The "Keeping Up With the Kardashians" star has long documented her struggle with psoriasis, and it appears that her skin disease has spread to her face. Kim, 38, snapped a selfie before her family's Sunday Service to show the red patches sprouting across her cheeks, chin and eyes.
"Morning psoriasis," she wrote over the photo.
Kim has been open about her treatment methods, trying just about everything from topical creams to UV light treatments, but flare-ups continue. In December 2018, Kim tweeted that she was finally considering prescription medication.
"I think the time has come I start a medication for psoriasis," she wrote. "I've never seen it like this before and I can't even cover it at this point. It's taken over my body."
Hours after her photo - and likely some concealer later - Kim documented her family's lively religious service, where rapper DMX delivered the opening prayer.
Many are now asking, what is psoriasis? Psoriasis is a common, chronic, genetic, systemic inflammatory disease that is characterized by symptoms and signs such as elevated itchy plaques of raised red skin covered with thick silvery scales. Psoriasis is usually found on the elbows, knees, and scalp but can often affect the legs, trunk, and nails. Psoriasis may be found on any part of the skin.
Psoriasis is not an infection and therefore is not contagious. Touching the affected skin and then touching someone else will not transmit psoriasis. The immune system plays a key role in psoriasis. In psoriasis, a certain subset of T lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell) abnormally trigger inflammation in the skin as well as other parts of the body. These T cells produce inflammatory chemicals that cause skin cells to multiply as well as producing changes in small skin blood vessels, resulting ultimately in elevated scaling plaque of psoriasis.
Psoriasis has a genetic basis and can be inherited. Some people carry genes that make them more likely to develop psoriasis. Just because a person has genes that would make him more likely to have psoriasis doesn't mean he will have the disease. About one-third of people with psoriasis have at least one family member with the disease. Certain factors trigger psoriasis to flare up in those who have the genes.
Environmental factors such as smoking, sunburns, streptococcal sore throat, and alcoholism may affect psoriasis by increasing the frequency of flares. Injury to the skin has been known to trigger psoriasis. For example, a skin infection, skin inflammation, or even excessive scratching can activate psoriasis. A number of medications have been shown to aggravate psoriasis.
What is the treatment for this skin condition? As the reality star revealed, There are many topical and systemic treatments for psoriasis, but it must be born in mind that although many of them are effective in improving the appearance of the skin disease, none of them cure the condition.
