Irene Prantalos discovered how a relaxed mind, healthy diet and Chinese medicine can help heal the skin condition.
While many of us come back from holidays relaxed, de-stressed and with the greatest memories, Irene Prantalos’ trip to Greece with her mum when she was 11, was the complete opposite.
Feeling homesick, constantly crying and desperately wanting to go home, her mum noticed a few spots on her scalp appear, which then spread onto her arms when they arrived home. She was diagnosed with psoriasis.
Although her local GP simply gave her a cortisone cream and advised her that it would all disappear, Irene’s condition only began to worsen. And come Year 11 and 12, Irene’s stress level peaked and her psoriasis spread over her entire body.
“The shame of having the disease meant I often slouched and held my head down low. Outside of school I would wear hats to hide my face from people noticing - this was to avoid seeing their reaction to me as well, as this was very confronting when people either looked in horror or disgust,” she tells mybodyandsoul.com.au.
After been hospitalised twice and seeing no results from trying every ointment and treatment available, she eventually decided to give Chinese medicine a go, and within two months her skin cleared up.
But while things began to look positive, her psoriasis journey didn’t end there.
“During my time in University, I had many flare ups as I was always stressed about doing well in exams and other assessments. It never covered my entire body again but definitely was there and annoying me. It did make me question whether I could in fact complete this double degree I had set my sights on achieving.”
“My mum helped me with cooking meals that wouldn’t irritate my skin, changing my sheets daily so that it would reduce the itch in my skin, helping me through many rough times.
“I had friends come and visit to take my mind off things and many others who knew I was struggling but happily ignored the rash on my face and made me feel ‘normal’ even if I felt like a freak.”
But once she graduated from uni and had the time to invest in researching ways to alleviate psoriasis, Irene’s condition eased dramatically simply by making a few changes in her life and learning how to handle her condition.
“For me, most of the change was noticed with the Chinese medicine treatment, but with that I had changed my diet, and really reducing my stress helped my skin as well.”
Making sure I chose a partner who was supportive and didn't care if a flare up happened was very beneficial although I never thought that would have been possible. Making friendships that fed my soul was something I focused on later after I finished my studies. This was because the other elements where essential to be laid as the foundation and then other factors such as friendships came later.”
Now a Chinese Medicine Doctor, Irene is sharing her personal story and knowledge in hope to help others suffering from psoriasis.
“I would go to doctors with the hope they knew what to do and I wouldn't hear things like, 'your body is just not responding', 'you just need to accept this is your life and there isn't much you can do about it'. It was always negative and extremely scary that this actually was going to be my life,” she explains.
“Now, knowing that the body is in constant state of rejuvenation and in fact the immune system wasn't over reacting but in fact screaming at me about an issue I needed to address, gave me a completely positive respect for my body instead of a distain for it.
“Although I must say I often am reminded that I tell people to take herbs that perhaps don't taste great, forgetting the taste can be a little intense. The truth is it works and I think a few seconds of drinking herbs really isn't that bad if you feel great within your body.”
So her top tips for clearing psoriasis?
First up, reducing stress.
“I don't care if you can't - your body needs you to. If this means re-assessing your life, incorporating relaxation techniques, changing your perspective on your situation - do what needs to be done to reduce stress. If you’re studying, then it is only for a small moment so hang in there and then relax afterwards.”
She also advises to focus on eating a diet rich in nutrients and vitamins, and avoid inflammatory foods such as sugar, gluten alcohol, dairy and red met.
And her last tip involves a relaxing trip to the beach.
“Get into the salt water - the beach is amazing.
“If you are doing the above two recommendations, then the effect of sitting in beach water for 30 to 60 minutes as often as you can will be a super-fast way to eliminate inflammation from the skin.”
Feeling homesick, constantly crying and desperately wanting to go home, her mum noticed a few spots on her scalp appear, which then spread onto her arms when they arrived home. She was diagnosed with psoriasis.
Although her local GP simply gave her a cortisone cream and advised her that it would all disappear, Irene’s condition only began to worsen. And come Year 11 and 12, Irene’s stress level peaked and her psoriasis spread over her entire body.
“The shame of having the disease meant I often slouched and held my head down low. Outside of school I would wear hats to hide my face from people noticing - this was to avoid seeing their reaction to me as well, as this was very confronting when people either looked in horror or disgust,” she tells mybodyandsoul.com.au.
After been hospitalised twice and seeing no results from trying every ointment and treatment available, she eventually decided to give Chinese medicine a go, and within two months her skin cleared up.
But while things began to look positive, her psoriasis journey didn’t end there.
“During my time in University, I had many flare ups as I was always stressed about doing well in exams and other assessments. It never covered my entire body again but definitely was there and annoying me. It did make me question whether I could in fact complete this double degree I had set my sights on achieving.”
“My mum helped me with cooking meals that wouldn’t irritate my skin, changing my sheets daily so that it would reduce the itch in my skin, helping me through many rough times.
“I had friends come and visit to take my mind off things and many others who knew I was struggling but happily ignored the rash on my face and made me feel ‘normal’ even if I felt like a freak.”
But once she graduated from uni and had the time to invest in researching ways to alleviate psoriasis, Irene’s condition eased dramatically simply by making a few changes in her life and learning how to handle her condition.
“For me, most of the change was noticed with the Chinese medicine treatment, but with that I had changed my diet, and really reducing my stress helped my skin as well.”
Making sure I chose a partner who was supportive and didn't care if a flare up happened was very beneficial although I never thought that would have been possible. Making friendships that fed my soul was something I focused on later after I finished my studies. This was because the other elements where essential to be laid as the foundation and then other factors such as friendships came later.”
Now a Chinese Medicine Doctor, Irene is sharing her personal story and knowledge in hope to help others suffering from psoriasis.
“I would go to doctors with the hope they knew what to do and I wouldn't hear things like, 'your body is just not responding', 'you just need to accept this is your life and there isn't much you can do about it'. It was always negative and extremely scary that this actually was going to be my life,” she explains.
“Now, knowing that the body is in constant state of rejuvenation and in fact the immune system wasn't over reacting but in fact screaming at me about an issue I needed to address, gave me a completely positive respect for my body instead of a distain for it.
“Although I must say I often am reminded that I tell people to take herbs that perhaps don't taste great, forgetting the taste can be a little intense. The truth is it works and I think a few seconds of drinking herbs really isn't that bad if you feel great within your body.”
So her top tips for clearing psoriasis?
First up, reducing stress.
“I don't care if you can't - your body needs you to. If this means re-assessing your life, incorporating relaxation techniques, changing your perspective on your situation - do what needs to be done to reduce stress. If you’re studying, then it is only for a small moment so hang in there and then relax afterwards.”
She also advises to focus on eating a diet rich in nutrients and vitamins, and avoid inflammatory foods such as sugar, gluten alcohol, dairy and red met.
And her last tip involves a relaxing trip to the beach.
“Get into the salt water - the beach is amazing.
“If you are doing the above two recommendations, then the effect of sitting in beach water for 30 to 60 minutes as often as you can will be a super-fast way to eliminate inflammation from the skin.”
