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According to the World Health Organization, psoriasis is a chronic, non-communicable inflammatory skin disease that affects approximately 125 million people worldwide. Although exact figures are not found, in Chile it is estimated that between “2% and 3% of the population suffers psoriasis, according to international projections ”, expressed Fernando Valenzuela, dermatologist at the Las Condes Clinic.
Psoriasis is not contagious. Its cause is related to an alteration of the immune system and genetic predisposition, and is characterized by the appearance of red spots with white scales that are located in different parts of the skin.
People with Moderate to severe psoriasis are at increased risk for diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular disease. Between 40% and 60% of patients have metabolic syndrome and fatty liver, and approximately up to 30% of patients have psoriatic arthritis.
As Valenzuela indicates, “Psoriasis can endanger the lives of patients Due to the fact that the inflammatory mediators that are produced in the skin travel through the bloodstream and lymphatics throughout the body and, as much skin is inflamed, the concentration of these inflammatory molecules is very high, leading to a malfunction of the kidneys, the heart, etc. That is why suffering from psoriasis increases the risk of developing other diseases such as high blood pressure, intestinal, metabolic and mental health problems, and these other conditions can shorten your life by 2 or 3 years ”.
Also, the specialist adds that “people can feel ashamed and isolate themselves. Enormously, in adolescents who are developing their personality, or when psoriasis involves visible areas, or special areas such as hands and genitals, patients feel the repulsion of their environment, the shame of suffering from this disease that is misunderstood, and this leads them to loneliness, to have problems with alcohol, tobacco and, finally, anxiety and depression ”.
For this reason, every October 29 is commemorated worldwide the World Psoriasis Day, with which we want to inform and raise awareness about what it means to suffer from this disease and the importance of patients resuming appointments with their treating doctors.
The actress Maria Elena Swett is one of the patients living with this problem in the country and used her social networks to raise awareness. “My Good People: Today October 29 is the World Day of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis and I am here telling you that … beyond my skin, there is Me, la Mane, a patient with Psoriasis”, he began.
“Did you know that in Chile about 30% of people who suffer from Psoriasis can also develop Psoriatic Arthritis? And years of pain go by without being able to detect it! ”, He also explained.
“For all those who have Psoriasis and / or Psoriatic Arthritis or their loved ones suffer from this disease, I tell you that there is a new community called ‘Beyond my skin’ that will help us find answers to so many questions about our disease” he added.
Psirosis during the pandemic
The challenges that psoriasis patients must face every day are evident and the importance of calling on health professionals, patients, society and the government to face the disease.
With this objective in mind, the #SaludSinPausa campaign was born, led by Janssen, a Johnson & Johnson group of pharmaceutical companies, which seeks to highlight the importance of continuing with medical consultations, diagnoses, controls and adequate treatments that many patients in Latin America have seen postponed.
Additionally, these patients face other access issues as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many canceling or postponing their appointments for fear of catching the virus at clinics or medical centers.
Given this situation, Fabio González, Executive Vice-President of the Chilean Psoriasis Corporation, calls on patients to “Go back to the doctor, to their check-ups, to look for a way to be able to reach face-to-face care because for those of us who suffer from psoriasis it is important that the specialist can see us and thus evaluate the condition in which we are“.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, it was thought that COVID-19 could affect us in a special way those of us who suffer from autoimmune diseases, but this has not been the case. We have to take care of ourselves, but we also have to be brave and look for the medicines that can make us have a better quality of life. We are more than 550 thousand in Chile, still without state coverage ”, he added.
On this point, Gabriel Magariños, associate professor of dermatology at the University of El Salvador, in Argentina, explains: “Groups of people with psoriasis or caregivers are the first to experience consequences of the cancellation of consultations and treatments, reflecting that the psoriasis does not have in the health system, the importance that it has for us ”.
It is vital that during this health emergency it is remembered that, although the world continues to pause activities, patients can’t put their top priority on hold: their health. Psoriasis is a disease that should not be neglected by constant medical controls.
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