How To Deal With Psoriasis On Face

What Causes Psoriasis On Your Face

Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation and skin cells to grow too quickly. Healthcare providers do not know why some people develop psoriasis while others do not. There appears to be a genetic factor because you are more likely to experience psoriasis if your parents have it.

Common triggers that lead to a psoriasis outbreak include stress, skin injury, infection, cold weather, and certain prescription medications. Facial psoriasis is not contagious, and you cannot give it to or get it from someone else.

Practice Good Skin Care

A good skin care routine for psoriasis can go a long way toward preventing flares and making sure your eyelid psoriasis doesn’t become infected or inflamed, Dr. Goldenberg says.

Moisturizing this area is important.

“Choose a hypoallergenic product,” he says, noting it’ll be less likely to cause any irritation. “I recommend a gentle skin care regimen too.”

What If Those Psoriasis Treatments Dont Work

If psoriasis doesnt improve, your healthcare provider may recommend these treatments:

• Light therapy: UV light at specific wavelengths can decrease skin inflammation and help slow skin cell production.
• PUVA: This treatment combines a medication called psoralen with exposure to a special form of UV light.
• Methotrexate: Providers sometimes recommend this medication for severe cases. It may cause liver disease. If you take it, your provider will monitor you with blood tests. You may need periodic liver biopsies to check your liver health.
• Retinoids: These vitamin A-related drugs can cause side effects, including birth defects.
• Cyclosporine: This medicine can help severe psoriasis. But it may cause high blood pressure and kidney damage.
• Immune therapies: Newer immune therapy medications work by blocking the bodys immune system so it cant jumpstart an autoimmune disease such as psoriasis.

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How A Dermatologist Can Help

With so many products, it can be difficult to know what to use. If you dont see the results you like with OTC treatment for psoriasis, you may want to see dermatologist. Dermatologists are the skin disease experts. They know how to tailor psoriasis treatment to the type of psoriasis you have. Sometimes, this requires combining treatments. You may also need one treatment plan to gain control over your psoriasis and another to maintain the results.

ImagesGetty Images

ReferencesMenter A, Korman NJ, et al. Guidelines of care for the management of psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Section 3: Guidelines of care for the management and treatment of psoriasis with topical therapies. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009 60:64359.

Paghdal KV, Schwartz RA. Coal tar: Back to the future. J Am Acad Dermatol. 2009 Aug 61:294-302.

All content solely developed by the American Academy of Dermatology

The American Academy of Dermatology gratefully acknowledges the support from Amgen and .

Lean On Your Loved Ones

If youâre feeling lousy, touching another person or talking about your psoriasis may be the last thing you feel like doing. But research shows that people with psoriasis who get social support feel better day to day and are less likely to have depression. Let your friends and family know how psoriasis affects you emotionally. âThey may not âget itâ until you open up to them. But when you do, theyâll want to support you,â Kaminska says.

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When Psoriasis Affects Your Face

Heres what you need to know about treatment and self-care if symptoms develop around your eyes, ears, or lips.

Fabrizio Misson/Shutterstock

Psoriasis can cause thick, scaly plaques to develop on your skin. It commonly affects certain areas of the body, such as your knees, elbows, hands, feet, and scalp. Sometimes the disease can have a highly visible effect when it shows up on your face.

Skin diseases that are on the face, in my clinical experience, can really impact patients everyday life and how they feel about themselves, says Ronda Farah, MD, a board-certified dermatologist and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School in Minneapolis.

The good news is there are effective treatments and ways to cope when psoriasis affects your face.

How To Treat Psoriasis On Skin And Scalp Best Home Treatments:

Psoriasis is a benign disease as it generally does not affect health, but affect the aesthetics, psychology, and cause some other implications. The disease occurs in different periods, sometimes becoming more severe or milder basing on the season changes.

