Zain Verjee Reveals Psoriasis: 'Painful Secret' I Hid For Years

CNN Anchor Reveals 'Painful Secret'

Zain Verjee, an anchor for CNN International, revealed her years-long struggle with psoriasis on Wednesday.

She opened up about the "painful secret" in a piece for CNN.com, going into graphic detail about her experience with the chronic skin disease. "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," wrote Verjee, who hosts CNN International's European daytime program "World One."

She described having "fish-like scales" and bumps filled with blood and pus on her body, "silver flakes" on her scalp and ears "filled with crusts." She wrote that the condition affected everything from the clothing she could wear, to her love life.

Verjee's psoriasis has been in remission for a decade now — thanks, she said, to a strict diet, healthy attitude and a strong "support system." Read her full post on CNN.com.

Verjee received a flood of support on Twitter in response to the piece, and tweeted Wednesday:

She added that she still gets "bad flare ups," but that the experience eventually taught her that "beauty is only [skin deep]."

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot