’t want to accept me the way I am.. that’s a reflection on them. It was hard at school. I can remember one time, I was in science class and I had to talk to someone about a project. They didn’t know me so they had backed away from me quickly, and pointed at me saying “What is that!? get it away from me, I don’t want to catch it.” There was another time where I was at my grandma’s funeral, and I was wearing a dress. My back had psoriasis on it and my grandma’s friend walked up behind me pointed at it and asked “what is that? it looks really gross”. How hannah feels 10 years later Now I’m ten years into my condition, I can happily say it doesn’t bother me as much as it used to. How psoriasis had a positive impact in her relationships In some ways it has even helped me. For example, due to my psoriasis I had more time to bond with my mum because she would sit with me for hours combing out my hair, putting medicines on and talking with me. How psoriasis helped Hannah find love Psoriasis has strangely also been a bonus in my dating life. I know it sounds strange. I look at it as a very effective way to weed out the bad ones. If a guy sees my skin and instead of being immediately repelled shows some curiosity about what it is, it shows that he can be accepting. My boyfriend Andrew is my biggest supporter. He tells me he thinks my skin is cool because it’s never the same. It’s always changing. However, despite these positive aspects, it’s not easy living with psoriasis. I still have some bad days with it. It’s hard having a disease that you know will never leave your side. It can feel like a very heavy burden on your shoulders at times. What helped Hannah finally get control over her psoriasis? I discovered the Oregon products through my Instagram community. I was interested as they did a specific hair care range for scalp psoriasis which was unusual and the reviews on it were very positive. How quickly did Hannah see her psoriasis improving? Within the first few days of using Oregon products I noticed my skin was improving, my flakes had gone down a lot and the redness was going down after the first week and my scalp felt calmer and less inflamed! My skin didn’t feel as tight and dry as it had been. This was a very good sign as its rare to see anything work that fast. I would say the best improvements I saw was towards the end of the second week using the Oregon products. My skin became much less red and furious and wasn’t burning or itching as much. My skin is continuing to improve with each week I use the products. What was the effect on her scalp psoriasis? The Oregon hair products differ from other products I’ve used as they are not oily. They feel more like a lotion, which is nice as any stuff for the scalp I have tried before left my hair and greasy mess. With the Oregon products my hair feels soft and conditioned but not greasy. What impact has finding something to help control her psoriasis had on Hannah's life? The products are not messy at all and don’t smell bad, which is a hard thing to find with in any psoriasis product! They have a shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and skin cream so there is something for every part of your skin and all your skincare needs so you don’t have to worry what else you are putting on your skin. Another great thing is, I’m not afraid to use these products when I’m holding my daughter as they have natural ingredients so I know they will not be causing her any harm.”
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My acne made me feel I wasn't pretty enough
Acne sufferer who was called pizza face by school bullies finds salvation for her skin with Clarol's Nordic Birch & Willow Primer for acne-prone skin Adult acne sufferer Daisy Welch, 25, an advertising executive from Milton Keynes, talks candidly about her struggle with adult acne and how she managed finally to find a solution for her skin after years of medications and cycles of acne break outs. My acne made me feel so insecure and not pretty enough “I first got acne when I was about 12 years old. I was the first person in my class to get acne so I felt very isolated and worried that I wasn’t normal. I think genetics did have a role to play with my acne as my mum, brother and sister had it too! But I feel like it was a combination of a genetic disposition to getting acne combined with other things, such as not using the right skin care products and over using too many products, using too much makeup as I got a bit older and not taking if off properly (just using face wipes etc) that made my acne so much worse. I remember crying to my mum when I got my first break out and asking what to do and asked why me? As no one else around me had breakouts. She explained to me that she had it and that it would just go away on its own once I got older. Unfortunately it didn’t and that was when I realised there was no such things as an acne cure My acne made me feel so insecure and not pretty enough. I hated going to school as kids made fun of me and I’d hear them whispering behind my back about my skin. It made me feel so alone and not good enough. I tried to cover it up with makeup at school, but it still did not help. I remember this one specific time where a girl called me ‘pizza face’ over text and was nasty to me for no reason. That really hurt because I could not help it! I tried everything and nothing ever worked! So it was upsetting to hear people say things like this. My acne has severely affected my confidence, weirdly with friends more than relationships. I moved a lot when I was younger and went to different schools so when meeting new friends I felt really self-conscious and embarrassed of my skin, especially to girls, as their skin always looked perfect and flawless. I used to struggle to open up when I was younger, so most people saw me as closed and not easy to talk to, when actually I was just ashamed of my skin. Relationships were the same in a sense, but I used to wear makeup ALL the time, so boyfriends rarely saw me without makeup. My acne made me feel I just wanted to hide from the world The worst breakout I ever had was when I was 21. I had tried this new product that ‘claimed ‘to help acne and redness. I put the mask on and within minutes my face was so irritated and itchy. I took off the mask and put cold water on my face to cool it off. Left it and thought nothing off it. The next morning, I woke up to the worst breakout in the world, covered my whole face and was big lumps on my face. I was so upset and embarrassed, I just wanted to hide from the world. It took about a week to go down but was still terrible for ages. The worst breakout I ever had was when I was 21 years. I had tried this new product that ‘claimed ‘to help acne and redness. I put the mask on and within minutes my face was so irritated and itchy. I took off the mask and put cold water on my face to cool it off. Left it and thought nothing off it. The next morning, I woke up to the worst breakout in the world, covered my whole face and was big lumps on my face. I was so upset and embarrassed, I just wanted to hide from the world. Took about a week to go down but was still terrible for ages. Throughout my early 20’s I would wake up in the mornings hating to look in the mirror and used to try put my fingers all over the spots to see what I would look like if I had clear skin. (obviously, this never worked as was way too many) but I was completely and utterly obsessed with trying to clear my skin. I googled how to get rid of acne about a million