World Psoriasis Day 2022 in Singapore

What a bright shiny day on 5th November 2022! The Psoriasis Association of Singapore has successfully organised yet another milestone event of the year, with about 500 attendees actively participating in the various programmes and activities from 1pm to 5pm at the beautiful Oasis Terrace in Punggol Drive!

The theme of the event is “United We Tackle Mental Health”, and there were many fun-filled activities to drive this important message across to everybody on that day. What a fantastic effort contributed by so many volunteers, speakers, patient panellists, stage performers and sponsors!

After registration by all attendees, we commenced the event by conducting a Mandarin Talk on Psoriasis by Dr Koh Hong Yi, a renowned Dermatologist in Singapore, at around 1:30pm. The mandarin-speaking audience was mesmerised by Dr Koh’s sharing and gained much information on psoriatic disease knowledge and the available treatment for psoriasis patients.

After the Mandarin Talk, the audience was entertained by a musical performance by Dr Ellie and Dr Joel. Both talented doctors played a few magical music pieces that blended so well with the wonderful atmosphere at the event hall, and the crowd were so impressed with the given talent of the doctors; how we wish they could continue to play a few more enchanting pieces for all of us!

Nevertheless, the following event of the panel discussion with the psoriasis patients continues to regale with the audience. The patients were telling personal stories, describing experiences and their medical treatment journey with the National Skin Centre and other institutional sources.

After the patient panel sharing, Dr Oliver Suendermann of Intellect shared a talk on the importance of mental health with the audience. Maintaining positive mental health and treating any mental health disorders is critical for restoring constructive behaviours, emotions, and thoughts. Focusing on mental health care can boost productivity, improve our self-image, and strengthen our relationships.

After the mental health talk by Dr Oliver Suendermann, the audience proceeded to engage themselves with the various booth set up by our sponsors and volunteers. There were more than 100 individuals visiting the health screening booth and completing a survey on mental screening.

The crowd was also treated with free ice creams, titbits, balloon sculpting and games around the event hall. We were also joined by five medical students from Duke-NUS Medical School, who helped to mingle with the audience. We have also created some digital standing animated billboards to showcase information about psoriatic disease and its associated stigma.

After the booth engagement, the audience was entertained by a Taiji stage performance that helped to relax both the body and mind of everybody. It was then followed by the English Talk on Psoriasis updates presented by Dr Colin Theng, President of the Psoriasis Association of Singapore and a renowned Dermatologist in Singapore. Dr Colin has shared the causes and different presentations of Psoriasis and the effective treatment of using Biologics given by injection. The audience was actively raising questions and engaging with Dr Colin to gain more in-depth knowledge on Psoriasis.

It was Quiz time after the informative talk by Dr Colin! The audience was so focused on each and every question raised, and all correct answers were awarded a prize! ”Psoriasis is not a contagious disease” is the key takeaway message from the audience.

It was a fun-filled Quiz session for everybody, after all, and the grand finale of the lucky draw is next! Everyone was so attentive, and all eyes were on the stage and looking forward to bringing home more prizes.

It was an eventful World Psoriasis Day 2022 for all of us to reminisce, and so many memorable photos and videos were taken at the event. Here is a group photo of the executive committee members of the Psoriasis Association of Singapore at the event.

We are very grateful to show our appreciation to the following organisations and sponsors for showcasing their products and services at their respective booths:

• Abbvie
• DKSH
• Boehringer Ingelheim
• Johnson & Johnson
• Novartis
• LEO
• Fresenius Kabi
• National Skin Centre
• Dermatology Nurses Chapter
• National University Hospital
• Ego
• Intellect
• ADES
• Physiogel
• HALEON

Cheers to World Psoriasis Day 2022!

Edmund Lau (劳梽豪)

Member of the Psoriasis Association of Singapore

https://tinyurl.com/edmund-lau-chee-hoa

#WorldPsoriasisDay #mentalhealth #PsoriasisAssocationofSingapore #staypositive #psoriasisawareness