11 facts you need to know about Psoriasis

A lot of individuals are being diagnosed with Psoriasis lately; many individuals tend to be asking about any remedy regarding this disease on social media. But seem like many people don’t actually know a lot about Psoriasis.

So what is Psoriasis? Actually, It is an autoimmune chronic condition in which the skin cells tend to multiply abnormally up to 10 times faster than normal making the skin to look bumpy with red patches covered with white scales.

Here are 11 facts you need to know about Psoriasis

FACT EVERYONE NEEDS TO KNOW ABOUT PSORIASIS:

1.    WHAT IS AN AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE?

Autoimmune diseases are certain type of diseases in which the immune system of body attacks the normal and healthy cells of body.

Immune system of the body is present to fight against the germs, bacteria and viruses attacking our body, but when these immune cells get abnormal they may fight against our normal cells.

In autoimmune diseases, sometimes the immune cells may overly activate and in attempt to destroy the foreign invader they tend to destroy the healthy cells against which they are activated.

Psoriasis is also a class of auto-immune skin diseases in which the skin tend to build up abnormally about 10 times the normal when exposed to certain elements. This makes the skin to look bumpy with red patches covered over by white scales making it very sensitize and itchy.

2.    WHAT ARE THE TRIGGERS FOR PSORIASIS?

A person with psoriasis may be symptom free for a long period of time until some of the triggers kicks in and flare up the condition.

Some of the basic conditions which may worsen the psoriatic symptoms are:

·         Stress

·         Smoking

·         Alcohol consumption

·         Cold and dry weather

·         Sometimes even a slight cut of bruise to skin can badly flare up the condition

·         Some malarial and anti-hypertensive medicines can also flare it up

·         Bug bites can sometimes also serve to be a trigger in initiating the flaring up

·         Sunburns may also be a culprit in some patients to flare up the skin

Let’s talk about certain risk factors, i.e. who can get psoriasis? Well, being an autoimmune condition it can affect anyone at almost any time. But people in their 20s are the one who tend to get them more than other age groups.

Following are the most prominent risk factors contributing to initiation of Psoriasis

·         FAMILY HISTORY: Genetics plays a very important role in auto-immune diseases. You have a greater chance to develop psoriasis if one or both of your parents have psoriasis. While other scientist believe that presence of any other auto-immune disease in parents can also give rise to psoriasis in children

·         STRESS: High stress levels can increase your risk to get psoriasis. Stress is shown to have very negative effects on our immune system.

·         SMOKING: Smoking may not only increase the risk of developing Psoriasis but it also increase the severity of disease.

3.    IS IT COMMUNICABLE?

Psoriasis appears as red patches seen in many infectious diseases and seem like they may infect one person to another. But relax, that’s not at all the case. Psoriasis is not a contagious or communicable disease. Touching a psoriatic lesion cannot at all infect you or make you Psoriatic. That being said it is completely safe to interact with the person suffering from Psoriasis.

4.    HOW IS PSORIASIS DIAGNOSED?

There are no specific blood tests or tools for diagnosing psoriasis. Consult a Dermatologist (skin specialist) who will ask you for your family history, inspect your skin to ascertain if you might be having psoriasis or not.

If they think you might be having psoriasis, they will ask you to get a biopsy of your skin to confirm the diagnosis. When biopsied under microscope, psoriasis skin looks thicker and inflamed when compared to skin with eczema.

5.    WHAT ARE THE TYPES OF PSORIASIS?

There are actually five different types of Psoriasis, effecting different regions and areas of body and showing different type of appearance on the skin.

Let’s learn about all of them briefly:

·         INVERSE PSORIASIS:

They show very red patches particularly on folding of the skin such as armpits, groin, towards finger-webs and between toes or even behind the knee. They appear to be shiny and smooth. Many people have also shown to be suffering from another type of psoriasis along with this.

·         ERYTHRODERMIC PSORIASIS:

It is a very severe form of psoriasis affecting almost all of the body. The lesions are widespread, fiery red in appearance causing severe itching and pain. The skin shed off in sheets in this type of Psoriasis.

Fortunately, it is very rare affecting only 3% of people having psoriasis in their life time.

·         PLAGUE PSORIASIS:

It is the most common type of this disease. The lesions present as red raised patches with silvery buildup of dead skin. They may be itchy and painful even cracking up and bleeding.

The most affected areas in Plague Psoriasis are scalp, knee, elbow and lower back.

·         PUSTULAR PSORIASIS:

It is characterized by white pustules (blisters of puss containing white blood cells) surrounded by red skin. These blisters are not infections nor can anyone be infected by coming in exposure to them. The mostly affect hand and feet although any part of the body can be affected.

·         GUTTATE PSORIASIS:

They appear as small, dot like lesions. It is second most common type of Psoriasis often starting in childhood or early teen years. It is mostly triggered after a Strep Infection.

6.    WHICH AREAS OF BODY ARE AFFECTED THE MOST?

Depending on the type of Psoriasis, any part of the body can be affected. But the area most commonly affected is:

· FACE: Mostly effect eyebrows, upper lips and skin between the nose. They have to be treated carefully as the skin of face is very sensitive.

