A nurse claims a mild sore throat is thought to have left her with 'leopard print' skin. Ashling Armstrong said she first noticed red marks on her chest in January that she initially thought could be acne but within a week they spread across her entire body.
The 22-year-old visited the doctor and was diagnosed with Guttate psoriasis, a type of psoriasis that appears as small, red and scaly teardrop-shaped spots on the skin, the following month. The gym-lover said she spent months covering angry patches on her red, scaly skin due to 'embarrassment' - often mistaken for severe burns by gawping strangers.
But when they reached her face Ashling realised she could no longer hide them, so decided to share her condition online. Ashling claims being loud and proud about her psoriasis is the 'best thing' she's ever done as her confidence has since 'sky rocketed' and she's been able to help many others in the process.
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The avid reader regularly shares videos on her TikTok account in a bid to normalise psoriasis and is keen to spread the message that 'everyone's beautiful in their own way, shape or form'. Ashling, of Belfast, County Antrim, Northern Ireland, said: "I get people staring every day. I honestly don't care anymore, I'm so past the point of caring.
"I'm so happy with it and I know that I'm helping other people, so what the heck. Sometimes if I see a large group of people walking, sometimes I will put my head down but I do try my best to keep my head up. What I thought to myself one day, when I was walking back from the gym [when] I was just wearing a wee gym set with shorts - if you actually do look at it, it kind of looks like burns.
