Psoriasis Awareness Month: Cyndi Lauper slept in a rubber suit for three nights straight to beat the disease
Cyndi Lauper was diagnosed with psoriasis, an auto-immune chronic disorder, in 2010. The condition leads to red and raised patches lined by silvery scales on the skin and for Lauper, it started with her scalp which she at first thought must be because of bugs. "I had this kind of buildup on my scalp, which, because my son played hockey at the time, I thought Oh, it might be bugs (from the hockey players). I’d never had bugs. Then I went to the doctor and he said, 'No, no, no, that’s plaque psoriasis,'" she said in an interview with Health.
She always had good skin while growing up but after her diagnosis, she started to lose hope of feeling good in her skin ever again. As a singer who is constantly on the go, the disease pulled her down really hard. "You’re tired. It’s an inflammatory disease so it kind of zaps your strength. And trying to sing, work out, and have all this (clothing) on, and then taking it off, your skin comes with it. It’s awful. Emotionally, honestly, at the height of being that sick, you feel very much alone." After trying out cortisone creams, she realized that the side-effects of it were too much to deal with and that is when she turned to traditional medicine.
"Now I can get back to the things I like to do, like singing and going on tour. After I started the medicine, psoriasis started to go away, and I couldn’t even believe it. I was always on eggshells. I still lather up with cream and am nervous because I don’t want to go back to that," she said. Lauper also advocates seeking medical assistance and self-care for people affected by this condition. She spoke about the importance of the same elaborately in an awareness video by the National Psoriasis Foundation in 2015. In the video, she says that she tried every method in the book including the time she slept in a rubber suit with cream on for three nights straight, a measure taken upon a doctor's advice that happened to eventually work for her.
The reason why she lends her voice to Psoriasis awareness is that she believes the condition "is one of those things that no one wants to talk about, which makes it something I want to talk about". As a word of advice for people with psoriasis, she said, "It’s not just a rash. Don’t let it go. Get information. Knowledge is power." She also advocates taking measures for taking steps to keep one's mental health in check as the disease affects more than just the skin. "You’re hurting inside because you feel powerless and information is power. Help yourself. Don’t just sit in the dark," she said.
August is Psoriasis Awareness Month and it brings an opportunity for survivors and activists to share tips and raise awareness about the genetic disease. In this column, we highlight the struggles of celebrities and talk about preventative and cure measures.