Back toMedically reviewed in December 2021
Ayesha, a psoriasis patient and healthcare advocate, helps others with tips learned from her healthcare journey.
Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING] It's very tough on me, sometimes, as a mother with psoriasis.
I often get choked up because I know that it's something that can be hereditary.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
I became a psoriasis advocate, first and foremost, because I wanted to be able to be part of a community that
just helped others who were also experiencing the challenges that I was experiencing. It became extremely important for me
to be able to do that, as a support to myself, and to others. The trends that I've noticed, as a woman of color,
and what I've seen for people of color who are trying to manage psoriasis, is first, we're often misdiagnosed.
Sometimes, people think they have impetigo or even ringworm, and then just trying to find the right provider can
be very difficult and the right treatments for us because there's no one size fits all. The tips that I would give to others finding a healthcare
provider, as a person of color, it's the first, find someone that hears you. You want to be heard, and secondly, you
want to find someone that has a high degree of cultural competency. So that they are understanding and
empathetic of the different challenges that you might face that they might not have experienced or may not understand.
It is extremely important to be an advocate for yourself in your health care because you are
the person that is living and breathing inside of yourself. You know what you're experiencing
because it can really make the difference in the type of treatment that you get and the severity of the disease and its impact on your body.
I find joy in life by waking up. Literally, by waking up every day, I have gratitude because I have two amazing children that I
live for. And I live for myself. I live for my happiness, and even though I have this disease, it has not stopped me
from elevating in my life. [MUSIC PLAYING]
