Is psoriasis well understood by people who surround you?

I have a very understanding family, however I had some trouble explaining psoriasis to my friends and people at work, they were afraid it was contageous! It made me so angry!! Has anyone else met with people who didn't understand the disease and thought it was contageous?

I once got asked if I’d burnt myself people look at me daft when I tell them that I have developed arthritis because of it. So no not understood that well

I developed psoriasis as a child and had terrible problems with my peer group who treated me as if I had a contagious disease. I remember swimming lessons at primary school were awful as other children shunned me and made me feel isolated. I was the only one in my family who had psoriasis so there was little understanding of the ailment and the impact it had on me. 

 As I grew older I learnt how to manage my symptoms but this included wearing full cover up clothing even in the height of summer. Now as a mature adult I have a better understanding of myself and the ailment, as has society, but their still exists a lot of negative attitudes towards this ailment from others. 

this is the problem people keep referring to it as a disease  which it is not and so people who do not have it think it is communicable like leprosy  and they can catch it like aids or by touch when i was a child it was called a socially acceptable disease because little or no medical research had been done about it they knew it was sometimes passed by the genes through families and or started after an illness and  that it sometimes skips a generation in fact there were all kinds of theories and not a lot of facts its only in the last ten years that the link with the auto immune system has been found out even the new treatments now are linked via the DNA of the patient but the criteria to get this  kind of advanced treatment you have to be covered 75%0r 80% of the body with thick plaques. its only in the last five years that the drug companies have been looking at trying to find different ways of treating psoriasis but even they admit they make billions off what is already being used the creams and pills  and there is no reason to research to find a treatment that will slow down the immune system and stop the production of skin cells on the plus side having psoriasis only means my skin grows faster than normal about 4 times faster which makes us unique not a disease carrier .