Psoriasis sufferers ‘avoid sex because they look disgusting’

SUFFERERS of the skin condition psoriasis avoid having sex because they are afraid their partners will find them ‘disgusting’, according to new research.

The disease causes red, flaky, painful areas on the skin. Celebrity sufferers include Cara Delevingne and Kim Kardashian.

In a survey by the British Skin Foundation, in support of the YouCanWeDid campaign to help sufferers, psoriasis was identified as the cause of relationship problems in 40 per cent of patients took part in the study. Half of these said that they avoided intimacy altogether.

More than two-thirds of psoriasis sufferers have experienced humiliation as a result of their illness, the survey found, with six out of ten saying they actively avoid going to the beach and one in five shutting themselves away during a flare-up.

The study concluded that if untreated, psoriasis has a severely detrimental effect on self-esteem.