The One Thing That's Helped My Psoriasis Is What Everyone Says To Avoid

I've had psoriasis since I was fifteen.

The first time I ever got real relief from it was on holiday. I came back noticeably clearer and I remember mentioning it to my dermatologist at the next appointment, almost excited about it.

He told me to avoid the sun.

I understood where he was coming from. But it stuck with me because it was the first time in years my skin had felt like it was going in the right direction.

When the weather is good in Ireland now I'll lie out the back with as many patches exposed as I can.

When my skin is really bad and I spot a cheap flight somewhere with decent weather, I take it.

I've ended up in Valencia, Nice, a few other places - never planned, just wherever was going cheap that week when my skin needed something.

Within a few days the difference is always noticeable.

The way I describe it is that it feels like the sun reaches the patches and the skin sends everything it has to that area to respond to the burn - and in doing so, things start to calm down and clear. That's not a clinical explanation. It's just the only way I can describe what it feels like from the inside.

There's something a bit sad about the fact that the most consistent relief I've found has come from something with its own risks. I think about that. But anyone who has lived with bad psoriasis will understand the position you get into when nothing else is working.

In those moments you look for whatever helps.

For me, carefully managed sun exposure has been that thing more times than I can count.

I'd encourage anyone considering it to build up slowly, keep it short, and have a conversation with their GP first.

UVB lamps at home are the next thing I want to explore - more consistent than Irish weather and more accessible than hospital appointments. I'll write about that when I get there.

Psoriasis is relentless. In times of desperation it helps to know there's something you can rely on. For me this has been it.