Our Stories

Yazeed

Yazeed

My name is Yazeed Adams and this is my journey with psoriasis. It all started when my father got diagnosed age 60 that he has psoriasis after which he started getting plague psoriasis in between his joints. This was all new to me and my family as nobody knew or even...

Vivienne

Vivienne

Hi. My name is Vivienne Oliver aged 60 years. My Psoriasis journey started 19 years ago. I am an Operational Manager in nursing, working in the Operating Theatre. I had my first flare when my daughter was in Grade 11, and she was pregnant. It was an enormous shock....

Tamsin

Tamsin

My world changes on World Psoriasis Day 2022 “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.” (Sam Keen) The saying goes “beauty is only skin deep”, which is something I learned during my psoriasis journey, even...

Sharlene

Sharlene

My name is Sharlene and I am a psoriasis warrior. I call myself a warrior because I have a vowed to fight the stigma attached to having psoriasis and to live a happy, beautiful life. Somedays, it is not easy.  As I write this, I have bleeding lesions on my scalp. It...

Pat

Pat

At aged 8 years the symptoms of a skin condition appeared – red, dry, itchy, cracking patches which slowly increased in size and spread over 90% of my body including my scalp. It was diagnosed as eczema and then psoriasis. I recall that we kids rubbing ointment on red...

Noor

Noor

Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Noor Lakay. I am a 61-year-old male. I am of Muslim Coloured descent. I am a patient at Grootte Schuur Hospital Dermatology Clinic. I suffer from a chronic health condition that impacts the body’s largest organ, namely...

Annie

Annie

Annie Moses The 1990’s were a difficult decade in our home, with many struggles to contend with. My youngest daughter was diagnosed with a rare illness when she was only two years old. This took a great toll on our family as she needed all our attention. My daughter...

Melini

Melini

“Don’t worry. It’s not contagious.” Famous first words I spent much of my young adult life uttering. As I teenager I remember people staring at the patches on my skin, while keeping a safe distance. As a young journalist I remember many newsmakers swapping roles, to...

Keith

Keith

Hey, my name’s Keith and I am one of the 125 million people in the world living with Psoriasis.  When I was first diagnosed at the age of 18 I had no idea that a seemingly simple skin condition could (and would) impact every facet of my life going forward.  I’ve...

JP Moodley

JP Moodley

My name is Jaypragsan Moodley. I'm 43 years old from Phoenix Durban and I live with psoriasis.  In my early 20s it first appeared on my face, arms and legs. However it just went away after using traditional methods. About 15 years later it appeared again but this time...

Gadija

Gadija

My name is Gadija Adams. I am 41 years of age and have suffered from psoriasis over the last 5 years. At first, I thought that after my Caesarian section, the skin irritation at the folds of my skin at my lower stomach area and my panty line area were due to...

Angie

Angie

My long road with my friend started at the tender age of 10 years old. I had not known much and was still figuring out about the changes my body was going through at the time reaching puberty as a young girl. How overwhelming it all was. At the same time, I discovered...

Lydia

Lydia

Lydia's first sports appeared when she was pregnant with her first son. Like a snowstorm, the sports spread and by the time she turned 20, must of her body was covered with psoriasis. 3 years later, the disease spread beyond the skin, causing such pain in her joints...

Veronica

Veronica

World Psoriasis Day 2022 came with a surprise for me. My long-time nursing colleague confirmed that my itchy scalp was indeed psoriasis. The discomfort, the scales, the falling flakes, the pain, all so indicative of this condition that I’ve known about for a long time...

Gloria

Gloria

Gloria Mokoana story I grew up in the dusty village of Motsephiri, in the province of Limpopo in the northern part of South Africa. When I was fourteen, I noticed a spot on one leg; it looked like shingles. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to it. Then it started...