times and would watch countless YouTube videos. When I was 22 I tried going vegan if you can call that a treatment, as a lot of nutritionist said that it could be the food I am eating so I tried to cut out sugar, dairy and meat to see if that made a difference. To be honest my acne did seem less inflamed and the breakouts seemed to heal quicker, however it did not ‘cure’ my acne and I still broke out regardless I was diagnosed with severe acne by my family doctor when I was in my late teens and over the course of the years I have been prescribed numerous different treatments. Over the last 4-5 years I have been prescribed topical and oral medications to prevent my acne including antibiotics, topical creams, contraceptive pills and, finally at the start of last year, I was prescribed strong acne medication by my dermatologist, which was the only thing that has any effect on my acne. While taking acne medication I experienced a lot of worrying side effects like very dry skin and eyes, some liver damage, migraines and crippling anxiety attacks I still suffer from migraines and anxiety attacks now as a result of being on this medication. After coming off acne medication at the end of last year I lived in fear of the rebound acne that I was told by my dermatologist I would almost definitely experience due to the severity of my acne. I was told I would probably have to go on a second course. I really did not want to go on a second course of medication due to the horrible side effects and so when I started getting some break outs again after a few months of coming off it, which caused me a great deal of anxiety, I began to search for alternatives to try and control my rebound break outs before they got a chance to take hold and my acne returned with full force as I has seen on Instagram with so many other acne sufferers who had come off acne medications and their skin ended up the same or worse than before. Four months ago I discovered Clarol products through my Instagram @clearskinandgym where I share a lot of tips and information with other acne sufferers about how to manage adult acne. I was recommended them by one of my followers and I will often try new products that are recommended to me if they look convincing and there enough independent reviews on them. I particularly liked the concept of the Clarol products as they worked on prevention of acne by building up the skin’s natural acne defences as opposed to attacking the spots themselves. I read on the reviews that a lot of people were using them to help prevent going back on acne medication again so they seemed to be exactly what I was looking for as I was extremely reluctant to go back on medications ever again. I noticed the Clarol products working after about two weeks! I used the whole range but one of the standout products was a brand new treatment primer called Clarol Nordic Birch & Willow Primer. The company were running a consumer trial on the primer before launching it and asked me if I’d like test sample. The Primer contained two Nordic bark extracts, Birch and Willow. The Clarol Nordic Birch & Willow Primer for me honestly is a game-changer The whole Clarol range really helped reduce my post-medication breaks out that were coming back on a regular basis but really the primer completely transformed my skin. It took down the underlying red inflammation in my skin and made the texture of my skin much smoother and calmer. I could wear make up over the top of it and it didn’t trigger break outs like it normally does. If I had the treatment primer on, then my skin would feel calmer and not react to my make up at all. It was a revolution for me and felt like I had finally found a product that prevented and protected my skin from break out triggers, namely make up, which always makes my skin break out. Since using the Clarol products my skin is much clearer and not as red and aggressive The breakouts are minor and go away within a couple of days and the texture of my skin is much smoother and brighter. I feel so relieved to find a skincare range that actually works ongoingly and not just at the offset and also has no negative side effects. I feel it’s not only reduced my acne but actually improved the quality of my skin and my skin’s resilience to acne. I think these products are amazing for anyone coming off acne meds and trying to prevent rebound acne or trying to avoid going on it in the first place. I have had zero irritation to any of the Clarol products despite my skin being extremely sensitive after Accutane. My boyfriend has commented on how soft and clear my skin looks If you are struggling like I was with repeated break outs that do not seem to be responding to anything except strong medications then I would highly recommend Clarol products”
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Fibromyalgia sufferer in lockdown without access to painkillers finds Celafen helped reduce her symptoms
Many fibromyalgia sufferers living in lockdown are finding it hard to access their normal painkilling medications or doctor appointments and support. Here Louise, a 31-year old mum of one from Maidstone in Kent tells how Celafen helped her manage her fibromyalgia pain when she couldn’t get access to prescription painkillers. Louise says “Since using Celafen regularly over lockdown I have been able to lower my doses of powerfull painkillers, which is amazing as it worries me taking so much opiate based painkillers. Celafen has no negative side effects so I can use it as often as I like which has also reduced my anxiety. I was first diagnosed with Fibromyalgia on the 14th June 2019, by my GP. This was after many years of invasive tests, examinations, hospital trips, painful days and horrific nights. I’ve been told that the cause of my Fibromyalgia is likely to be because of childbirth. I had a very traumatic labour with my daughter that caused me significant psychological stress and trauma, which was sadly most likely the cause of the onset of my condition. My first symptoms started soon after having our daughter. The chronic back pain was the worst symptom, along with heavy fatigue, brain fog, forgetfullness, insomnia and all over muscle pains. But as it was so soon after giving birth everyone assumed it was due to that. I did speak with midwives, GP's and my family about my symptoms but it was all put down to my horrific birth experience and the fact that I was psychologically trying to erase it from my body’s memory. This saddens me because having a child is a special experience that should want to be remembered. However due to the onset of my Fibromyalgia as a result of giving birth, I feel that it has left a traumatizing impact on me that has affected future decisions on having more children. I also wonder now that if there had been more awareness about Fibromyalgia and that it hadn’t been such a taboo subject, that my symptoms may have been taken more seriously. I might also have avoided many years of invasive unnecessary tests that all proved negative. I feel like I've lost many years of my life to pointless tests, examinations and continued pain because Fibromyalgia has only recently been confirmed as a true medical condition. The day I was first diagnosed, 14th June 2019, came after I could not take any more pain. I entered my GP’s office expecting to be offered the same sort of advice I had been given many times before about relying on pain killers and making sure that I was getting enough sleep and exercise. Instead my GP said the word Fibromyalgia, something which I had