Woman with psoriasis soldiers on

Sofia Lovi Ramasamy was diagnosed with psoriasis when she was 12.

KUALA LUMPUR: Ten years ago, Sofia Lovi Ramasamy (pic), 35, was walking by a group of motorcyclists when they whistled at her.

Covering herself with a hat and a cardigan, she tried not to face them, fearing they might see the scars she had been trying to hide since she was 12.

“The bikers were whistling at me, saying, ‘Bollywood coming!’ And when I got near, one of them acted like he was vomiting.

“He called me names and went ‘bleurgh’. It was painful,” she recounted in an interview.

Sofia suffers from psoriasis, a chronic skin disease that not only inflames the skin but also gives the victim arthritis.

In the most severe cases, it can attack the patient’s joints with a needle-like pain so great that anyone with it dare not move lest they suffer more.

Though it is neither fatal nor contagious, there is no cure for it. With cream and medication, the sufferer can keep it at bay.

But stress, infections and even sunlight can aggravate it, releasing the monster.

“I saw myself as a failure,” Sofia said.

Last year, a bout of pneumonia awakened the disease, flaring it so badly that she was bedridden for two months.

When contacted, Kuala Lumpur Hospital senior dermatologist Dr Noor Zalmy Azizan said about 1% to 3% of Malaysians might have psoriasis.

“We have discovered 30% of patients have family members with psoriasis before,” she said.

Dr Noor said anyone with the right (or wrong) genes could suffer from it if a trigger came along.

Not everyone knew they have psoriasis, she added, with the Government only able to record 12,462 people with it from 2007 to December 2014.

Today is World Psoriasis Day, and Sofia, now a recruitment specialist, has learned to live with the disease.

She has put her faith in God and carries on with the support of those around her.

“If I fret about it every other day, it will make things worse. So why not be joyful?” she said.

Her advice for others like her? Stay strong and carry on.

“Don’t hide yourself. Be proud of who you are. Don’t let the sickness get you down,” she said.