Kim Kardashian has been honest about her struggles with psoriasis as far back as the early days of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The incurable skin condition leaves the reality star with red, flaky patches all over her body. It is uncomfortable for anyone and it is definitely challenging for a public figure like Kim, who is required to be photo shoot ready at all times. Years in the spotlight has not made her psoriasis go away and Kim is currently dealing with a flare-up that has her trying anything to get it under control.
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The psoriasis patches are all over her legs and Kim posted a picture of them on social media for all of her fans to see. But that's not the only area of her body that is showing the signs of the disease.
Kim posted this picture of the psoriasis patches on her legs this week.
We don't think we've ever seen Kim with a flare-up that is this intense. "Sexy," she wrote on the image she shared on her Instagram Story.
While Kim can wear pants and long skirts to cover them up, she can't do the same for her face.
She is dealing with patches in that area as well. "Psoriasis is the shits!" Kim wrote over this photo. The black stuff on her face is an herbal ointment she was trying to help reduce the inflammation.
Kim brought out the big guns to treat her skin.
She posted a picture of machine that was likely going to provide light therapy, which is a treatment Kim has used in the past. "I have been using this light–and I don’t wanna speak to soon because [the psoriasis] is almost gone–but I’ve been using this light [therapy] and my psoriasis is like 60 % gone," she told People in 2017. "That’s wild because is hasn’t been gone in years."
Success hasn't shielded Kim from feeling insecure about her skin.
Kim has used a smaller at-home light therapy treatment before. "The disease is something I have learned to live with, but there are still times when I can feel insecure about it–especially on red carpets or at a photo shoot," she told fans on her app last year. "There isn't a cure for psoriasis, but there are treatments that can help ease the symptoms." Given the current severity of her psoriasis, she needed something much stronger.
Her psoriasis has been bad for a while.
Kim told fans that her psoriasis took a turn for the worse in December. "It’s taken over my body," she shared. "Has anyone tried a medication for psoriasis & what kind works best? Need help ASAP!!!"
Despite having patches all over her body, work has not stopped for Kim.
She was the model for her makeup artist Mario Dedivanovic's Master Class that took place over the weekend. Luckily, he was able to cover up any signs of a flare-up.
Kim isn't the only woman in her family who struggles with psoriasis.
Her mom, Kris Jenner, also has the disease. While psoriasis patients don't always have visible signs of the skin condition on their body, things like stress or an infection can cause the red patches to appear.
She opened up about her struggle and family history in a 2011 episode of her reality show where she received her diagnosis.
"When the doctor tells me I have psoriasis I have heard of it before because my mom has always had it but my mom didn’t have red flaky dots all over her," Kim said. "My career is doing ad campaigns and swimsuit photo shoots. People don’t understand the pressure on me to look perfect. When I gain a pound it's in the headlines. Imagine what the tabloids would do to me if they saw all these spots."
The doctor recommended that Kim slow down her life to help her skin.
Kim hasn't done that at all. She is busier than ever with her reality show, multiple businesses, and a growing family (baby number four is on the way via surrogate). It also doesn't help that her family is constantly involved in some type of drama. Kim will need to change her life to see a permanent improvement in her skin, but we don't see that happening any time soon.
