Woman who feared she’d die giving birth left bald with ‘mouldy head’

Leonie Branaghan lost all her hair to psoriasis after giving birth to her son

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A woman experienced a serious case of psoriasis which left her with 'mouldy skin' so bad that she went bald after a traumatic birth which left her and her baby in intensive care.

Leonie Branaghan recalled how she had been discharged from hospital after contracting sepsis following the birth of her son Kobe, with the sepsis meaning that they spent time in intensive care after the birth.

The 30-year-old mum from Ipswich in Suffolk was discharged home, and said that she was so scared of losing her baby son that she didn't put him down.

"The hospital said that the stress that I have gone through is what triggered [my psoriasis]," said Leonie.

Around two months after being discharged home Leonie began to experience flashbacks to her experience in hospital, and noticed a small scab had appeared behind her ear.

At first she assumed that it was just dandruff, but in January 2024 she noticed that more bumps were appearing on her scalp, and made an appointment with her GP, where she was diagnosed with a fungal infection.

Over the following months, Leonie had patches of the itchy skin flare up all over her body, and on her head it became so bad that it caused her hair to fall out.

In September 2024 Leonie was diagnosed with psoriasis, this is a condition which causes patches of flaky and dry skin on the body, which does not currently have an outright cure.

One big cause of psoriasis is stress, and Leonie believes that this was directly linked to the extremely difficult birth, which she called 'the scariest thing I have been through'.

"It's very itchy so when you scratch it, it then burns and it would bleed and ooze. There was so much coming out of it," she said.

"It was clear liquid and had the worst smell to it as well. I've never smelt anything remotely similar to what that smelt like.

"It almost felt surreal [when my skin would come off]. I thought there was no point crying about this as I have it for the rest of my life. I would almost make jokes like I was a snake and my skin was shedding."

Leonie has tried several different medicines including oral and injected, in an attempt to treat the health condition, but it does not have a cure.

The mum of two has sometimes worn wigs and close-fitting hats, known as 'cancer caps' for their popularity with people who are undergoing chemotherapy, when she leaves the house, but says that she has had cruel remarks from strangers.

"I had taken my little boy shopping and at this point my hair had completely gone and my head was at its worst," she recalled.

"I didn't want to go out with no hair so I balanced a wig on my head and put a beanie hat on to hold it in place.

"This lady came up to me and asked why I had a winter hat on when it's warm outside. I just don't know why she needed to comment on it."

She added: "I lost all my hair at the age of 27 due to psoriasis. I had really nice hair, it was really long and blonde, it was such a big part of me.

The condition has even gotten so bad that Leonie has been unable to play with her son because her 'hands would split'.

"I wouldn't be able to take him to the park either because it makes it hard to walk," she said.

Leonie now hopes to raise awareness of the condition and urge people to see a doctor if they are worries they have psoriasis.

"My head is starting to get quite bad again and my hair is starting to fall out again in little bits," she said.

"If you think you have psoriasis you should not wait for as long as I did to get in touch with someone in the medical profession."

According to the NHS, psoriasis is defined as a common skin condition that causes itchy and painful patches of dry, flaky skin.

It is most commonly found on the head and behind the ears, on the chest, tummy, back, bottom, elbows and forearms and lower legs. It can also be found in skin creases.

It cannot be cured, but there are treatments to help manage symptoms, including steroid creams.

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