·  SCALP: It can extend to the back of neck, around the ears and beyond the hairline into the forehead. However, they are usually mild with very slight fine scaling.

· HANDS,FEETS & NAILS: They have to be treated carefully and promptly as they may cause cracking, blistering and swelling after a flare up

· GENITALS: Being a very sensitive area, this requires a very careful treatment. The most common type of psoriasis of genital region is Inverse Psoriasis

· SKIN FOLDS: Mostly effected in Inverse Psoriasis, skin folds such as arm pits, groin, and underside of breast or behind the knee. This area is easily irritated with rubbing and sweating.

7.    FUNGAL INFECTION VS PSORIASIS?

Psoriasis and Fungal infection can resemble each other a lot. Both shows reddish, itchy patches but are completely different entities with different treatment.

Both may show same picture and sometimes it’s not very easy to identify what you are actually looking at.

However, there are some identification marks which can help you distinguish between the two of them

·         Is there any silver appearance to it? If yes then it might be Psoriasis

·         Do these patches looks like circles or rings? If yes, then its highly probable for it being a fungal infection.

8.    HOW SEVERE IS MY PSORIASIS?

Psoriasis can be mild, moderate or severe. Treatment regimens are decided depending upon the severity of psoriasis.

The severity can be judged based upon the percentage of skin affected. For instance, an entire hand in equal to 1% of total body surface area. That being said:

·         Psoriasis is mild if less than 3% of body surface is affected

·         It is moderate if psoriasis covers 3-10% of your total body surface

·         And severe when it covers more than 10% of your body.

9.    WHAT ARE THE TREATMENT OPTIONS?

There is no cure for Psoriasis. However, a lot of medications are available to relieve the pain. These medications are divided into 3 major categories

TOPICAL TREATMENT:

 They are applied directly on the affected area to reduce the signs and symptoms, slow the growth of cells and reduce the formation of plague. They are mostly prescribed for mild to moderate Psoriasis.

Some of the vital treatment medications are:

·         Topical corticosteroids

·         Moisturizers

·         Salicylic aid

·         Topical retinoid

·         Vitamin D analogues

       SYSTEMATIC TREATMENT:

       Drugs are given orally or by intra-venous injection in this type of treatment, usually given to individuals with mild to moderate range of disease. They can help to reduce the rapid cell division, slow down plague formation and relieve the symptoms. But they may have some very adverse effect therefore they can only be used for a short period of time.

Some of options include:

                 ·         Methotrexate (May cause an increase in LFTs and damage the liver)

                 ·         Cyclosporine  (May lead to kidney damage and hypertension)

                 ·         Biologics (Shortness of breath and increase in lipid profile can be some of the adverse    effects)

                ·         Retinoids (Skin thinning and easy bruising along with hair loss and rashes)

LIGHT THERAPY:

In this type of therapy ultra-violet light source is used to kill the over-activated white blood cells which are damaging the healthy skin. UVA and UVB are both helpful in reducing the symptoms of mild to moderate psoriasis.

However, scientist believes that a long exposure to UV radiations can lead to the development of skin cancer.

 

10.       COMPLICATIONS OF PSORIASIS?

      There are a lot of complications and a great risk to develop other conditions if you are suffering from Psoriasis for a long period of time. Out of them, some most common complications are:

             ·         Obesity

             ·         Type 2 Diabetes

             ·         High blood pressure

             ·         Cardiovascular diseases

             ·         Low self-esteem and depression

             ·         Psoriatic arthritis in which joints are stiff, with swelling around them causing a lot of pain

             ·         Eye condition, such as uveitis and conjunctivitis

             ·         Other auto-immune diseases may also kick in, such as celiac disease, Crohn’s disease and     Sclerosis

11.HOME REMEDIES TO SUPPRESS INFLAMMATION?      

a)      ALOE VERA:

Aloe vera cream can be used to reduce redness, itching, scales and pain. Search for cream and lotion containing 0.5% aloe and apply on the affected area. Aloe Vera gel freshly taken from the plant can also directly be applied on the skin about 3 times daily.

b)      EPSON SALT:

Take a bath with Epson salt mixed in luke warm water and soak your body in it for 15 minutes. It helps to relieve the itching and remove the scales.

c)       TURMERIC:

Known for its healing property, it is used in many ayurvedic medicines to reduce inflammation and pain. Researchers have found that it contain anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties. It can be taken in capsules, powder form or added in curry.

d)      WRAP IT WITH MOISTURIZER:

Apply moisturizer to the affected area before going to bed and wrap it with a plastic sheet. Further wrap it with a socks or gloves. The aim is to store the moisturizing effect during the whole time by sealing the moisturizer.

e)      APPLE CIDER FOR SCALP:

Psoriasis may result in a very itchy scalp. Put some apple cider on your scalps 2-3 times a week. But be cautious not to apply when the scalp is cracking or bleeding as it may aggravate the situation.

f)       AVOID FRAGNANCE:

Avoid soaps with fragrance and other perfumes as they may irritate the skin and cause the skin to flare up causing an aggravation in the condition.

g)      MEDITATION AND EXERCISE:

They are proved to strengthen the immune system and reduce the stress. Since stress is a basic risk factor as well as a trigger for psoriasis, try to avoid stress and stressful situations.