Vital voices: Difficulty receiving a proper psoriasis diagnosis

Monique talks about how a previous diagnosis lead to difficulty getting diagnosed with psoriasis.

Transcript

00:00

I think doctors read in my records that I had previously suffered from eczema. So they just kind of passed it off as that,

00:07

and they didn't really dig deeper to figure out if there was something else that was causing problems.

00:14

[MUSIC PLAYING]

00:20

I first started having symptoms about four or five years ago, having really dry, itchy skin. As a person of color, I never thought about having psoriasis.

00:30

I had heard about psoriasis, but I really didn't have much knowledge about it. I first sought care from my dermatologist, who

00:40

just diagnosed it as eczema, and it wasn't the proper diagnosis. Being diagnosed with eczema instead of psoriasis

00:48

kind of delayed getting a proper medication. I don't think my doctor had much experience dealing

00:56

with people of color. I kind of felt like they didn't believe me when I kept telling them that I was uncomfortable,

01:02

and I was in pain. I would advise for people to seek a second and third opinion.

01:09

Stay on top of things. Keep calling the doctor. Keep informing them about symptoms.