National Psoriasis Awareness Week

Proclamation
By the Governor of Alabama

WHEREAS, Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune skin disease that, in its most common form, causes painful, itchy lesions of red, inflamed skin covered with silvery scales; and

WHEREAS, these lesions most often occur on the elbows, knees, legs, lower back, scalp, face, palms, and soles of the feet, but they can occur anywhere on the skin, including on the fingernails, the toenails, the soft tissues of the genitals, and inside the mouth; and

WHEREAS, Psoriasis is not contagious, but is caused by a combination of genetic and environmental factors that mistakenly trigger the body’s immune system, causing skin cells to grow too rapidly and accumulate in the skin’s top layers, leading to the formation of lesions; and

WHEREAS, Psoriasis appears equally in men and women and affects individuals of all ethnicities and age groups, although the disease primarily affects adults; and

WHEREAS, according to the National Institutes of Health, psoriasis affects more than three percent of the U.S. population, or at least 5 million adults; and

WHEREAS, the National Institutes of Health estimates that approximately 30 percent of people with psoriasis are also afflicted with psoriatic arthritis, which causes joint pain, stiffness, and swelling similar to rheumatoid arthritis, as well as painful swelling of the fingers and toes, foot pain, and lower back pain; and

WHEREAS, people with psoriasis may struggle with significant physical discomfort that interferes with mobility, sleep, self-care, caring for family members, employment in certain occupations, and physical exercise or other rigorous activities. People with psoriasis may also struggle with significant psychological distress, including feelings of self-consciousness and stigma about their appearances, fears of public rejection, significant depression, and social isolation; and

WHEREAS, although several treatments for psoriasis currently exist, effective treatment can be challenging due to the disease’s unpredictable cycles of improvement and worsening, patients’ varying responses to the same treatment, the possibility of resistance to repeated treatments over time, and the serious side effects involved in certain treatments:

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Robert Bentley, Governor of Alabama, do hereby proclaim January 11 through 14, 2016, as

National Psoriasis Awareness Week

in the State of Alabama.

Given Under My Hand and the Great Seal of the Office of the Governor at the State Capitol in the City of Montgomery on the 20th day of November 2015.

Robert Bentley
Governor