During a holiday of a lifetime in Thailand Sasha Burton, 22, a biology student from Brighton, had a severe skin reaction to a standard malaria medication that triggered her psoriasis and changed her skin forever.
Sasha says: “It was a summer holiday that I had been dreaming of for years. I have always wanted to go toThailandand finally my dream came true when I got the chance to go there on holiday with some friends. We were travelling round the country and planned to spend some time on the beaches as well as see all the amazing sights. I knew it would probably be one of those holidays I was unlikely to be able to do again so I wanted to enjoy every moment. All was going well until I had to take some medication for malaria, which is normal when visitingThailand. The medication was standard and we all took it a few days before travelling to a place calledLaosinThailand, which is a malaria danger zone. [quote]I had been taking the medication for four days when my skin started feeling really itchy. I thought I had caught something from the water. Then a few days later I broke out in a really bad rash all over my stomach. It was itchy and really red and quite furious. Me and my friends all panicked as we thought I had caught some awful tropical disease or something.[/quote] I went to a doctor in Tailand and I was prescribed anti-histamines and steroids as they thought it was an allergic reaction to something I had eaten. But the rash stayed and nothing seemed to clear it up. I was inThailandfor a month and the whole time I was there I was constantly distracted and concerned about the rash on my stomach which was spreading to my arms and legs too. I didn’t really want to wear a bikini on the beach as the rash looked so awful, and I found it hard to completely enjoy myself as I felt constantly uncomfortable and itchy. I was also embarrassed to show my body so I didn’t really get to enjoy my holiday. It was supposed to be a beach holiday with plenty of sunbathing etc, but in fact I spent most of my time covered up in clothes due to the state of my skin. I tried my best to enjoy myself and not let my skin get me down but it was hard as I was so conscious of it and also worried about why it hadn’t gone away with the mediation I had been given. After a month in Thailand I got back to theUKbut I still had the rash, although it wasn’t as bad as it had been when it first emerged. [quote]I immediately went to see my doctor who then sent me to a dermatologist and it was only then that the full horror of what had happened to me emerged. I was told that the malaria medication had triggered a skin condition called psoriasis, which I was told I was probably genetically predisposed to but that could be triggered by physiological changes in the body. The malaria medication had obviously been enough to trigger the psoriasis.[/quote] But what was most devastating of all was that I was told it was incurable and that I would have the skin condition for the rest of my life. I was completely gutted and went into a dark depression when I realised that this skin condition was going to plague me forever. Due to the stress and perhaps the change of climate back in the UK as well as starting university my skin broke out again and this time it was even more severe, I was covered almost from head to foot in furious red rashes and scales. I was prescribed various creams but nothing really worked. I went back to my dermatologist several times and was eventually prescribed UV treatment when my psoriasis was really bad, it was all over the main trunk of my body. The UV therapy helped but it did not clear it up and my skin was still mottled and dry. There was not one time when I didn’t have some red patches and scales on various parts of my body. Even though I was supposed to be having the time of my life at university, I was finding it hard to concentrate on my studies. I had to wear trousers all the time and a long sleeved top and never show my skin. I refused to go to parties as I didn't want my skin to be on show because it looked so awful! At a few points I felt extremely depressed and even considered giving up my studies as I felt so unmotivated. I found it hard to feel upbeat about anything and some days I didn’t even want to leave my room if my skin was bad. [quote]My mum was so worried about me and how down I was getting that she began researching psoriasis treatments on the internet and that was when she found Skin Shop’s Oregon Grape Root skincare range. On the website she read a few testimonials buy other people with psoriasis who had tried it and found it worked for them and felt convinced enough to order some for me.[/quote] When it arrived I wasn’t very enthusiastic as to me it was just another cream that no doubt wouldn’t work like everything else I had tried, but because Mum had paid for it and gone to the trouble to order it I felt I should at least try it. Thank goodness I did. Within three days I began to notice an improvement of my skin. After two weeks by skin was better and clearer than it had been in many months. The effect was incredible, I kept checking my skin each morning in the mirror and I could hardly believe what was happening. It was like a miracle. I have been using the Oregon products now for almost a year and I swear by them. I don’t use anything else on my psoriasis as I don’t need to as my skin has stayed more or less clear since I started using the Oregon Graperoot products. I had one small skin outbreak recently when I got a throat infection and had to take mediation for it which I think effected my skin, but other than that my skin has been pretty clear. I use the Oregon Maintenance Cream daily on my hands where the psoriasis was the worst, and now you can barely tell I have any psoriasis on my hands at all. Whenever I feel any parts of my skin starting to itch or go red I use the cream or sometimes the more intensive Oregon Skin Serum for a few days and it goes away. I try and use the daily maintenance cream all over my body once or twice a week as a preventative measure and that seems to keep the psoriasis away. I also use the Oregon Body andHandWashin place of soap or shower gel. [quote]I would honestly recommend the Oregon skincare range to any psoriasis sufferer. I thought to myself surely it's just another one of those creams ... similar to the hundreds I have already tried... but this one literally saved my skin! [/quote] I had resigned myself last year to the fact that I would probably never be able to wear a bikini or show my skin in public again, but my skin has improved so much that on a recent summer holiday I tentatively wore a bikini again on the beach and felt confident in my body again for the first time in years.” Read our review on Oregon Grape root here