Although it has been studied for a long time, but so far there are still many things about the causes and pathogenesis of psoriasis unclear. In recent years, many researchers believe that this disease is related to immune disorders and genetic factors. In addition, a number of factors have influenced, stimulated, and made the disease more severe are also included. The trigger factors include: stress, beer, alcohol, and tobacco addictions, infections, endocrine disorders, metabolic disorders, climate, environment changes One thing which can be definitely confirmed is that psoriasis is not a contagious disease like everyone mistook.

In the article today, I would like to introduce a list of many simple to apply yet very effective tips on how to treat psoriasis naturally at home that are proven to work. The home remedies contain:

11. Fish Oil

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What Are The Types Of Psoriasis

In children, common types of psoriasis include:

Plaque psoriasis. This is the most common type of psoriasis. It causes plaques and silvery scales, usually on the knees, elbows, lower back, and scalp. They can be itchy and painful and may crack and bleed.

Guttate psoriasis. This type often shows up after an illness, especially strep throat. It causes small red spots, usually on the trunk, arms, and legs. Spots also can appear on the face, scalp, and ears.

Inverse psoriasis. This causes smooth, raw-looking patches of red skin that feel sore. The patches develop in places where skin touches skin, such as the armpits, buttocks, upper eyelids, groin and genitals, or under a woman’s breasts.

Tips To Shave Safely With Psoriasis

Hair removal can quickly go from chore to challenge when you have psoriasis plaques. These tips can help make the experience less grueling.

When you have psoriasis, seemingly simple tasks can become potentially perilous undertakings. Everyday grooming, for example, can trigger an outbreak of plaques, thus complicating your psoriasis management plan.

Hair removal, especially, may lead to skin irritation and even bleeding, which can in turn cause a psoriasis flare. This reaction called the Koebner phenomenon, after the doctor who first identified it is when a minor skin injury, such as a cut or a sunburn, results in a new psoriasis lesion on the site of the affected area.

About half of all people with psoriasis experience the Koebner phenomenon at some point, and about 10 percent will see it every time they get a cut or other trauma.

Kasi Burns, 30, is all too familiar with psoriasis and the Koebner phenomenon. Burns has been living with psoriasis for more than half her life.

It started on her scalp and then moved down her neck, flaring up in various spots across her body.

Although her psoriasis management strategies are working and her condition is mostly under control she describes it as pink with some scales she had to deal with unpleasant grooming experiences for the better part of her young adulthood.

I’m hoping that at some point a company will come up with a safe and nonpainful way for those of us with psoriasis to be able to remove unwanted hair, she says.

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What Is Facial Psoriasis

Facial psoriasis is a chronic skin condition in which there are one or more, persistent, thickened, red and dry patches on the face.

Psoriasis is a common chronic inflammatory skin disease that may affect any skin site. Facial involvement occurs at some time in about half those affected by psoriasis. Although it is usually mild, facial psoriasis is occasionally very extensive involving the hairline, forehead, neck, ears and facial skin.

It is extremely rare to have psoriasis occurring solely on the face. Most patients also have scalp psoriasis and they may also have moderate to severe psoriasis at other sites.

Patients with facial psoriasis often suffer from psychosocial problems due to the presence of unsightly red, scalyplaques on highly visible areas.

Facial involvement presents as a therapeutic challenge because facial skin is thin, sensitive and more complicated to treat.

What Increases Your Risk

Many doctors believe that psoriasis may be passed down from parents to their children . This is because certain genes are found in families who are affected by psoriasis.footnote 2 About one-third of people who have psoriasis have one or more family members with the condition.footnote 3

Other factors that can contribute to the development of psoriasis include:

• Emotional or physical stress. Stress may cause psoriasis to appear suddenly or make symptoms worse .
• Infection. Infections such as strep throat can cause psoriasis to appear suddenly, especially in children.
• Skin injuries. An injury to the skin can cause psoriasis patches to form anywhere on the body, including the site of the injury. This includes injuries to your nails or nearby skin while trimming your nails.
• Smoking. Smoking may make you more likely to get psoriasis and make the symptoms more severe.footnote 4

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Ways To Treat Psoriasis Naturally

Guest writer for Wake Up World

Psoriasis is a common, chronic relapsing/remitting immune-mediated skin condition believed to be caused by an overload of toxicity through diet, some medications or our environment. It is characterized by red or white scaly patches and plaques, which usually itch. The condition affects up to five percent of the general population.

