Former KTN Anchor Zain Vergee Talks About Her Battle With A Rare Skin Conditio

We are all used to the jovial and vibrant Zain vergee on our screens, but never did we think she was struggling so much behind the scenes. All this because of a rare skin condition called psoriasis, which the renowned anchor who now works for CNN has been battling since she was 8 years old.

Zain saw a chance to talk about her condition courtesy of a video they posted of a recent piece about the disease. All said and done, here is part of what she had to say about her battle with Psoriasis.

I have spent more than a decade of my professional career on international television, my face visible to millions each day. Yet I have spent a lifetime hiding.

For years, I guard a painful secret: I can’t bear to look in the mirror. I shrink from bright light. A gaze that lingers a second too long makes me panic. A hot summer day sends me into the shadows.

I have fish-like scales. There are tiny red islands floating on the surface of my skin. They combine to create continents with jagged surfaces. They turn black and start to smell. There is blood and pus.

My scalp spits out silver flakes. My ears are filled with crusts. I leave white specks wherever I sit. I float in long, loose clothes. My hands betray me. The sores sit openly. My nails are dented with pockmarks. I find strands of hair on the sheets and pillowcases every morning.

I suffer from psoriasis. It’s ravaged my body since I was 8. At its worst my plaques look like leprosy. I feel like a leper.

My face is flawless. Not a blemish. Not a mark. Compliments are endless. But I am acutely aware that a horror film unfolds in secret beneath my clothes. I am effervescent and radiant on the outside and rotting inside. Which is the real me?

The cameras fire up, the red light turns on. I am splendidly made up. I lose myself in the moment. I am energized. I am focused. It’s only my face. It is floating. It’s all that exists. It gives me confidence.
No one has it all. I fight my body and myself all my life. I hit rock bottom many times because of my disease. It seems futile to try anymore. “Who will ever want me like this” I cry hysterically at home. “No one could ever touch me.” My mother pulls me out self-loathing and defeatism. When I want to give up, she will not let me.

In the end, Zain is still battling the condition. Zain Verjee’s psoriasis went into remission for 10 years. She still battles the condition today.