summer and psoriasis

the only two things i like about summer are wearing sandals and the fact that there are alot of free events in new york in the summer, otherwise im really not a fan. every summer my psoriasis gets worse. this year it wasn't as bad as it could have been because it wasn't as scorching as usual.
compared to many who have psoriasis my case is not so bad. its all relative. even if its not so bad its not so good either. this year i had the honor of having psoriasis on my right eyelid. let me tell you its not too cute. i looked like someone had socked me in the eye. whenever psoriasis manifests in the eye area it is on my right eye. when i get migraines the pain is greatest behind my right eye. i wonder what that means?
ive been tempted just to stay holed up at home weekends so i wouldn't have to deal with the pitying looks of friends as they ask me what is wrong with my eyelid. if i would stay home my eyelid skin would be all id obsess about. this is why i go out anyway. for sanity's sake.
finally the medication kicked in and my lid is starting to look and feel more normal. bh. when its bad my upper lid looks very dry and wrinkly which scares me.when it first happened i was afraid it would stay that wrinkly. it did not . it went away.
even if my hands get a little dry in the winter its nothing compared to the itchy mayhem i experience in the summer before the drugs kick in and give me relief.
i cant wait until fall which is my favorite season. fall weather is cooler. my skin itches less and its not as hot so i can breathe.

sunscreen queen

in the days before sun protection consciousness, when i was fourteen, i got one of the worst sunburns of my young life. the kind that blisters and peels. it was a nightmare. it itched, it hurt, it looked contagious. shortly after i became the sunscreen queen.
though it was a slightly before the days of global sunblock awareness, there still was sunblock and sunscreen. yes, even then. my dad is a pharmacist and he would get tons of sun protection samples. i was the only fourteen year old around slapping on the stuff. at school and at summer camp everyone would mock me. they'd say"dont you want to tan" and of course id say" no, i just dont want to burn." and i would also say, " trust me, i will still tan, i just wont burn. "
and so it would go. i went women's day at the separate beach in tel aviv and put on tons of sunblock. my friends donned baby oil. they couldnt believe i wanted to block the sun. i said my mantra" trust me, i will still tan, i just wont burn." and burn they did. i had a slight tan. they were scratching their sunburns. i was not.
what really strengthened my resolve to wear sunblock was something that happened to my friend leora. leora fell asleep on the beach. when she got home her body was burnt and swollen. it was scary looking. it looked quite painful and worthwhile to avoid such an experience.
my mom, who is not as fair skinned as i am shuns the sun as well. she doesnt want wrinkles.
though skin cancer may be more prevalent amongst fair skinned snow whites, darker complected individuals need to be careful of the sun. when they have skin cancer sometimes it is only caught in the later stages because it was harder to see on their skin.
in short, we all need to be careful to wear sun block, and wear protective clothing. this is where ultra tznius clothing come in handy...
my favorite sunblocks are clinique spf 50 and neutragena heathy defense daily moisturizer with heliplex spf 45. neutragena has several higher spfs but i find them a little too chalky.
its also important to wear sunglasses in the sun because doing so can prevent cataracts.
go ahead, become a sun shunner like me. you will still have fun in the sun, just fewer sunburns , wrinkles and age spots.