It may sometimes feel isolating to live with symptoms of a chronic condition like psoriasis. Although friends and family are caring and helpful, they can’t fully understand what you’re experiencing day to day unless they’ve also been diagnosed with psoriasis.
That’s why every August, the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) celebrates Psoriasis Awareness Month. Planned activities connect people living with psoriasis and increase awareness of this common skin disorder, which affects at least100 millionpeople worldwide.
Psoriasis Awareness Month unites people living with psoriasis for the month of August, so they can support each other and champion the common goal of finding a cure for psoriasis.
You may enjoy participating in Psoriasis Awareness Month because it’s an opportunity to share your psoriasis journey and hear about other people’s experiences. Doing so can build community and deepen your understanding of the condition.
Raising awareness also encourages new research into psoriasis in order to improve our current knowledge and treatments.
Misconceptions about psoriasis can lead to stigma.Research from 2020suggests that living with psoriasis can affect an individual’s social well-being.
Increasing psoriasis awareness shatters myths about the condition, which better supports people living with psoriasis. Sharing the facts about psoriasis with more people creates a more inclusive environment for people living with this chronic condition.
For example, some people believe that psoriasis is contagious. This may lead to unfounded fear and avoidance of people who have the condition. It’s important to help others understand that psoriasis isn’t contagious but is caused by an overly active immune system.
Psoriasis Awareness Month is also an opportunity to support the case for psoriasis research. There’s a lot we don’t know about this chronic skin disorder, and there is no cure.
However, with treatment, psoriasis can be managed. And more research can help people with psoriasis understand how best to live with their condition — and get us closer to finding a cure.
No matter your reason for celebrating Psoriasis Awareness Month, you can get involved in many different ways.
Post on social media
Social media is a great way to increase psoriasis awareness. Share your personal psoriasis story, along with psoriasis facts and resources, on your favorite platform.
Popular Instagram and Twitter hashtags include:
- #PsoriasisWarrior
- #PsoraisisAwareness
- #PsoriasisCommunity
Search these hashtags for ideas, and add any or all of them to your posts to expand your reach. You can also get inspiration from the NPF’sInstagram,Facebook, andTwitteraccounts.
Share educational resources
It’s always a good idea to keep up on the latest and most accurate psoriasis information and research. You can learn more about living with the condition and help your larger community better understand psoriasis.
Many online resources provide accurate and digestible information. Share articles that you find interesting with friends and family via email or social media.
Here are some places to find educational resources with scientifically validated information:
- theNPF
- the美国维ermatology Association
- theAmerican Academy of Family Physicians(also available inSpanish)
- theNational Institutes of Health
You can also sign up for Healthline’s weeklyPsoriasis Newsletterto get the most up-to-date information on living with psoriasis.
Get involved in psoriasis research
If you’d like to get personally involved with psoriasis research, talk with your doctor about signing up for a clinical trial or registry. Studies help doctors and scientists improve treatment options. Sharing your experiences also helps researchers better understand the ways they can help people with psoriasis.
You can search for ongoing or new studies that may be recruiting participants atClinicalTrials.gov. Learn more about clinical trials and sign up for notifications about new studies at theNPF’s website.
Donate to a psoriasis organization
Donating funds to a psoriasis organization helps advance psoriasis research. A few organizations working to further psoriasis research include:
- theNPF
- theGroup for Research and Assessment of Psoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis
- theInternational Dermatology Outcome Measuresinitiative
- thePsoriasis and Psoriatic Arthritis Clinics Multicenter Advancement Network
Participate in psoriasis awareness events
甚至每年NPF主机面对面和虚拟ts to celebrate the psoriasis community. Examples of events from past years include a Psoriasis Virtual Active Day and a free webinar to learn more about psoriasis from experts.
As August nears, the NPF will announce this year’s eventson its website.
August is Psoriasis Awareness Month. There are many ways to get involved, including posting on social media, sharing educational resources, and donating to psoriasis organizations. If you or a loved one has psoriasis, these actions help create community, raise awareness about psoriasis, and encourage new research to improve our knowledge of and treatments for this common condition.