We all know that KPRF has become such a psychological condition as well as dermatological. We are constantly fighting off worry, anxiety, and fear about what will happen if our face turns really red in certain situations.

For most of us, when we are calm and relaxed and our mind isn't thinking about it, the condition doesn't seem to be all that bad. Heck, it really doesn't even look that bad when we aren't flushing. We may not have perfect skin by any means but a little pinkness/redness isn't the worse thing in the world. There are others in much worse situations. Of course its when we are flushing in front of the entire world that it feels unbearable and we feel that nobody can possibly understand what we are feeling.

I go through periods when this condition doesn't bother me much at all. It's mainly because I'm not really thinking about it a whole lot. I also go through periods when the only thing I can think about is my face. These periods are rough and my mood changes and I can't hardly focus on anything else in life. I literally become a different person.

So how can we minimize how much we think about our facial condition and lessen how much it bothers us? We have more important things to be focusing our minds on then our unique condition. Think positive, don't worry, don't be anxious, and please don't fear turning red. It will only make things worse. That is my encouragement for all of you. Please feel free to respond.


Thanks!

Well said Prager! It's okay not to have perfect skin (in reality who has 'perfect' skin anyway!). We seem to place so much emphasis in our western society of being skinny, pretty etc etc but not much emphasis on accepting ourselves as God made us.

I guess with me I just want my skin to get back to where it used to be before the scarring from UO and AV occured. I know it will never be perfect and that is okay but I would like to get to back some normality and that is why I have had and will probably have more laser treatment.

The greatest 'healing' for me however has occured when I stopped rejecting who I was right now and stopped saying and thinking so many negative things about myself. I think it is not so much what these conditions, that cause redness and scarring, do to the outside but rather what they can do to the inside in your vulnerable teenage years.

Like Prager I encourage everyone who suffers from redness to hold your head high and realise you don't have to be perfect to love yourself and for others to love and accept you also. You have been dealt a difficult hand but it doesn't mean you can't do and achieve everything you want. In the meantime sure look for ways to minimise this problem and someone once said
"change those things that can be changed, accept those things that can't be changed and pray for wisdom to know the difference"

I think about the redness about twice as often as I think about sex. Sad.

I think about it every day now realy some days i feel allright then other days i get upset about it because i jus wish it would go away.

Whenever i see someone elses skin or look in the mirror or feel the pain of the burning...pretty much whenever i am awake

I hardly think of it in the summer because sunlight helps my Kp. In winter, and it doesn't help that i live in North Dakota, its pretty much all that I think about.

It bothers me but doesn't control me . It drives me a bit insane with the redness and itching but I would not let it make me not go out etc . The sad thing is to cover my arms is to stop something I know works from helping. Sunlight in small amounts seems to help control the bumps for me. I decided to show my arms because of this .
I get tired of the struggles with it.

I think about it..TOO much, if anything

Waaay too much. I can't help it though because when its inflamed it's really really hard to think about anything else. The impact it has on school related work is sadly very high. Thankfully it's been fading a bit with frequent visits to the dermatologist and some care.

My face is always red. It is always bothering me.

Its hard not to think about it because you can feel your skin responding to irritators, like a hot room where you feel your cheeks burning and tightening.......its miserable.

I completely disagree, at times when I'm not thinking about it at all people will comment on my face's redness

I especially feel bad about it the moment someones touches my arm and says, wow, are you cold? you got goosebumbs all over!
I have a boyfriend since 2 months and a couple of weeks ago he touched my upper arm and kept on touching it, feeling the bumbs. I pulled my arm away from him as fast as i could. I wish i had the guts not to do that, but i just can' t, I know what he feels. Can' t stop thinking 'a girl is supposed to feel soft', and i feel like one big bumb.

When I am alone though...i usually don't really think about it...

I was always very self conscious about it in middle school and high school, especially when my friends would always ask me about it. Now in college, i feel that it is something that I am learning to live with although it is just a pain when i flush in public events.