A cashier will jump when he accidentally touches my hand, as if he might catch some dreaded infection. Yesterday, a woman at the swimming pool asked if I was contagious. I explained that my psoriasis is neither contagious nor infectious, that my skin just grows too quickly. She got right up and left the pool anyway. Sometimes, parents even pull their kids away from me.
People joke about the 'heartbreak of psoriasis,' but it goes much deeper than that.
I wish they understood.