not heard mentioned before. I was then given the 18-point tender check, these are the main points of where Fibromyalgia suffers feel pain. I had 13 of these points, some more considerably painful than others. Along with my medical history and the results of all the tests that I had previously undergone over four years I was finally diagnosed with Fibromyalgia. I cried when they told me. Not because of the diagnoses itself but because I finally had one and because someone had listened to me. Over time my Fibromyalgia has got worse. More points are becoming painful, areas of my body are feeling more pain and I can go from a day where I can walk around a park, do a shift at work, to barely being able to move from my home. I feel the stiffness setting in before I have managed to lift my legs from my bed, and my symptoms decide how my days are going to be from one to the next. My worst flare up occurred around May 2019, my body felt like I'd been completely taken over by pain, I could barely breath, walking was agony and as the day wore on my body became harder to handle, look after. It got to the point where I thought I maybe I had an infection I was that bad. In the end my husband took me to hospital where they gave me an IV drip for fluids and the strongest pain relief I could have because I couldn't manage it alone. My illness has taken a huge toll on my mental health. Just trying to adjust to the daily pain and regular symptoms of Fibromyalgia is a constant struggle and there have been times when I questioned how much I wanted to continue with it all. My Fibromyalgia has negatively affected my work as I’ve had to take a lot of time off so I’ve lost jobs and had written warnings from employers. As a result, I’ve had to take lower paid part time work that is more bearable and even then I have to be very careful about mentioning the word fibromyalgia as people are still very dismissive of it. My family, partner and my daughter have been very supportive throughout the whole journey. My husband has been particularly patient with my condition and understands when I wince if he touches my skin during a flare up, or when I'm crying in the shower because of the amount of pain I am suffering. I am very lucky to have such an understanding partner. Since my diagnosis I’ve tried so many medications I’ve lost count. I’ve been on cocktails of drugs and painkillers, all of which I sadly suffered considerable side effects from complete change of behaviour, to severe diarrhoea and not being able to sleep for more than two hours at a time. Recently I am on new painkiller. I have found it's helping when my pain levels get too much to handle, but because of how addictive the pain killer is I get anxious about taking it, even though it’s the only thing that can bring my pain levels down low enough to be able to function more or less normally. I have also tried physiotherapy but have found that this can actually restrict my movement for many days afterwards, so I carry out light exercise such as walking and yoga. I find that if I manage these activities carefully then I have a reasonable balance for a little while. To try and reduce my reliance on painkillers I have tried a few alternatives but have found these not to be helpful with my pain. It was only when I came across Celafen in August 2019 on a discussion blog, that I have actually found pain relief in the form of a cream. I was sceptical at first, I have tried so many creams and potions that I was fairly certain it wouldn’t work. I applied the Celafen cream first thing in the morning when my body stiffness and pain is at its strongest and before bed so that the pain was manageable throughout the night. I would also use it during the day when my flare ups occurred. Surprisingly I noticed a change in around 3-4 days. It started off as a gentle easing at first until I got the hang of how much I needed to use and when. I could feel it working within 10-15 minutes and it would last me a good few hours. If I needed more I would just top it up slightly. It differed from the other creams that I had previously tried because it worked much quicker, starting in as little as 10 minutes. The medicated cream I was prescribed would start working after around half an hour and when you are in agony with Fibromyalgia pain the minutes that can pass by can be crucial in helping. Currently my whole family and I are in lockdown. Due to the stress, my pain and stiffness is definitely heightened. I’m worried mostly because of my Costochondritis (a secondary symptom of my fibromyalgia) and the fact that the virus affects the respiratory system. I will almost certainly need to be hospitalised if I were to catch it, so I’m very scared at the moment. I had a scheduled GP appointment next week as my pain medication is running low due to my Fibromyalgia flaring up, understandably this is now a telephone consultation however I’m worried about being able to receive more pain relief and morphine due to the difficulty in the dispensing of prescriptions during the lockdown. However, I have upped my use of Celafen cream while in isolation to try and make the painkillers I have left go a little further and this is making a big difference getting through the day. I am so grateful that even in these difficult times I’ve still got access to something that can help ease my pain alongside my medications. I ordered more in the post this week and it arrived quickly and without any fuss. I feel like it’s one of the essential things helping to get me through all this. I would without a doubt recommend Celafen to other Fibromyalgia sufferers in a similar position. It’s not a miracle and not everything works for everyone, but it has massively helped me and if I had not given it a go, I would be struggling beyond belief at the moment.”
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Clarol Silver Serum clears beautician's acne that was mistaken for dermatitis
Lianne Barnett, 31, a beautician from Stoke on Trent. first developed adult acne at 25 which her doctor mistakenly diagnosed as dermatitis.
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Teacher ends six-year battle with cystic acne after discovering Clarol Sebopure
We're often told that beating acne is all about reducing bacteria. But in fact, its only bad skin bacteria that needs to be reduced. Good skin bacteria actually needs to be increased to help fight acne. Which is why so many OTC acne treatments leave the skin so damaged and often kick off a cycle of increasingly more severe acne outbreaks.
Learn moreWoman so badly bullied because of acne she needed therapy until Silver Serum saved her
A survey among acne sufferers by the British Skin Foundation found one in five of the 2,299 respondents had contemplated suicide as a result of not finding an acne cure. More than half of sufferers (56 per cent) have been the victim of verbal abuse from friends and family, while one in five blame the condition for the breakdown of a relationship.
Learn moreA Level student is saved from disfiguring cold sores thanks to Lip Q Liquorice Balm
Indigo Faulkner, 18, is an A Level student from Bridgenorth in Shropshire Indigo says; “When you say to friends you can’t go out because you have a cold sore, they think you’re being silly or vain.
Learn moreActress lands dream role after conquering her acne with new Sebopure
Sophie Rusetto is a 27-year old actress from Glastonbury in Somerset. For years she struggled with severe facial and body acne that impacted on both her professional and personal life.
