Psoriasis

What Is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis (pronunciation: "sor-eye-sis") is a common long term (chronic) condition that causes thick red marks and flaky white patches that look like scales to form on the skin. Skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. This process is called cell turnover, and it takes about a month. With psoriasis, it can happen in just a few days because the cells rise too fast and pile up on the surface.
Most psoriasis causes patches of thick, red skin with silvery scales. These patches can itch or feel sore. They are often found on the elbows, knees, other parts of the legs, scalp, lower back, face, palms, and soles of the feet. But they can show up other places such as fingernails, toenails, genitals, and inside the mouth.


Who Gets Psoriasis?
What Causes Psoriasis?
How Is Psoriasis Diagnosed?
How Is Psoriasis Treated?

Who Gets Psoriasis?

Anyone can get psoriasis, but it occurs more often in adults. In many cases, there is a family history of psoriasis. Certain genes have been linked to the disease. Men and women get psoriasis at about the same rate.

Is psoriasis contagious?

No, you cannot catch psoriasis from another person or give it to someone by touching them. You also cannot spread it to other parts of your body

Symptoms

What are the symptoms of psoriasis?

The symptoms of psoriasis may include:

• Pink or red, raised patches of scaly skin
• Dry, cracked or flaky skin (it may also bleed at times)
• Skin that burns, is itchy or sore
• Thick, pitted fingernails
• Pus-filled blisters on the red patches of skin (in more severe cases)

The symptoms most often appear on the skin of the knees and elbows, although psoriasis may occur anywhere on the body (including the scalp, palms of the hands, soles of the feet, mouth and skin on the joints).

What Causes Psoriasis?

Psoriasis starts with the immune system. Your immune system usually protects the body against infection and disease by attacking bacteria and viruses. However, when you have psoriasis, your T cells, a kind of white blood cells that are part of the immune system, mistakenly attack your skin cells instead. Your body then produces other immune system responses, leading to swelling and fast turnover of skin cells. Psoriasis tends to run in families and it usually appears between 10 and 45 years of age.

People with psoriasis may notice that sometimes the skin gets better and sometimes gets worse. Certain things that can cause the psoriasis to get worse include:

• Infections (such as sore throat and the common cold)
• Diseases that weaken the immune system
• Stress
• Certain medicines (such as beta-blockers for high blood pressure and other mediciness used to prevent malaria)
• Skin irritations
• Cold weather
• Smoking

How Is Psoriasis Diagnosed?

Psoriasis is diagnosed by looking on the rash, however sometimes it may be hard to diagnose because it can look like other skin diseases. 

How Is Psoriasis Treated?

Treatment depends on:

• How serious the disease is
• The size of the psoriasis patches
• The type of psoriasis
• How the patient reacts to certain treatments.

All treatments don't work the same for everyone. Doctors may switch treatments if one doesn't work, if there is a bad reaction, or if the treatment stops working. There are a number of treatments for psoriasis. Your doctor will help you decide which one is best for you. Keeping your skin moisturized with an over-the-counter product is a good first step. Body lotion can help keep skin from getting too dry and cracking. It can also help remove some of the scales. Bathing daily in Dead Sea salts, bath oil or oatmeal can calm redness and remove scales.
Prescription creams, ointments, lotions and gels (also called topical medicines) that you put on the affected areas are often used to treat psoriasis. To help the medicine stay on the skin, you might apply it and then cover the areas with plastic wrap. Options include corticosteroids, a type of vitamin D and pine tar. Special shampoos are used for psoriasis on the scalp. 
For more severe cases of psoriasis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics or other medicines in pill form. Some of these medicines can cause side effects, so your doctor may prescribe these for only a short period of time before returning to another type of treatment.
Sunlight also can help psoriasis, but be careful not to stay in the sun too long. A sunburn can actually make your psoriasis worse. Talk to your doctor about how to safely try sunlight exposure as a psoriasis treatment. Light therapy may be another option for treatment of psoriasis. With this treatment, the affected skin is exposed to controlled forms of artificial sunlight, usually after using Psoralen, a light-sensitizing medicine. This is called "PUVA" treatment. Talk to your doctor about this option.

Topical Treatment:

Treatments applied right on the skin (creams, ointments) may help. These treatments can:

• Help reduce inflammation and skin cell turnover
• Suppress the immune system
• Help the skin peel and unclog pores
• Soothe the skin.

Light Therapy:

Natural ultraviolet light from the sun and artificial ultraviolet light are used to treat psoriasis. One treatment, called PUVA, uses a combination of a medicine that makes skin more sensitive to light and ultraviolet A light.

Systemic Treatment:

If the psoriasis is severe, doctors might prescribe medicine through a shot. This is called systemic treatment. Antibiotics are not used to treat psoriasis unless bacteria make the psoriasis worse.

Combination Therapy:

When you combine topical (put on the skin), light, and systemic treatments, you can often use lower doses of each. Combination therapy can also lead to better results.

Will psoriasis go away with treatment?

While psoriasis will typically improve with treatment, it may not ever completely go away. The scales of psoriasis should improve after you begin treatment. It may take 2 to 6 weeks for the affected areas of your skin to return to a more normal thickness, and the redness may take several months to improve. Sometimes, certain scaly spots will get better at the same time that other spots get worse.
After you've been using a certain type of medicine for a while, your psoriasis may "get used to" the treatment. If this happens, your medicine may not be as effective as it once was. Your doctor may change your medicine. Sometimes you may need a stronger dose of medicine. Talk to your doctor if your psoriasis doesn't seem to be getting better with treatment.

What Are Some Promising Areas of Psoriasis Research?

Doctors are learning more about psoriasis by studying:

• Genes
• New treatments that help skin not react to the immune system
• The association of psoriasis with other conditions such as obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

• What treatment is best for me?
• Will I have to change medicines often?
• Is there anything I can do at home to relieve the pain and itching?
• If my symptoms get worse, when should I call my doctor?
• Is there a special shampoo I should use?
• Could you recommend a good lotion?
• Will I have to be on medicine the rest of my life?
• I have psoriasis. Will my children have it?
• Should I make any changes to my skin care routine?
• Are there any support groups in my area?