LeAnn Rimes On Why She Was Called ‘Scaly Girl’ As A Kid

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LeAnn Rimes
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LeAnn Rimes sings the national anthem before a baseball game at Fenway Park
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FIRST PUBLISHED: December 22, 2008 10:38 AM EST
LAST UPDATED: December 22, 2008 10:52 AM EST

LOS ANGELES, Calif. --

Country star LeAnn Rimes hid her psoriasis until recently, but now the singer is stepping into the spotlight about the skin condition she has battled since the age of two.

LeAnn recently told Health.com that by six-years-old, psoriasis covered 80 percent of her body.

“It felt very isolating. I was constantly in the doctor’s office. My mom had to get me out of school to go to treatments,” the 26-year-old recalled. “Kids didn’t want to hang out with me or touch me. I remember being called “scaly girl,” and never ever wanting to go out in a bathing suit.”

The condition also affected what she wore during performances and on the red carpet.

“I would wear a pair of panty hose onstage to cover up the scales on my legs, so no one would see them,” she continued. “On the red carpet I never wore short dresses; I would always wear long dresses or pants. My legs were my worst problem.”

LeAnn said through “great medication and a great doctor” she has not had a flare up in five years.

The country star shared her experience with psoriasis in a PSA for the Stop Hiding campaign in September – along with doing something else she never thought possible – wearing a two-piece on a magazine cover.

“I recently did a magazine shoot in a bikini. I never ever thought I would do that in my entire life,” she said of last March’s cover of Fitness magazine. “I never wanted to be seen in one—my dad had to drag me to the pool as a kid—and it was one of the highlights of my life to think, ‘Oh my god, I can’t believe that’s me.’”

“To feel vibrant, to feel like a woman, to want to show off that I have clear skin,” LeAnn continued. “It’s the happiest day of my life.”

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