My Battle with Psoriasis and the Creams

I had mild skin problems in my teens and developed slight dry skin patches when I was in college. After a personal high stressed period, whereby I starched off those dry skin patches in frustration of loss, grief and annoyance in everything, those patches scabbed and worsened. 

Then when I was pregnant with my first child, I had awful skin eruptions that I self-diagnosed it to be hormonal skin problems. Since I had slight complications with my pregnancy that required to bedrest until 5th month, and addition of the anxiousness and excitement of first pregnancy, I tried to overlook the red spots.

After I gave birth to my first child, my skin problem went crazy and my self-esteem level was on the lows. Have I mentioned I am in the fashion industry? Having the post pregnancy extra weight and skin problem diminished much of self confidence and I grew very conscious when people looked at my body and skin.

I went to so many dermatologists. Most of them, whom I wouldn't call them quacks, just lack of knowledge or just trying to rip me off with their expensive creams. I tried using tar shampoo as body soap, eczema creams, and even suntanning. I went to renowned Singapore doctor, charged me thousands of dollars! Through desperation, I forked out to pay the astronomical and ridiculous bill. Did the magic cream cure me? No. But at least he correctly diagnosed my skin condition - Pityriasis Rosea, a rare skin occurrence. Creams after creams, some I don't know consists of what ingredients, coming in mysterious clinical tubs, only to be informed as steroid creams. My skin rash came and went away, recurring back but not too bad after I stopped breastfeeding.

Second child pregnancy and breastfeeding was the same thing - skin eruptions. I researched and found an article, which led me to Singapore Skin Clinic. The doctor diagnosed my skin as Pityriasis Lichenodes Chronica. Of course I went through the depression of seeing my skin. My children and work helped me steer back to my priorities and not about how my skin look. I no longer applied expensive creams and was under UVB light therapy.
  
Third pregnancy. Same old skin problems. But hey! Since I stopped light treatments during pregnancy, I had to consult with my skin doctor specialist before I start on UV treatment, I was diagnosed with Psoriasis. So I asked, "which is worse?". I mean, can it get any worse? Why different skin problems in every pregnancies and deliveries. Is there a cure? No. Just gotta live with it.

Doing the light therapy in Jakarta isn't easy. I only know one clinic and been going there for years, which is Erha, a nice luxurious skin clinic, but I have to say, not so great service. They open 9am, start their service at 10am, which means I have to wait 1hour, another hour to get out of the clinic back to office due to poor city road infrastructure and traffic. What is supposed to be less than 5minute light therapy is 2hours waste of time.

I feel better ranting and whining about my skin. Here's the review for the supposed heading. Hope's Relief, which I bought online from Australia. They have a Singapore site but Bunch Circle don't accept international Paypal accounts. 

I was hopeful of this cream, an all-natural ingredient, without the harmful chemical.

Goat Bar Soap - No strong goat's milk smell. Nice lather. Not drying
Shampoo - No tar. Nice lather. Still have awful dandruff even after 2 weeks of usage.
Cream - honestly, its not helping out my crazy spots. 
Lotion - Natural. No fragrance. Not bad. Have to apply twice a day to feel moisturized.

Another cream, the black tube, is Pure Pawpaw (Papaya based) cream. My sis gave me Lucas Pawpaw cream, which we kept in our corners of nurseries and bags, for our kid's bug bites, mild cuts, etc. I switched to Pure as Lucas Pawpaw Pure is organic and petrochemical free. I alternate use Pawpaw cream on my Psoriasis cream, which gives much more moisturizing feel on my feel. Translate moisturizing - greasy. It is greasy but it stays.