Nurses attended training to learn how to help those suffering from the disease.
Psoriasis is a skin disease but if not treated properly, it can lead to other diseases. It is a disease that people do not know about because some people confuse it with someone who has the HIV virus, others confuse it with chickenpox, and others just call it a disease. It is best to go to the doctor to get tested and have them explain it to you.
World Psoriasis Day is celebrated on October 29 every year with the theme: “Let’s know about Psoriasis but also about the diseases that can be associated with it”, and this day is celebrated to recognize the number of patients with this disease that are still unknown in Rwanda because there are still few doctors in the country who treat it.
Today is celebrated by the Rwanda Psoriasis & Psoriatic Arthritis Organization training journalists and nurses working in health centers so that they can understand this disease when they meet its patients and be able to understand this disease, and journalists can also advocate for them because this disease is still unknown.
Psoriasis is a skin disease caused by the abnormal growth of skin cells. Normally, a healthy person’s skin changes every 21 days, but when it is sick, it comes earlier and has different symptoms.
Murekatete Valentine is a girl who has this disease, but she did not know what it was and has been suffering from it for 10 years. She has been treated in different clinics but most of the time they told her that it was the HIV virus that causes AIDS because they did not understand even though it was a disease.
This is one of the patients with this disease, the way his skin looks and feels is making him sick.
“After visiting many clinics, I arrived at the Kanombe hospital where they took my skin and tested it. The results came back and told me that I have psoriasis since I started taking medication for it, until now because it is a disease that you live with because it is incurable and other diseases can be added to it and catch up with it as they catch me“. She says
She continued by saying that because Rwandans don’t know us, they tend to isolate us so that wherever you go to work you face this problem and it’s just like any other disease, and for me, when I’m still a young woman, finding someone to marry is still a big problem, because I once worked for someone but he asked me not to touch his children’s clothes.
Pierre Celestin Habiyaremye, one of the founders of the Psoriasis Association, says that a person suffering from this disease needs people around them and to protect them from isolation because it’s just like any other disease, although this disease needs to be advocated for so that Rwandans can know about it.
Pierre Celestin Habiyaremye, one of the founders of the Psoriasis Association
“This disease is a chronic disease that you live with for the rest of your life, but if you don’t treat it, it can lead to other diseases including diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease. This disease is not contagious but runs in families, except that there are some people who suffer from it and no one else in their family has it.” He says
Dr Alice Amani Uwajeneza, a dermatologist and university lecturer who is also the head of the Rwandan Dermatology Association, says that in Rwanda, there are 13 doctors, 12 of whom work in the city and 1 in the province.
“If both parents have the gene, the child they will have has a 40% risk of developing it, while if one of the parents has the gene, the child they will have has a 20% risk of developing it, so the disease is passed down through the family.” She says
She continued by saying that people who drink alcohol a lot are also at risk of developing the disease, and when combined with heavy smoking, the risk of developing it increases, so the number of people suffering from it worldwide is 3%, which is a large number.
One of the medicines that treats it Methotrexate is a medication used to treat various cancers, autoimmune diseases, and severe psoriasis, but it can have serious side effects and requires close medical supervision. Due to its potential for serious side effects, it requires careful management and monitoring by a healthcare professional. Always consult your healthcare provider for medical advice and treatment plans.
@Rebero.rw
About The Author
