BBC NI radio presenter Steven Rainey shares his psoriasis journey

  • 2 months ago
BBC NI radio presenter Steven Rainey shares his psoriasis journey
Transcript
00:00To be able to physically watch my skin getting better on a day-to-day basis, in a way that
00:05I could never have imagined, the impact that had on me was transformative.
00:15One day I got into the shower, looked at my body and went, something is not quite right here.
00:20Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory condition. It's immune mediated, so essentially that
00:25means there's over-activity of the immune system. It's very well defined, red plaques,
00:31often on the extensor surfaces of their skin.
00:34Until it came a point about maybe seven years ago, where it was just too much. I couldn't
00:40do it anymore. The irritation, the anxiety it was causing. And on a trip to the GP, they
00:46had noticed that it was particularly bad and they were able to recommend some other treatments.
00:51I'm so aware now that it's not a one-size-fits-all kind of problem.
00:56Often people with psoriasis, it's not just a condition that affects the skin. The patients
01:02are in an inflammatory state, so we are concerned about their cardiovascular health. So there's
01:07things that they can do to improve their health in general. Lifestyle advice, exercising more,
01:12having a good diet.
01:14Onto the treatment with biologics, which I noticed a massive change in my skin. So if
01:19anyone is sitting there in that position thinking, well, I'm on my own here. You're
01:23not. You're absolutely not on your own. There are people who can help you.
01:26The staff at the hospital have been fantastic. I mean, I've met some incredible people over
01:30the years who've really made an impact on me at some dark points on that journey. I
01:35mean, I've been living with psoriasis for the best part of 20 years at that point. And
01:39to see it disappearing from my skin, knowing that I could roll my sleeves up again or I
01:45could wear shorts again in public and I didn't have to worry about that kind of thing. I'll
01:49never forget the impact that made on me.

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