Learn moreOregon grape root rid me of psoriasis after steroids & other drugs failed
Pat Woodward, 60, an estate agent from the Hampshire, suffered with psoriasis for over ten years. At times her hands were so sore and unsightly she would wear gloves to work. Pat explains how the condition has impacted on every aspect of her life for the past decade, and how finally she overcame it when she found a psoriasis cure in Oregon Grape Root: Pat says; “Psoriasis runs in my family, my mother had it before me and my brother developed it in puberty and still has it. I’ve not suffered quite as long as him, mine appears to have been triggered by the menopause, but it has been relentless. My hands are worst affected but I also have it on my legs and my scalp. Having psoriasis on my hands affects every aspect of my life. As obvious as it sounds, you need your hands for literally everything, from washing and dressing yourself in the morning, to eating, driving, typing or gripping a pen, and of course, for interacting with others. Until very recently I would wear lace gloves to work, both for my benefit and also because I didn’t want to make others feel uncomfortable. Psoriasis can be very painful and having my hand squeezed by an unsuspecting stranger was often excruciating. The gloves would make them think twice. They would also hide the layers of white, peeling, flaking skin, often cracked where my palms and knuckles were so dry my skin had split open. I was very conscious of how my hands looked. Many people wrongly believe that psoriasis is a contagious condition and I would worry that strangers would think I was unclean or had some kind of untreatable disease. Of course in some ways it was untreatable and for years I battled with one treatment or another. To start with it was just creams, mainly steroidal creams, from my doctor, but when these failed to work I begged to try stronger treatments. My self esteem was at an all time low and I had started to suffer with depression. Doctors prescribed anti-depressants and continued to look at possible treatment plans, including light therapy, whilst family and friends would bring me back all sorts of remedies from far flung places they had visited, including turmeric soap and bees wax creams, but nothing worked for any length of time. When light therapy failed to help, I was put on several courses of cancer-fighting drugs that work by suppressing the immune system. In each instance you have to trial the drug for a certain period of time and also leave time between each treatment before you can move on to another. I tried three in total: Methotrexate, Cysclosporine and Stelara skin injections, and the side-effects were horrendous. I did know that side-effects were to be expected but I was desperate and prepared to try anything. From palpitations and general sickness, to bowel disruptions so severe I actually thought I had cancer, and painful mouth ulcers, I felt dreadful. I did notice some improvement in my skin but it didn’t last and I certainly wouldn’t have been able to sustain this type of treatment for any longer. After my last course of skin injections in 2016, I asked my doctor not to put me forward for any more. I resolved to manage my psoriasis on my own terms: I would continue to live with it, I’d wear my lace gloves in public, non-latex gloves when in the shower, avoid coming into contact with known triggers and continue with steroid creams as and when I really needed them. I didn’t know what else to do; in my mind I had tried everything. As it turns out, I’d tried nearly everything. I was at a client’s house one day, valuing her property, when she asked me about my gloves. I went through the usual rigmarole of explaining why and what for, and she suggested I try Oregon Grape Root on my skin. She gave me the details of a skincare range specialising in products for people with psoriasis and strongly urged me to try them. I’ve had my fair share of tips and suggestions from well-meaning friends and family, but Oregon grape root was new to me. I decided to give the products a go, after all nothing could be worse than some of the treatments I had tried already. I was immediately hopeful when I tried the Body & Hand Wash because for the first time in a long time my skin felt clean. The Exfoliating Wash was particularly useful on my legs, it wasn’t as good on my hands because they were too sore and I had to apply it wearing non-latex gloves, but the skin on my legs responded well. And the shampoo and conditioner were really gentle on my scalp. The shampoo could smell a little nicer but it’s better than others I’ve tried; it’s often difficult to find shampoos and conditioners that are pure in terms of ingredients and still work. The conditioner was especially good. However I was really keen to see an improvement in my hands. I applied a thick layer of Serum on these and wore with gloves overnight. The Serum was immediately soothing and by morning my hands felt less tight. After a few days I started to notice a visible difference too, the skin was less angry looking and after about four weeks, the thick flakes of white skin had reduced significantly and the deeper cracks had almost healed. I’ve been using the Oregon Skincare products for just over four months and the overall improvement in my skin has been incredible. My psoriasis hasn’t disappeared altogether but it is at least 80% better. I do still have the odd flare-up; my husband and sister were admitted to hospital at the beginning of the year and I found this very stressful. My skin reacted badly to the stress and I used a steroid cream for a couple of weeks. Thankfully things have since returned to normal and my skin was quick to improve without the use of stronger treatments; I just started my Oregon skincare regime from scratch. Although I think I’ll always be conscious of my psoriasis, my skin is the best it’s been in over a decade. I am no longer self-conscious. I no longer wear gloves to work, I’m wearing nail varnish for the first time in years and I’m able to use my hands again for more physical tasks, such as pottering in the garden and playing with my grandchildren. As for the rest of me, my legs are completely clear, I no longer have to hide them away under woolly tights or trousers and I was even able to wear a dress for my husband’s birthday! He made a comment when he saw me in it, ‘Oh, so you do have legs’, what a cheek! But he did follow it up with ‘very nice’, so I suppose I can forgive him!”
Learn moreI’d look in the mirror and cry every morning until KALME saved my ravaged skin
Frances Batten, 33, is a medical secretary and mother of three from Somerset who developed rosacea after the sudden death of her mother. Frances says; “If my sister hadn’t found Kalme caper cream when she did, I think I’d have dropped into a black hole of despair about the state of my skin, which was ravaged with rosacea and not a single treatment from the doctors had worked. I hadn’t had any problems with my skin until September 2015. I had just changed jobs and had three very young children and one day my skin just erupted. After diagnosing me with rosacea, a dermatologist told me that the sudden flare up of rosacea was likely due to stress. What they didn’t tell me was that this was just the beginning of a horrendous journey that ended with my skin literally bubbling and blistering all over my face so that I looked like I had been attacked by a swarm of bees. I was prescribed two types of topical antibiotics that didn’t work and then I was put on an oral antibiotic called Tetracycline. Eventually it did clear up my rosacea although I was left with very dry skin on my forehead. Still being rather naive about rosacea back then, I thought that was job done and I’d go back to having nice clear skin. But at the start of 2016 my dear mum was diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and four weeks later she died. It was very sudden. After my mum’s death, which came as a real shock to all of us, I had a second flare up of rosacea that