Reena Ruparelia has lived with psoriasis since she was in high school. But she didn’t start sharing about her experience until 20 years later. Stigma played a role in her hesitancy to speak out, but a major factor was the difficulty in finding a doctor who really listened, and a treatment that worked. Until patients find treatment, it can feel like their life is on hold–but Reena has a message of hope for anyone still looking. Reena’s story ties in perfectly to the history in this episode, which goes step by step through the evolution of psoriasis treatment, from ancient times to our modern medicines today.

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When Jen Weaver was diagnosed with psoriasis in 2017 (after five years handling rheumatoid arthritis), she was 36 years old and had three busy kids. Her plaques were very visible–she said they covered her “from head to toe”--and very painful. Psoriasis meant a step into a world where people noticed her auto-immune condition for the first time, and the reaction was far from comforting. So Jen found her people, and now runs a community and resource bank called “My Spoonie Sisters” (Why spoons? Listen to find out!). In our step into history, we trace the origins of the stigma against psoriasis and the key figures in dispelling that stigma. History, and Jen, show us that education busts stigma.

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Activist and Hollywood producer Holly Dillon was diagnosed with psoriasis when she was just 14 years old and, at 20, was told by a doctor that there was no help for her–that her body had “failed.” Devastated but not deterred, Holly launched Get Your Skin Out, a visual campaign and online community of people sharing about their skin disorders, and looking beautiful doing it. As we step back in skin history, we examine the lives of Benjamin Franklin and Elizabeth Siddal, suspected psoriasis patients, who wrote extensively about how their symptoms affected them. We see they faced many of the same challenges people do today.

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