Girl that hid her 'ugly' skin in shame for years, finally embraces it and is proudly encouraging psoriasis sufferers.

For almost a decade Giorgia Lanuzza has endured people stopping and staring at her in the street.

She has faced cruel taunts from schoolmates as well as strangers and claims she was left feeling like a 'freak', too scared to look at herself in the mirror.

The 24-year-old has suffered with the painful skin condition, psoriasis since she was 13 years old. Psoriasis is a skin condition that causes red, flaky, crusty patches of skin covered with silvery scales.

The patches normally appear on your elbows, knees, scalp and lower back but can appear anywhere on the body.

While most people endure small red patches on parts of their body, Miss Lanuzza said around 97 per cent of her body is covered with painful red welts.

But while she has hidden her 'ugly' skin in shame for years, she said she has finally learned to love her skin and is proudly showing off her body, to encourage other women battling psoriasis. 

She said:

“People would stop and stare at me in the street. My psoriasis looks like red, raised spots and people looked at me as if I was disgusting and they might catch something. I felt so self-conscious about the condition that it was ruining my life. Stressing about my flare-ups only made them worse - so now I look at my skin with a positive mindset. Finally I've come to terms with my skin and have realized that I am beautiful. After all these years I finally have confidence in my own skin I want to show other women that their 'abnormalities' could be their strengths. The condition is often triggered by trauma, and when I lost my dad I felt like the world had ended. My world went to pieces - we were so close when I was growing up, and I couldn't bear losing him. I was just a teenager and all I wanted was to be like other girls my age... Instead, giant patches of my skin were red and unsightly - I felt like a freak compared to other girls my age and did everything to cover up”.

"Grieving was difficult enough. Then, when these flaky patches started appearing on my skin, I had no idea what was happening. At first it was just on my arms and scalp, but gradually, it spread across my entire body - even my face and hands. I was just a teenager and all I wanted was to be like other girls my age - wearing make-up, pretty clothes and talking about boys. Instead, giant patches of my skin were red and unsightly - I felt like a freak compared to other girls my age and did everything to cover up”.

“I tried not to itch the dry patches but, even so, in class other girls would point at my scab-covered arms and say that I was "infected". While other girls would dress in strappy tops and go to parties, I spent my teens wearing long-sleeved t-shirts. Though I was painfully self-conscious in my early teens, I was determined psoriasis wouldn't rob me of my teenage years. I tried to think of them as reminders of my dad, as I'd got psoriasis after he died. That was a comfort, but it was still hard. Now I've come to terms with psoriasis, I want to help others do the same. We might have conditions that make us look different from other women, but we are still beautiful.”

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