Sun, Sand and Psoriasis

As summer continues, the girls are doing wonderful!  Right now we are enjoying a few small trips before heading back to school at the end of the month.  These little trips are a real danger for us.  No, not because kids can be accident prone (which is a whole other issue) but because the sun and sand poses such a threat to our clear skin.

We are always trying to stay safe in the sun, but we realize it’s not always possible.  SPF 50 sunscreen, Rash Guards, Hats … by the time we suit up for the beach, I am exhausted!  But with all this, there is inevitably some piece of skin I miss. 

Last year it was that strip across Carlys back as she leaned over playing in the sand.  The sunburn that resulted from that unprotected strip of skin turned to a strip of Psoriasis in a really uncomfortable spot.  The Koebner Effect; that strip lasted a year before finally fading.  

The Koebner Effect is when trauma to the skin causes lesions to develop.  Even with the girls doing so well, I cringe with each scrape or the slightest kiss of sun.  These inocent facts of life could suddenly change everything, just as Strep triggered it all just a few years ago. 

This year it’s the top of her ears that poked out from her hat…. and I wait to see what comes of that kiss of sun. 

Short of putting my kids in a bubble, I realize I can’t dwell on the past or control the future.  I can just be aware and love every inch of my beautiful girls!

 

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