您可以将牛皮癣传递给您的孩子或孙子孙女吗？

社交媒体上的一个追随者最近问了一个重要的问题：“我已经银屑病myself. How did you deal with having children and possibly passing on the disease to your kids?” Their question brought me back many years, to when my wife, Lori, and I were engaged and first married.

We had both always wanted children. Lori, an only child, wanted four kids; I thought it would be great to have a son and a daughter. But our discussion about having children as a young couple extended beyond the number.

我们俩都有可以从遗传上传递的条件。洛里（Lori）出生spina bifida, a condition that affects the spine, and我开发了牛皮癣作为小学的孩子。考虑到我们各自的问题，我们对我们的孩子是否健康感到痛苦。

牛皮癣会在家庭中运行吗？

Experts point to a genetic link in psoriasis while also noting the influence of environmental factors and the immune system.

The美国皮肤病的笔记那银屑病runs in families and that if your parent, grandparent, or sibling has the condition, you are at a higher risk of developing it.

That turned out to be the case for me, as both my parents were diagnosed with psoriasis while in their seventies. (TheNational Psoriasis Foundation says那银屑病symptomscan start at any time in life, although they typically begin between ages 15 and 25.)

一项名为“牛皮癣的遗传流行病学”的研究，发表在杂志上当前的皮肤病报告,provides statistics on the genetic basis of psoriasis. “According to family-based studies, an offspring of two affected parents has a 50 percent chance of developing psoriasis; this chance decreases to 16 percent if only one parent is affected,” the researchers state. “Also, if a child has psoriasis and neither parent has it, there is an 8 percent chance for that child’s sibling to develop psoriasis.”

Moreover, the researchers say, twin studies show psoriasis is influenced by both genetics and environment.Environmental triggerssuch as infection, stress, medications, or excessive body weight have been shown to induce or worsen psoriasis symptoms.

RELATED:十几岁的牛皮癣的生活经验教训

对我的孩子忧郁症的焦虑

当我和洛里（Lori）结婚时，1994年，我不记得我有多少关于我是否可以将牛皮癣传递给我们的孩子的信息。我听说银屑病疾病确实聚集在家庭中，但我无法识别出任何患有牛皮癣的亲戚。

婚礼两个月后，洛里和我仍在考虑生孩子的利弊。我们凝视着一个家怀孕测试- 反复检查棍子上的窗户，以查看是否真的有两行。诊所的实验室测试证实了结果。

Neither of us was ready for the anxiety that would follow.

洛里（Lori）接受了遗传咨询和测试，这确定了我们极大的解脱，胎儿没有脊柱裂。但是我们的孩子一生中没有任何保证不会得到牛皮癣。

在我悄悄担心的那一刻，遗传学和统计学对我来说并不重要。

Lydia, our firstborn, arrived in 1995, and so far, she doesn’t have psoriasis. Fortunately, Tim, born in 1999, and our youngest, Aleta, born in 2001, weren’t born with spina bifida and don’t have psoriasis yet either.

It’s possible that my children will develop psoriasis at some point, but what I know now is that everyone has their own unique set of genetic and environmental circumstances that ultimately affect what will or won’t happen.

个人决定

My response to the social media follower who asked me about passing psoriasis to my children reflects my journey as a parent. I wrote that I suppose it’s a risk for任何人to have children not knowing the many unknown genetic predispositions we all have. But whatever my kids might have or deal with in life or with their health I want to be the best equipped to help them through it.

The knowledge I’ve gained aboutthe causes of psoriasis给我工具来寻找我的孩子。他们更了解皮肤，与患有皮肤疾病的父母一起生活。我和我的妻子也更加关注他们的整体健康状况，确保他们知道如果他们有任何疑问，他们可以来找我们。

与牛皮癣相处为我提供了词汇和生活经验，以帮助我的孩子解决他们的任何问题。他们每个人都面临着自己的慢性或急性健康问题，我帮助他们自己倡导，导航医疗保健系统，并找到最好的护理。

RELATED:My Son’s Weeklong Fever Turned Into a Rare Disease

不过，我知道关于是否生孩子的决定。我知道其他患有健康状况的人，包括牛皮癣，他们决定不生孩子。其他人则有银屑病的孩子。作为父母，保持与伴侣的对话并与您的医疗保健专业人员讨论任何问题很重要。

洛里（Lori）和我为我们的三个成年子女工作，上大学和过着充实的生活而感到自豪。作为父母，我们一直在那里为他们服务，因为他们知道，与任何遗传倾向一起，我们也可以传递给他们我们承受艰难生活和健康挑战的经验。

您可以在我的网站上阅读有关我的经历的更多信息psohoward。