Kim Kardashian explains how she has learnt to stop hiding her psoriasis

'After this many years, I've really learned to live with it,' says the reality TV star

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition which causes red, itchy patches of skin covered with silvery scales that can appear anywhere on the body (Getty)

Kim Kardashian-West has said she has finally come to terms with her psoriasis and no longer feels compelled to cover the skin condition up.

The 35-year-old reality TV personality, model and businesswoman said she has come to realise it is futile to cover the marks up given people are aware of her condition.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition which causes red, itchy patches of skin covered with silvery scales that can appear anywhere on the body but are most likely to be found on the elbows, knees, scalp and lower back. It affects up to 1.8 million people in the UK but remains a widely misunderstood condition.

“I have that one patch on my right leg that is the most visible,” Kardashian-West explained in a post on her app. “I don't even really try to cover it that much anymore. Sometimes I just feel like it's my big flaw and everyone knows about it, so why cover it? After this many years, I've really learned to live with it.

“I got it for the first time at the DASH store opening in New York,” she continued in her post. ”I wore this all-sequin dress and I started getting really itchy; I thought it was just a rash caused by the fabric, but then the rash was COVERING my legs and my mum was like, ‘I think you have psoriasis!!!’ She has it too, and it's hereditary, so she spotted the symptoms immediately.”

Like Kardashian-West, Holly Dillon, the founder of the #GetYourSkinOut campaign who has lived with the condition for 12 years, also chooses not to cover her skin up. “I’ve never covered up,” she told The Independent. “From daily clothes to work, to festivals, to nights out, to being on the beach, I never hide and I always show my skin and with this I’m always prepared for people to stare, be rude, ask questions but I make sure I beat them to the chase and inform them about psoriasis."

Dillon decided to start the campaign because she wanted to put it on the health agenda and give those living with it a voice. “Psoriasis is a skin condition people often choose to hide behind. #GetYourSkinOut encourages people to do the opposite - to not be defined by it and to simply show your skin and be empowered by it. By starting an organic conversation, support is given and awareness is being raised”.

Dillon emphasises the fact psoriasis is more than a skin condition and is in fact an auto immune condition which not only affects the skin but can have a knock-on effect on psychical and mental factors. “Living with psoriasis effects absolutely everything you do - relationships, work life, financial, exercise, you name it!,” she explains.

The campaign encourages people to use the hashtag with a photo and share their personal stories about psoriasis. It has amassed a unique range of insight and advice from real people living with the condition.