was about 80% worse than the first one. I took two more courses of antibiotics and this time my skin did not improve. I didn’t finish the second course. The antibiotics didn’t work and I didn’t want to keep taking them as my skin seemed to be getting worse not better. By this stage my nose was so swollen that I could see it in my vision. I was told this flare up might be due to not addressing my grief for my mum’s death. I was a working mother with three young children, I didn’t have time to grieve even though my mum’s death had completely devastated me. Late at night after the children had gone to bed I’d trawl the internet looking through blogs about rosacea to see what other people with the same condition were recommending. I saw a lot of products suggested but found a cream that several people had recommended so I decided to try it. The results were horrendous. My skin felt tight as soon as I applied it and within a few weeks my skin got even redder and more swollen and the spots got even worse. By now I looked like a burns victim and my skin was so sore it hurt to even smile. My rosacea was ruining my life. I spent hours every morning trying to cover it with make-up. I would sit in front of the mirror in the morning and cry. I felt I looked dirty and I was worried that people would think I didn’t wash. I even found doing the school run an emotional trauma. I felt as though other mum’s were staring at me. I lost all my confidence. I started turning down social events that we were invited to as a couple. My husband was very supportive, but it was really hard for him. I cut myself a fringe to try and hide some of my face. I started dressing in jeans and bland t shirts so I blended into the background and I only went out in public if I had to. The rest of the time I just hid at home. I became a bit of a recluse. Looking back, I was clearly very depressed. I was crying most days. I felt helpless and hopeless. My sister was my rock as she was the only person I could really talk about my skin, other than my husband I’d all but given up when she rang me at work and told me about Kalme products. She’d just read about them in an article on rosacea and was insistent that I try them. She was keen as they contained no chemicals and she was convinced that my skin had become intolerant of chemicals after I’d used so many medicated products. I had never tried anything natural for my rosacea. So mostly to please my sister, I ordered the whole range as it was cheaper as a complete skincare kit. It was the single best think I ever did for my skin. I knew it was going to work because when I put the cream on it didn’t sting and was immediately calming on my skin. All other products I’d tried burned my skin. I’d even written to the company who made the cream that made my skin ever worse and they had told me that the burning and tightening sensation I experienced was the cream working. I found out the hard way that this was completely untrue. So, when Kalme products didn’t sting at all I felt very optimistic. After a week of using the day cream with an SPF, night cream, cleanser and a treatment concealer, most of the underlying swelling and tenderness had gone. It took about 4-6 weeks to completely clear my skin. And when I say clear, I really mean clear. My skin had not looked that normal for over two years. The results were incredible. And touch wood, I’ve been using the products every day since and my skin has stayed clear. Aside from the appearance of my skin, it’s such a relief not to be in pain every day. I’m much less grumpy with the kids and feel happier and more able to cope. I’ve started wearing my hair back again and I’m growing out my fringe. I’m no longer ashamed to show my face. I’ve begub joining in conversations instead of staying mute in the background and I can look people in the eye. Rosacea might only be a skin condition, but it effects every aspect of your life and for naturally shy people like me, it’s impact is devastating. Now I feel like a different and more confident person. I think going through the hell of having rosacea and coming out the other end triumphant has perhaps partly cured my shyness.”
Learn moreAcne was the reason I only wrote to my boyfriend for 10 years because I was too embarrassed to see him
In medical terms acne is a non-serious condition because it isn't life threatening. However it's a condition that can ruin people's lives, sometimes driving sufferers to depression, chronic insecurity and, in the most tragic of cases, even suicide. Here one brave young woman talks about her acne journey and how it left her so insecure she didn't have a relationship with a man until her 20's, after Silver Serum helped turn her life around after her skin dramatically improved from using it. Charlotte Hall, 26, is a legal secretary from Ashford, Kent Charlotte says: "If anyone was to ask me what the worst thing is that remember about growing up, it would be acne. Acne ruined most of my teens and my early 20's. And when I say ruined, I mean it literally ruined my life. I first started getting acne when I was 12 years old. My skin was incredibly oily and at school I used to have to go to the bathroom every hour or so to blot my skin with tissue and apply talcum powder to soak up the oil. I have a twin brother and he also got acne but it was much milder than mine and much later. Neither of my parents had it. I was basically the only one. People used to laugh at me because my face looked so oily. I’d wear gallons of make-up to try and cover up my acne but it would slide off my face within a few hours and I’d have to replace it. I could never wash my face at school as I was worried about anyone seeing my skin without make up. I even wore make up in my house as I didn’t want my parents or my brother to see me bare-faced. From the age of about 18 onward I hardly dared to leave my house because I was so self-conscious about my skin. I couldn’t even speak to boys, let alone go on a date or be intimate in any way. When all my friends were dating and falling in love. I hadn't even kissed a boy let alone had a boyfriend. My boyfriend, Constantin, is the first and only boyfriend I’ve ever had. We met very briefly when I was 14, he was on a school exchange at my school. I was very shy when we spoke and back then my acne hadn't even reached its height. He could see how hard I found it to speak to him so he asked for my address so he could write to me. He began writing to me as soon as he returned back to Germany and continued to do so for the next ten years despite never seeing me again. Even though when I met him I barely said a word, I found writing back to him easier because he couldn’t see my face. He always wrote that he wanted to see me again, but I always refused even though I really liked him. I was just too anxious about my skin to agree to seeing him. It took ten years ten years before I finally agreed to go on a date with him. During our correspondence, I went to hell and back with my acne. I lost friendships over my acne. I had friends take it personally as they didn't understand why I didn't want to go out clubbing or meet up, people thought I was unfriendly. . I wouldn’t even do sleep overs at friends or anything like that. People thought I was super anti-social and strange but it was all linked to my skin. By my late teens my acne had gone from bad to worse and I’d developed a serious social phobia about going out at all. I was deeply psychologically scarred about my skin. I didn’t even like to go down to the corner shop near my house. Going to school was an emotional hurdle every day. My dermatologist told me I was the worst case of acne he’d ever seen. I was prescribed hormone pills, antibiotics, prescription creams and gels. Everything you can possibly imagine. They also tried me on the contraceptive pill even though I’d never had sex. Nothing worked and so in my first year of university, I was prescribed Accutane. I went from feeling very down to feeling extremely depressed. I almost left university as I