Woman’s Sore Throat Led To Red, Scaly ‘Leopard Print’ Skin

A 22-year-old nurse in Ireland developed a skin condition that appears as red "leopard print" marks on her skin after she caught a sore throat.

Ashling Armstrong, of Belfast, visited a doctor after red marks appeared on her chest in January, the Manchester Evening News reported.

She was diagnosed in the following month with Guttate psoriasis, a variant of the disease that appears as small, red scaly teardrop-shaped spots on the skin.

A sore throat that Armstrong had around a month before the spots appeared likely triggered psoriasis, a doctor told her.

The red spots appeared all over Armstrong's body, including her ears, face, legs and hips.

Armstrong, who described the marks as appearing like a "leopard print," said she initially spent months covering the patches of red skin due to "embarrassment.”

"I was covering myself constantly. I was wearing a North Face coat when the sun was shining outside and was just really embarrassed by the whole thing. I just didn't want anyone to know about it so I was constantly wearing jeans, jumpers and just anything to cover it," the newly-qualified nurse was quoted as saying.

However, Armstrong later decided to share her marks online after realizing she could no longer hide them.

She now regularly shares videos on her TikTok account to normalize psoriasis and to spread the message that "everyone is beautiful in their own way, shape or form."

"I've had people message me saying that it looks like art on my body. It actually nearly made me cry, it was amazing, and I thought that was so nice. Posting on TikTok genuinely just makes me feel good about myself, and when people comment and say I'm beautiful, I feel good," Armstrong said.

"Anybody that's also suffering [from] psoriasis has given me their top tips and what works for them, so I've tried anything and everything. I'm honestly so thankful for everybody's help, we're all in this together. I believe everything happens for a reason and me developing my psoriasis has definitely helped me to understand that whatever life throws at me I can always come out the other end, and I want others to know that too," she added.

Armstrong is due to start light therapy, which she hopes will help to get rid of her psoriasis. In the meantime, she claims she will not let the condition impact her attempt to live life to the fullest.