I Have Psoriasis, And I Promise You, You Can’t Catch It

This might be a little ranty, guys. So, just a little warning in advance.  So I was in a lovely Sedalia establishment the other day to pick up a very healthy bag of hamburgers and french fries. I'm all about health food, after all, so I made sure to get Husbando his sweet tea.  Anyway. I was standing there in line, minding my own beeswax, when someone behind me in line brushes up against me.

I turn around a little, I didn't see anybody, don't think much else of it. Accidents happen.

Then, it happens again. I think, "Oh man, I must be somebody's way, I'd better move up a little..." So I turn around more and step forward a bit, and when I do, I see the person behind me. It's a little boy. He was reaching out to touch my elbows.

Now you may have read the title of this post, and if you have, I bet you can put two and two together on that. I have psoriasis on both my elbows. It's just a little patch on each one, not a big deal. It basically looks like dry skin. There's a bunch of different types of it, and a lot of people have it. Some people have itchiness, some people have flaking, some people have it worse or in different places all over their body. I just have it on my elbows in a size that's maybe about a fifty cent piece and one patch that's maybe the size of a penny on my arm. I don't think about it much, to be honest. It doesn't bother me.

See, it's just a little patch there, it's not like it's red or inflamed or oozing or anything.

So it didn't bother me that the little boy was curious. Kids are.  I get it. I was about to address the little man when his mother (who I had not seen until now) steps up and yanks him back away from me. I think, "Oh, no, she thinks he's being rude....I should let her know it's okay."  I look over to her, and she's got this look of disgust on her face that I cannot describe.  It guess it was like she saw a dog eating its own vomit. She kneels,  reaches into her purse and pulls out hand wipes and slathers his hands. I couldn't quite hear her murmuring to him, but I did hear something like "you'll catch it".

By that time it was my turn in line. I thought about saying something, but I knew Husbando was hungry so I let it slide.

But as I drove home, I started to feel bad. Like I was somehow gross or contaminated or.. just unwelcome in other people's presence. I came home with a bit of a downer attitude. Then as I was talking about it with Husbando, he got LIVID. He was ready to ride or die and find this woman, but of course he would be. He's a dude, he doesn't want anybody to make his lady feel bad. BUT, that's not a positive course of action.

So I thought I'd address it here, and put it out there for everybody - if you see someone who has a skin condition, it's okay. There are all kinds of different conditions, but not many of them are contagious at all.  And my condition is definitely not contagious.  The only way you can get it is by being born with the DNA.

But I think the more important issue is.... I don't know how to put it. The lady just made me feel like I had somehow contacted a terrible disease through irresponsible choices in my life - and I hadn't. I felt judged. I felt dismissed.

So maybe the bigger issue is educating ourselves about our bodies, but another issue might be not to presume to know someone's story based on their physical appearance.  I don't even know how to tackle that. I guess my short lesson would be, don't be a judgemental jerk in public, but that might be a little too much.

Have you had a stranger judge you for your appearance?

Psoriasisily yours,
Behka