just couldn't cope. I felt tired, depressed and ill all the time. After six months I had to come off Accutane as I had already been on it longer than is recommended and as a result I’ve been left with permanently dry eyes and dry lips. When I smiled or laughed it caused all my skin on my lips and around the corners of my mouth to crack, bleed and peel off. After the Accutane I then tried a course of microdermabrasion and light therapy, which improved my skin a bit but it was such agony to have the treatments. It was like being shot in the face several times, I was crying so much I couldn't carry on. After the therapy I felt drained. I’d been through so much pain and had been feeling so ill for so long I just wanted to stop everything and just let my body 'breath' for a moment. It was while reading endless blogs and articles on-line while shut away in my room that I came across Silver Serum. I had read about so many miracle cures for acne, but this product seemed to be taking a completely different approach. Instead of promising to zap zits or dry up sebum, it was saying that it helped increase the skin’s good bacteria which would help the skin to naturally fight the acne bacteria. I didn’t even know we had good bacteria on the skin. After reading about it, I realised that mine must have been non-existent after all the strong anti-bacterial medications and products I had used over the years. I read the many reviews on the website about Silver Serum to see what others had say and the more I read the more I felt convinced that this product seemed worth a try. I wasn't expecting amazing results, even if it helped a bit I'd have been grateful. So imagine my utter amazement when within a week I could start to see a serious difference. The redness and inflammation had started to calm down. Within two weeks my actual spots had started to decrease. Within two months of daily use only using Silver Serum, my skin improved by about 60%, which is incredible. I was using Silver Serum on its own, but recently I have been using it in combination with a weak retinol cream that someone on another blog had recommended and it’s like a magic combination. My skin has got even better. I'd say its now about 90% better than it was. I still cannot believe it and I keep thinking it’s just a phase or a fluke but my skin has now been totally clear for a year. When people look at me now I don't think they would say I have acne. In fact a few people have even told me I have lovely skin. It wasn’t until my skin began to heal after I discovered Silver Serum, that I finally built up the courage to go and visit Constantin in Germany. It was such a huge step for me and I was wracked with anxiety about staying with him and him seeing my skin without full make up as it was not entirely healed at that point, although it was so much better than it had been. Even now Constantin is still the only adult outside my family who I allow to see me without make up. When we finally met again as adults it was love at first sight. I felt he had been waiting patiently for me for all those years until I was ready. I only realise now how incredibly romantic that is. Although I’m still very insecure about my skin, Constantin is completely aware of my insecurities and anxiety and helps me deal with it. He’s always telling me that I’m beautiful. Aside from falling in love with Constantin, my entire world has changed since my acne cleared up. I started actually talking to friends and began tentatively going out now and then, just to the pub down the road from my house to begin with and then further afield. I also began to take an interest in my clothes and even started letting myself be photographed. These might seem like nothing but they were huge steps for me. Going to see Constantin also gave me a lust to travel. I had not even been on an aeroplane before. I’m still emotionally healing and I know that my struggle is not over yet but I’m getting there. Acne t ends up being the thing that defines you. To have the first reaction of most people being a horrified stare is something that leaves scars not just on your skin but emotionally. I’m still trying to get over the devastating effect it's had on my life. I feel very lucky that I managed to find something that worked for my acne and that I'm now able to get on with my life. I also feel very blessed to have a relationship with someone who has shown such incredible patience and dedication. I'm sure may people suffering from acne don't get the kind of understanding from others that's so crucial to helping deal with it."
Learn moreStudent nurse’s rosacea is triggered by pregnancy
<p><strong> </strong></p> <h2>Rosacea effects one in ten people and is most typical in women over the age of 50 and is often triggered or exacerbated by the menopause.</h2> <h2>However it can occur in younger women and also in men. Notably even though less men get rosacea than women, in men the symptoms are usually more severe.</h2> <p>Sorele Swallow, 31, is a student nurse from Chesterfield and is married with four children aged 11, 9, 5 and 2 who developed rosacea at an unusually young age. <img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3968" src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1033/4001/5961/files/sorele-swallow-before-afte-KALME.jpg?v=1778775155" alt="sorele-swallow-before & afte KALME" width="600" height="313"> “Catching sight of your own reflection in the mirror or a shop window and feeling upset isn’t a good feeling. “Neither is watching people’s shocked reaction when they see your face for the first time, which happens to me a lot as a student nurse. When I started to train as a nurse I was worried people would look at me and think that I didn’t look healthy. That is how rosacea makes you feel. Until this year I thought I’d never find a cure for my rosacea and that I'd feel and look this way forever. I’d tried everything and more to try and clear up my red, blotchy and puss covered skin. I never thought I was going to feel good about the way I looked again.” Sorele told Skin Magazine. <img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3970" src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1033/4001/5961/files/red-skin-5.jpg?v=1778775107" alt="red skin" width="325" height="385">Acne rosacea is a hereditary inflammatory skin condition that causes dilation of the blood vessels just below the skin’s surface. It’s often a misconception that people who have rosacea also have oily skin and acne. Adult acne and acne rosacea are often confused but are in fact very different skin conditions and require very different treatments. Checklist for spotting rosacea symptoms</p> <ul> <li>Your nose and/or cheeks are often red</li> <li>The spots are small and pussy and only on your cheeks and nose</li> <li>You were over the age of 30 when you started to get the spots</li> <li>Your facial skin feels bumpy</li> <li>Your spots and redness get worse in the heat or the cold, in the sun, after drinking alcohol or eating spicy food or after you use certain skincare products</li> </ul> <p>“I first developed rosacea after I had my first child when I was 20. I have four children and my skin got worse after each one. Although I loved having my children young, I was horrified by how much it ruined my skin,” says Sorele. “I was finally diagnosed with rosacea when I was 23. I was told I was very young to have the condition as it generally effects women in their 40’s onwards.They said it could be due to the disruptions of my hormones from pregnancy.” There's no conclusive evidence that rosacea is triggered in women by hormonal disruptions, however the menopause is often a danger zone. Pregnancy can also trigger rosacea, especially if the pregnancy is when a woman is over 30. “I was prescribed a topical antibiotic. It didn’t get rid of my spots or make the horrible red bumpiness that was all over my cheeks and nose any better and it really dried out my skin,” Sorele says. “Meanwhile I tried all the creams and lotions in the chemists that