Psoriasis advocates Nitika Chopra and Ayesha Patrick address common misconceptions, how patients can speak up, and simple tips for clinicians.
The effects also reach well past the skin. In this conversation, Chopra describes fatigue, emotional strain, and difficulty concentrating in school alongside her skin symptoms, effects a brief office visit may not capture.
In clinic, small adjustments can shift how patients engage with treatment. Clinicians are advised to ask about hair care practices before recommending scalp therapies, and leave-on foams or oil-based solutions may better suit patients who do not shampoo daily.² Questions about routines, support systems, and treatment concerns also give patients room to raise issues they might otherwise leave unspoken.
Timed to World Psoriasis Day on October 29, this conversation centers on what patients wish clinicians and the public understood about living with the disease. Both advocates are partnering with AbbVie on World Psoriasis Day awareness efforts. Patrick also stresses preparation, from writing down questions in advance to bringing a trusted person to appointments.
Nitika Chopra, founder and CEO of Chronicon, and Ayesha Patrick, a psoriasis patient advocate focused on women of color, each bring decades of lived experience with plaque psoriasis to their work. Below, Chopra and Patrick share their perspectives on common misconceptions about psoriasis, how patients can speak up during appointments, and what clinicians can do to make those conversations easier:
Ayesha Patrick: The main one I hear often is people asking, “Is it contagious?” Some people might think it’s something else. When I was younger, people thought I had ringworm. Quite often, a lot of people offer up advice like, “Oh, just use cocoa butter. Just use this. Use that. It’s just dry skin. It’s just extra dandruff.” So there are a lot of misconceptions you hear all the time.
Nitika Chopra: I’ve heard all of those too, so I agree. But the biggest one for me was that people really thought it was just a skin condition, and that is not my experience with psoriasis at all. Not only were there emotional side effects, but I was exhausted. I felt a lot of fatigue and a lot of symptoms throughout my body, and everyone experiences it differently. It also really distracted me. In school, I wasn’t able to focus as much. There are so many layers, literally and figuratively, to the experience of having psoriasis. I think that was probably the biggest misconception: that it’s just something on your skin, so get over it. And I’m like, no, this is a whole-body experience I’m having here, and it’s actually a really big deal.
Nitika Chopra: Right now, we’re really focused on World Psoriasis Day, so we’re partnering with AbbVie to spread awareness for World Psoriasis Day. Ayesha and I are both so passionate about it because we have such lived experience, so today’s focus is really on that specific day.
Ayesha Patrick: I would tell patients again: your voice matters. That might mean preparing ahead of time by writing down questions, or taking a friend or someone with you to sit in on those appointments, to make sure all of your concerns are heard. I think that is the biggest thing. Never downplay yourself, and always know that if you don’t feel like you’re getting what you need, you can go to another person. For providers, if you really take the time to connect, learn, and hear your patients, that makes the difference. That’s why having conversations like the one we’re having today is so important, and why I’m truly honored and privileged to be able to do this with AbbVie. Having awareness and bringing attention to it is truly helpful.
Nitika Chopra: I’ve used all of those tips as well. One thing we could add that’s a little unconventional: when I was at the height of navigating so many treatments and doctors and feeling really stressed about my condition, I brought my friends into the conversation in a way I never had before. I had always felt really isolated and, as we’ve both talked about, like I was on this journey alone. I realized I also wasn’t doing my part to include the people in my life, because I was so used to being on the journey by myself. So I started a group chat for every time I had to take my medication. If I felt nervous, or if I had a big doctor’s appointment or was meeting a new doctor, I would literally text my girlfriends and say, “Hey guys, I’m doing this thing. I’m really stressed out. I’m kind of nervous.” It’s a 2-second thing, but it made a huge difference.
Ayesha Patrick: Especially for Black women, our hair comes in all different textures: kinky, curly, straight. For clinicians treating a person with scalp psoriasis, take that into consideration when thinking about what the treatment plan might look like to support that patient. In our culture, our hair is our crown. When I lost a good portion of my hair because of the condition and the treatments, it was very devastating to me. So really, just take the time. It’s a quick search, or even just a quick question: What is your wash-day routine? How do you manage your hair? What tools do you use to take care of your hair daily? Those little things are so small, but they’re huge.
Nitika Chopra: She said it beautifully.
Editor’s note: This transcript was edited for the purposes of grammar and clarity using AI tools. Neither speaker highlighted any relevant financial disclosures of note other than their work with AbbVie.
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