The causes of psoriasis are not fully understood, but a build up of toxins is known to be strongly correlated with most cases, especially for plaque psoriasis which is the most common type.

Not only are psoriasis flare-ups aggravating, but they make many people with the condition so self-conscious about their appearance that theyre reluctant to go out in public without ample covering. Probably most frustrating of all is that theres no magic formula to cure the condition indefinitely. You have to learn how to deal with flare-ups as they come, and take good care of yourself and your skin.

The good news is that is can be reversed through many different natural remedies, most of which should resolve the symptoms before ever requiring medication. Here are 12 effective natural remedies most found in your kitchen to help treat psoriasis discomfort, plus some simple everyday changes you can make to help prevent outbreaks.

Can A Diet Cure Psoriasis Naturally

• Avoiding environmental factors that trigger psoriasis, such as smoking, and stress, may help prevent or minimize flare-ups of psoriasis. Sun exposure may help in many cases of psoriasis and aggravate it in others.
• Alcohol is considered a risk factor for psoriasis, even moderate amounts of beer. People should minimize alcohol use if they have psoriasis. This is especially important if they are taking medications such as methotrexate or acitretin.
• Specific dietary restrictions or supplements other than a well-balanced and adequate diet are not important in the management of plaque psoriasis.
• Recently, some data has supported that an “anti-inflammatory” diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and low in saturated and trans fats may help manage psoriasis, although the value in preventing its onset is less certain.

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How To Apply Psoriasis Medication On Your Face

Here are a few basic tips:

• Use small amounts.
• Be careful when you apply creams and ointments around the eyes. Some treatments can irritate them.
• Follow your doctorâs instructions for taking the medication so you can prevent side effects, especially with steroids.
• Ask your doctor if you can use makeup to conceal the psoriasis on your face. Some products can prevent treatment from working.
• If your medication doesnât help or causes too many side effects, work with your doctor to figure out a treatment that will help.

Face Steaming For Psoriasis

Your skin is the largest organ of your body. After liver and kidney, your skin is the third most important organ of your body which is responsible of elimination of wastes and toxins from your body. Facial sauna is a wonderful treat for it.

When you expose your face to steam for 5-7 minutes before bathing, all the psoriasis scales gets soft and loose and then they can be easily removed during bathing. You can easily do facial sauna at your home without spending too much time or money.

Facial sauna hydrates your skin, increases blood circulation and open skin pores to remove dead skin cells, dirt and bacteria from it. Hence, if you are prone to common skin problems like acne, facial sauna would help you with that also. During steaming, skin pores would open. Continuous steaming for 5-7 minutes would make your skin sweat. This sweat would dissolve various skin impurities like dead skin cells, dirt and bacteria in it to get washed away.

How to do Facial Sauna

You can easily do face sauna at home either manually or using a face steamer. If you want to do manually, then you would need some boiled water, a bowl and a towel. Otherwise, you can get a good quality face steam by spending just 25 US dollars.

I personally recommend using a facial steamer instead of using boiled water in the bowl. The reasons are:

• Facial steamers assure uniform steaming throughout the whole process
• Timer knob to set time
• Auto off to avoid over steaming of your face

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How Is Psoriasis Diagnosed

Doctors usually diagnose psoriasis by examining the skin, scalp, and nails. They’ll also ask whether someone else in the family has psoriasis and if the child recently had an illness or started taking a new medicine.