claimed to help my type of skin but nothing worked or made it worse. The only make make-up I could use was Bare Minerals, but even that started to make my skin flare up after a few months. But I’d got to the point where I didn’t want to put anything on my skin at all and I had to go bare faced out in public without my make-up which was tough. I ended up talking about my skin all the time. I could see people looking at it so I’d quickly tell them what was wrong with me to just get it over with. My kids would ask me why I was always spotty.” Rosacea is a very complex skin condition so treatments vary widely and what may suit once person may not suit another, so a degree of trial and error to find what works best for you is usually necessary. <img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3971" src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1033/4001/5961/files/rosacea-2.jpg?v=1778775112" alt="rosacea 2" width="318" height="159">Many people with rosacea will either initially or eventually opt to move away from treating their skin with antibiotics or medicated treatments due to the chronic and permanent nature of the condition. Most people decide they can’t use medications forever and so alternative or more managerial solutions that at the very least help cut down on their reliance on medications and at best remove the need for them altogether. But what you chose to use to manage your rosacea is a very personal choice, depending on the severity of symptoms, how much it effects your life, what your lifestyle habits are and what your feelings are towards use of medicated or non-medicated treatments. “In desperation I opted for a course of oral antibiotics but the doctor was worried that I might get pregnant again and the antibiotics for rosacea can cause birth defects. The doctor suggested that I had a coil fitted beforehand to ensure I wouldn’t get pregnant while the antibiotics, “ says Sorele. “So I had to weigh up my desire to have more children with the need to try and clear my skin. It was a tough decision but in the end I opted to put my skin first. However my experiment with antibiotics was short-lived. Within weeks I felt sick most days and my skin was super dry. I only managed to stay on them for a month and then had to stop as I felt so ill. I was at my wits end and was feeling very depressed and anxious. I felt I was trying to follow all the advice and even make big sacrifices for my skin and yet nothing was working. My husband saw how down I was getting and was as desperate as me to find something to treat my skin just so I felt better about myself again. I was even considering trying antibiotics again. I was breast feeding with my fourth child at the time so I had to make a hard choice again. But luckily before I could try them again I saw a post from a beauty blogger about KALME products. The blogger actually had rosacea herself and she seemed utterly convinced by the KALME products so I checked out all the ingredients and they seemed to be chemical free and were targeted at rosacea instead of just for sensitive or spotty skin like many products. I ordered the products that had been recommended and felt an almost immediate improvement. The KALME products didn’t burn my skin at all, which was a very good sign as almost every product I had tried did.<img class="alignleft size-full wp-image-3969" src="https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1033/4001/5961/files/sorele-swallow-make-up-free-after-2.jpg?v=1778775162" alt="sorele swallow make up free after 2" width="1047" height="1380"> Within a week my skin looked a lot less angry. Within a month it was really unbelievable and people had started to comment on how much better my skin looked. There was at least a 70% improvement in all my symptoms. The flushing had gone right down the bumpy spots pretty much disappeared and my skin was less swollen and sore. Now, several months on, my skin is basically clear of rosacea. I get a few spots now and then and I still flush a bit when the central heating goes on or if I’ve been out in the sun but on a day to day basis my skin is normal. I don’t get any bumps at all, my skin is smooth. As a result my confidence has returned and bloomed. I’m honestly not a vain person, I don’t think I’m stunning or anything. I just want to look normal without people staring at me. People think it’s no big deal having bad skin but it actually effects every part of your life. I feel liberated not having to worry about my skin every day, it’s really changed my whole outlook on life.” </p>
Learn moreA caterpillar rash almost ruined my skin
Bruno Cardoso, 31, from London experienced a severe and painful skin reaction from a Caterpillar crawling on his skin while on holiday in Spain and nothing would calm it down until he tried Bug Balm. Bruno says;“I have never really suffered much from any allergies but after giving up smoking four years ago I started to get quite bad hay fever most summers, which could make my eyes and nose area itchy. But I have never had any kind of skin problems until I went on holiday to Spain earlier this year. We were trekking in the mountains in Southern Spain and we stopped to have a packed lunch by a small water fall. It was really hot so we went for a swim in the waterfall and afterwards I laid on a rock to get some sun. My girlfriend noticed a small caterpillar crawling across my shoulder. I wasn’t even worried, in fact the thing looked quite sweet and I gently flicked it off and let it crawl off across the rocks. I hadn’t felt any pain or sting at the time and thought nothing more of it until that night back at our hotel my whole shoulder and neck erupted in these small red painfull bumps. The bumps itched like crazy but they were so painful when I scratched them. The bumps were all over my shoulder and up my neck and by the next day they were bright red and really tender. My whole should felt like it had been bruised and felt swollen in the muscles and I didn’t even want to go walking the next day. My girlfriend has really fair skin and is always being bitten by mosquitoes and bugs so had come equipped with an assortment of creams and sprays to keep the bugs off her. She goes through a complicated spraying ritual before we set off for hikes to keep the bugs away. I have never bothered with any of those things as I rarely suffer from insect bites. We tried one of her sprays for supposedly calming down mosquito bites but when we sprayed it on my shoulder it sting so badly I had to rush to the shower to wash it off. Then we just tried some normal after-sun lotion with chamomile in it and that actually made the bumps even redder. By day four I was in quite a lot of pain and the itching was unbearable. I had Googled my symptoms and it became fairly obvious that it was the innocent little caterpillar that had crawled across my shoulder that had caused the problem. It wasn’t a sting or a bite but an allergic skin reaction to the caterpillar hairs. The last thing my girlfriend had in a her suitcase was a new Bug Balm she had bought just before we left as it claimed to calm down all bug bites and it was natural and contained an extract of liquorice. She had bought it as she was worried about using so many chemicals on her skin. As it happened she hadn’t been bitten so far as she walked round in a constant cloud of anti-bug sprays so we had no idea if it worked or not. I was fairly dubious about trying it as the last two things she had put on my skin has really stung but the itching was so bad that I could not even sleep and it seemed to be getting worse so I felt I had to try something or else I felt I’d need to see a doctor. As soon as the Bug Balm went on my skin felt better. The itching calmed down almost immediately. It was such a relief. But within about two hours the itching and pain came back again so I immediately slathered on more Bug Balm and the skin calmed down again. I carried on this routine, applying the Bug Balm several times a day and during the night when I woke up because of the itching on my neck and shoulder, for the remaining few days of our holiday and during the days after we got home. After about six days the bumps started to go down and the itching eased. When I got home and looked it up properly I saw pictures of other people with caterpillar rashes that looked horrific. Apparently the types of caterpillars that caused the skin reaction are common in Southern Spain and other Southern Mediterranean regions. On blogs people were saying they had had the rash and pain for several weeks, even months after the initial reaction. Mine had lasted 6-7 days and had not blistered or got infected so I actually felt very lucky when I saw what other people had suffered. I am 100% assured that it was the Bug Balm that had calmed the rash down and shortened the effect of the reaction as until I put the Bug Balm on it felt like the pain and itching and swelling was actually getting worse not better. We like to go hiking in a lot in different areas of Europe and from now on I am never getting on a plane again without a pot of Bug Balm, it saved our holiday and literally saved my skin.” Read our review of Skin Shop's Bug Balm
