Kim Kardashian shares close-up look at ‘painful’ psoriasis flareup

Kim Kardashian has given fans a glimpse into her struggles with psoriasis after experiencing a “painful” flareup.

The Skims founder, 43, took to her Instagram Story on Tuesday 30 January to share new videos of the psoriasis flareup on her leg. Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition that’s characterised by rashes with itchy and scaly patches, according to the Mayo Clinic. “How crazy is my psoriasis right now, guys?” Kardashian said in the first clip.

In the video, she shared a close-up of her shin, which appeared red from the psoriasis flareup. “It’s all up my leg. I don’t know what’s happening, but I gotta figure this out. This is crazy,” said The Kardashians star.

Over the clip, Kardashian explained that she was unsure why her psoriasis symptoms were flaring up. “Not gonna lie, this is painful,” she wrote in the on-screen text. “Not sure what my triggers are. I haven’t changed my diet. I’ve tried everything! Psoriasis sucks.”

The mother of four shared a second clip, this time giving a closer glimpse at the psoriasis flareup on her leg. “I usually just have this spot, but now I can tell it’s going down my leg and up my leg and all up my thigh. So, I just know it’s time to figure this out,” Kardashian said.

She captioned the video: “Just wanted to share my journey with you guys #psoriasissucks.”

In a third Instagram Story, Kardashian joked about the shape of her psoriasis and pointed out that the flareup resembled the shape of a heart. “Wait, am I tripping or is my psoriasis in the shape of a heart for Valentine’s Day?” she asked. “Do you guys see that, kind of right? I think I totally see it, and I can see the psoriasis everywhere else.”

“But lucky me, I have a heart-shaped psoriasis for Valentine’s Day,” she added.

Kardashian has been open about her struggles with psoriasis as early as 2011 when she documented her diagnosis on Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Just last week, the reality TV star gave a TikTok video tour of her SKKN by Kim offices, which featured an in-office tanning bed.

In one part of the clip, she reclined in a tanning bed, saying: “I’m Kim Kardashian, of course, I have a tanning bed – and a red light bed – in my office.”

While many viewers took up issue with Kardashian’s tanning bed, noting how tanning bed use can increase the risk of skin cancer, she explained that the tanning bed helps with her psoriasis. “I have psoriasis and it really helps when it’s bad,” she replied to a social media post from Allure magazine. “But I don’t use it too often.”

Psoriasis is considered the most common autoimmune disease in the United States, affecting nearly eight million Americans, according to the National Psoriasis Foundation. Following her appearance at the 2022 Met Gala, where Kardashian arrived in Marilyn Monroe’s iconic sheer bedazzled gown, the billionaire revealed that her pre-Met Gala diet gave her psoriatic arthritis.

“Psoriasis broke out over my body and I got psoriatic arthritis, so I couldn’t really move my hands,” she told Allure in July 2022. “I had to go to a rheumatologist who put me on a steroid. I was freaking out. I cut out the meat again, and it’s calmed down.”

In an essay published on Poosh, a lifestyle website founded by her sister Kourtney Kardashian Barker, the beauty mogul detailed her struggles with psoriasis. She explained that she first experienced a psoriasis flareup when she was 25 years old, which came about after she had suffered from a cold.

“I got a common cold, and since psoriasis is an autoimmune condition, this triggered it. It was all over my stomach and legs,” Kardashian wrote. The skin condition disappeared for a few years after she received treatment from a dermatologist, but then returned when she was in her early thirties. “It covered my whole face and a majority of my entire body,” she said, adding that the pain in her hands was so severe that she was unable to “even pick up a toothbrush”.

She later discovered that she had developed psoriatic arthritis, noting that it’s “similar to arthritis that can stem from psoriasis and it can come and go”.

“It’s still painful and scary, but I was happy to have a diagnosis. No matter what autoimmune condition I had, I was going to get through it, and they are all manageable with proper care,” Kardashian said.

“If you have psoriasis, you can’t let it ruin your life or get the best of you,” she added. “You have to do what you can do to make sure you are comfortable but not let it take over.”