Rarely, doctors might take a skin sample to check more closely. A biopsy can tell the doctor whether it’s psoriasis or another condition with similar symptoms.

Are There Psoriasis Treatments

Unfortunately, like a lot of skin conditions, there is no cure per se for psoriasis. The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to keep its prevalence under control

The choice of treatment really depends on how severely you are affected and includes creams containing a steroid or vitamin D, tablets and injections that modify the immune system, and phototherapy, which is a form of outpatient light treatment carried out in hospital Dermatology Departments, our doctor explains.

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Psoriasis On Face And Forehead

Wikipedia claims that more than 2% of the worlds total population is dealing with psoriasis. Thats really a big number. But, not all of them have psoriasis on face and forehead. I have met a lot of people who have severe psoriasis all over their body, but not on the face.

The psychological impact of psoriasis is much more if it exists on the face. It is very obvious also. Your face is the first thing that a person notices on coming in contact. If a person meets you and give awkward stares at your face, then you are bound to feel a little low. Psoriasis marks on the face and forehead can really make an impact on your personal and professional life. I remember, once I got an email from a young lady who was fired from her job because of psoriasis on face. She was a receptionist. Similarly, if you are approaching an opposing sex with the intention of getting into a relationship, then psoriasis patches on your face can really prove a big turn off.

Are There Alternative Therapies For Psoriasis

Conventional therapy is one that has been tested with clinical trials or has other evidence of clinical effectiveness. The FDA has approved several drugs for the treatment of psoriasis as described above. Some patients look to alternative therapy, diet changes, supplements, or stress-reducing techniques to help reduce symptoms. For the most part, alternative therapies have not been tested with clinical trials, and the FDA has not approved dietary supplements for treatment of psoriasis. There are no specific foods to eat or to avoid for patients with psoriasis. However, some other therapies can be found on the National Psoriasis Foundation web site. Individuals should check with their doctors before starting any therapy.

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My Story Is No Different

I got psoriasis in August, 2005 I was 21 at that time. It was the final year of my engineering studies when I got my first attack of psoriasis. At the peak of my youth, I was a good looking tall, handsome guy and I was proud of my personality. But, suddenly those undesired psoriasis patches just spoiled everything. Initially, I got psoriasis patches on my scalp and back. Gradually, my whole body got covered with psoriasis flakes. It was a case of severe psoriasis. I had plenty of psoriasis patches on my face- forehead, inside my eyebrows, area between the eyebrows, on my nose, on the cheeks, inside the ears, behind the ears, on the area between the lips and nostrils, on my chin and on my neck. It was very difficult for me to hide them from peoples eyes and every day, I used to see people staring at my face sometimes they enquired and sometimes they didnt.

Home Remedies For Psoriasis On The Face

Beyond medications, you can take several steps to treat facial psoriasis using home remedies. Psoriasis skin care should be high on your list of activities to relieve symptoms and improve skin health.

A good home care regimen for on the face may include:

• Cleansing daily using cool water and a non-soap cleanser. Avoid using facial scrubs or masks, except as directed by your dermatologist.

• Cool compresses to relieve itching and inflammation. You can use cool gel packs or cloths soaked in cool water.

• Judicious exposure to sunlight. Excessive sun exposure can make facial psoriasis worse, and you should always use sunscreen on facial skin not affected by psoriasis.

• Moisturizing frequently. You dont necessarily need to apply a special psoriasis moisturizer, but use the heaviest moisturizer you can tolerate on your face. If moisturizing leads to other facial skin issues, like breakouts, consult your dermatologist.

In addition, you can perform these other self-care activities designed to reduce your overall psoriasis symptoms, including facial lesions:

Living with psoriasis can be challenging, especially when patches appear on the face. By taking steps to reduce stress, eat well, and use appropriate medications as directed by your doctor, you can alleviate facial psoriasis symptoms and possibly see the disease go into remission.

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