Learn moreA summer holiday medication triggered my psoriasis
During a holiday of a lifetime in Thailand Sasha Burton, 22, a biology student from Brighton, had a severe skin reaction to a standard malaria medication that triggered her psoriasis and changed her skin forever. Sasha says: “It was a summer holiday that I had been dreaming of for years. I have always wanted to go toThailandand finally my dream came true when I got the chance to go there on holiday with some friends. We were travelling round the country and planned to spend some time on the beaches as well as see all the amazing sights. I knew it would probably be one of those holidays I was unlikely to be able to do again so I wanted to enjoy every moment. All was going well until I had to take some medication for malaria, which is normal when visitingThailand. The medication was standard and we all took it a few days before travelling to a place calledLaosinThailand, which is a malaria danger zone. [quote]I had been taking the medication for four days when my skin started feeling really itchy. I thought I had caught something from the water. Then a few days later I broke out in a really bad rash all over my stomach. It was itchy and really red and quite furious. Me and my friends all panicked as we thought I had caught some awful tropical disease or something.[/quote] I went to a doctor in Tailand and I was prescribed anti-histamines and steroids as they thought it was an allergic reaction to something I had eaten. But the rash stayed and nothing seemed to clear it up. I was inThailandfor a month and the whole time I was there I was constantly distracted and concerned about the rash on my stomach which was spreading to my arms and legs too. I didn’t really want to wear a bikini on the beach as the rash looked so awful, and I found it hard to completely enjoy myself as I felt constantly uncomfortable and itchy. I was also embarrassed to show my body so I didn’t really get to enjoy my holiday. It was supposed to be a beach holiday with plenty of sunbathing etc, but in fact I spent most of my time covered up in clothes due to the state of my skin. I tried my best to enjoy myself and not let my skin get me down but it was hard as I was so conscious of it and also worried about why it hadn’t gone away with the mediation I had been given. After a month in Thailand I got back to theUKbut I still had the rash, although it wasn’t as bad as it had been when it first emerged. [quote]I immediately went to see my doctor who then sent me to a dermatologist and it was only then that the full horror of what had happened to me emerged. I was told that the malaria medication had triggered a skin condition called psoriasis, which I was told I was probably genetically predisposed to but that could be triggered by physiological changes in the body. The malaria medication had obviously been enough to trigger the psoriasis.[/quote] But what was most devastating of all was that I was told it was incurable and that I would have the skin condition for the rest of my life. I was completely gutted and went into a dark depression when I realised that this skin condition was going to plague me forever. Due to the stress and perhaps the change of climate back in the UK as well as starting university my skin broke out again and this time it was even more severe, I was covered almost from head to foot in furious red rashes and scales. I was prescribed various creams but nothing really worked. I went back to my dermatologist several times and was eventually prescribed UV treatment when my psoriasis was really bad, it was all over the main trunk of my body. The UV therapy helped but it did not clear it up and my skin was still mottled and dry. There was not one time when I didn’t have some red patches and scales on various parts of my body. Even though I was supposed to be having the time of my life at university, I was finding it hard to concentrate on my studies. I had to wear trousers all the time and a long sleeved top and never show my skin. I refused to go to parties as I didn't want my skin to be on show because it looked so awful! At a few points I felt extremely depressed and even considered giving up my studies as I felt so unmotivated. I found it hard to feel upbeat about anything and some days I didn’t even want to leave my room if my skin was bad. [quote]My mum was so worried about me and how down I was getting that she began researching psoriasis treatments on the internet and that was when she found Skin Shop’s Oregon Grape Root skincare range. On the website she read a few testimonials buy other people with psoriasis who had tried it and found it worked for them and felt convinced enough to order some for me.[/quote] When it arrived I wasn’t very enthusiastic as to me it was just another cream that no doubt wouldn’t work like everything else I had tried, but because Mum had paid for it and gone to the trouble to order it I felt I should at least try it. Thank goodness I did. Within three days I began to notice an improvement of my skin. After two weeks by skin was better and clearer than it had been in many months. The effect was incredible, I kept checking my skin each morning in the mirror and I could hardly believe what was happening. It was like a miracle. I have been using the Oregon products now for almost a year and I swear by them. I don’t use anything else on my psoriasis as I don’t need to as my skin has stayed more or less clear since I started using the Oregon Graperoot products. I had one small skin outbreak recently when I got a throat infection and had to take mediation for it which I think effected my skin, but other than that my skin has been pretty clear. I use the Oregon Maintenance Cream daily on my hands where the psoriasis was the worst, and now you can barely tell I have any psoriasis on my hands at all. Whenever I feel any parts of my skin starting to itch or go red I use the cream or sometimes the more intensive Oregon Skin Serum for a few days and it goes away. I try and use the daily maintenance cream all over my body once or twice a week as a preventative measure and that seems to keep the psoriasis away. I also use the Oregon Body andHandWashin place of soap or shower gel. [quote]I would honestly recommend the Oregon skincare range to any psoriasis sufferer. I thought to myself surely it's just another one of those creams ... similar to the hundreds I have already tried... but this one literally saved my skin! [/quote] I had resigned myself last year to the fact that I would probably never be able to wear a bikini or show my skin in public again, but my skin has improved so much that on a recent summer holiday I tentatively wore a bikini again on the beach and felt confident in my body again for the first time in years.” Read our review on Oregon Grape root here
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