'Scandal' Actress' Psoriasis Battle: Katie Lowes Felt Embarrassed And Ashamed Canceled Her Engagement Photo Shoot

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The 35-year-old actress Katie Lowes canceled her engagement photo shoot due to a common skin condition that causes itchy and scaly spots over the body. The brunette beauty was diagnosed with psoriasis in 2010 that make her felt embarrassed and ashamed of herself.

That year was the same period Katie Lowes just booked her first major acting career on ABC’s political drama series “Scandal.” She also got engaged to director and actor boyfriend Adam Shapiro. "I was the happiest I've ever been in my life," Katie Lowes told SELF. "I was planning a wedding, and I was also working this job where all eyes were on me for the first time. The stress really triggered my skin to flare up."

Katie Lowes suffered from itchy and scaly spots that began affecting her scalp and spread down at her back. "It was getting to a place where you definitely couldn't ignore it and pretend like this was something small," she said.

Katie Lowes decided to visit a dermatologist and that, she was diagnosed with psoriasis, Mail Online reported. As per the American Academy of Dermatology, this skin disease affects almost 7.5 million people in the United States.

Psoriatic patients have their skin cells reproduce up to 10 times faster than normal. Katie Lowes was affected by the most common form of the condition called the plaque psoriasis. With this, the skin became inflamed, reddish and is covered with silvery, white scales.

Psoriasis is not contagious, but it makes patient self-conscious. The severity of the disease is different from one person to another. Initially, it is detected as a small spot on selective areas of the skin then spread throughout the body.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the potency of psoriasis treatment varies from person to person. Options are topical creams and ointments, light therapy as well as oral or injectable drugs.

Katie Lowes went negating her condition and didn't undergo treatment upon finding that she had psoriasis. However, she became serious about managing it in 2012 when the skin disease affected her wedding plans. She then found a doctor that helped her with the autoimmune symptoms under control.