Kim Kardashian West has such a large following because of her celebrity that she can raise awareness of psoriasis among the general public. The reality actress and entrepreneur on Keeping Up with the Kardashians have never been shy about discussing the severe skin condition she inherited from her mother.
In other words, "I am the sole kid to whom my mother passed on her autoimmune condition. Laughingly, "Lucky me, lol," Kardashian West exclaimed in an essay for sister Kourtney's fashion and lifestyle site Poosh.
Kim Kardashian-West
Kardashian West revealed on Poosh, "When I was 25, I had my first psoriasis flare-up." I caught a cold, and because psoriasis is an autoimmune disease, that set it off. My lower body, including my legs, was covered entirely.
Due to her long experience with psoriasis, Kardashian West has come to embrace her skin condition and the periodic flares as intrinsic to her identity. She now utilizes her celebrity to bring awareness to the disease, express solidarity with others, and promote the sale of body cosmetics.
She believes people with psoriasis shouldn't allow the condition to control their lives. The key is to take care of yourself and avoid letting ease become an obsession.
La La Anthony
La La Anthony, a famous actress and TV host have had psoriasis for almost 15 years. When asked about her unexpected role as a spokeswoman for the National Psoriasis Foundation, she said, "It kind of came out of nowhere for me" in 2015. My skin and scalp have been red, itchy, and flaky recently. Everything went wrong.
Since then, Anthony has discussed more facets of her psoriasis experience, such as the exfoliating effects of baking soda. She told People magazine in June 2017 that the product "is just soft enough on my sensitive skin," which is "very hard to find when you really have psoriasis."
Jonathan Van Ness
Jonathan Van Ness, who rose to fame as the show's gay lead and champion of self-improvement through the Queer Eye series, has taken that message of self-improvement to the next level by sharing his experience living with psoriasis.
Van Ness discussed his difficulties because of his psoriasis in an interview with Allure published in March of 2018. It's been a problem ever since I got it, he added. When I was 23, I suffered a flare-up from anything as little as a scrape.
It took five physicians to determine that I had a psoriasis flare-up after getting scratched. He was incorrectly diagnosed with allergic responses and had to juggle many drugs, including antibiotics and Benadryl, to control his symptoms.
LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes, a two-time Grammy winner, has been in the public eye for over 20 years, making it that difficult for her to keep her psoriasis a secret at first.
By joining the National Psoriasis Foundation in their efforts, she could come forward and talk about living with skin disease. In honor of World Psoriasis Day this coming October, she and her pal Jade Alectra taught a live yoga practice and answered questions from viewers on YouTube.
She posted a picture of herself in a tiny bikini on Instagram with the caption, "I know how it feels to have been 80% covered in psoriasis, and the notion of a swimsuit was pain," to demonstrate how far she had come.
Phil Mickelson
The famous golfer Phil Mickelson turned 50 this year, and in the months leading up to the 2010 U.S. Open, he began experiencing severe pain in his ankle and what felt like sprained tendons in his left index finger and right wrist.
At first, he thought it was just the result of years of training and stress on his body and that the discomfort would eventually subside.
Mickelson is still one of the best in his sport and a spokesperson for the medication Enbrel, which is in a group of medicines called tumor-necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. These drugs are effective because they inhibit TNF, an inflammatory chemical in the body.
Fashion Pundit Stacy London
According to an interview she gave the Houston Chronicle, What Not to Wear stylist and cohost Stacy London has suffered from psoriasis since she was four years old and began experiencing little pimples behind her ears.
At 11, she shared her worst episode, which resulted in severe plaque psoriasis of the scalp and body from the neck down. She told the newspaper, "I went from having something that was sort of invisible that maybe just made me feel kind of nervous on the inside to having a very, very public problem and having to live with that kids aren't kind at 11.
"It was challenging, and I believe that my interest in fashion publications and the fashion industry as a whole was somewhat motivated by my uncertainty around my illness."
