The Sun Can Heal Psoriasis
The sun can heal
While you may not be excited to slap on a revealing swim suit and sunbathe on the beach, it could be just what the doctor ordered.Now isnt the time to worry about a crowd of people looking at your plaques, its time to treat them. Phototherapy has been used to treat skin diseases for years. Ultraviolet rays can help slow the growth of your skin cells and calm psoriasis for good.
Using the sun to treat psoriasis may not be the best idea if you overexpose your skin. Remember ultraviolet rays also cause sunburn and skin cancer so you dont want to add to your issues. If you choose to sit in the sun, do it for about 20 minutes and try not to sit in the hotspot.
An alternative to direct sunlight is getting UV treatments through a medical professional. The doctor will use the same UV rays found in the sunto directly treat your concern. Phototherapy can be costly since it requires you to undergo treatments 3-5 times per week!
Psoriasis Uncovered: Myths Vs Truths
Myth: Psoriasis is just âdryâ skin.Truth: Psoriasis is an immune disorder leading to skin inflammation with itching and thick, dry, scales on the skin. It cause embarrassment and distress for patients.
Myth:Psoriasis is contagious.Truth: You cannot âcatchâ psoriasis from someone else, even if you come into contact with their skin. It is not an infectious disease.
Myth:Psoriasis can be cured.Truth: Psoriasis is a chronic condition that has no cure however, there are many effective treatments, and ongoing research for this condition is active.
What Injections Or Infusions Are Available For Psoriasis
Recently, a new group of drugs called biologics have become available to treat psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. They are produced by living cells cultures in an industrial setting. They are all proteins and therefore must be administered through the skin because they would otherwise be degraded during digestion. All biologics work by suppressing certain specific portions of the immune inflammatory response that are overactive in psoriasis. A convenient method of categorizing these drugs is on the basis of their site of action:
Drug choice can be complicated, and your physician will help in selecting the best option. In some patients, it may be possible to predict drug efficacy on the basis of a prospective patient’s genetics. It appears that the presence of the HLA-Cw6 gene is correlated with a beneficial response to ustekinumab.
Recommended Reading: Is Psoriasis Caused By Inflammation
Consider A Medication Change
If youre struggling with an overload of flakes, you may need to evaluate and possibly switch medication. That can be frustrating, but there are many choices of targeted treatments on the market. It can be trial and error, but everyone can be treated, says Dr. Wechsler.
Psoriasis can be mild, moderate, or very severe, and these symptoms can change over time, so treatment that worked for you in the past may not be right for you now. If youre currently being treated for mild psoriasis but are starting to have more severe disease, talk to your doctor about if its time to change your therapy. Heres a brief overview of different types of treatment for psoriasis.
Apple Cider Vinegar For Your Scalp
It’s more than just a salad dressing. Put some on your head a few times a week — either full strength or mixed with water. It’s a recipe for relief when your scalp calls out “scratch me.”
Rinse it off after it dries so you won’t get an irritation. And don’t try this when your scalp is bleeding or cracked. The vinegar will make it feel like it’s burning.
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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.
How Is Psoriasis Treated
Psoriasis is usually treated by a dermatologist . A rheumatologist may also help with treatment. Treatments can include:
- ultraviolet light from the sun or from home or office treatments. But in some children, sunlight can make psoriasis worse.
- creams, lotions, ointments, and shampoos such as moisturizers, corticosteroids, vitamin D creams, and shampoos made with salicylic acid or coal tar
- medicines taken by mouth or injected medicines
A doctor might try one therapy and then switch to another, or recommend combining treatments. It’s not always easy to find a therapy that works, and sometimes what works for a time stops helping after a while.
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Steroid Creams Or Ointments
Steroid creams or ointments are commonly used to treat mild to moderate psoriasis in most areas of the body. The treatment works by reducing inflammation. This slows the production of skin cells and reduces itching.
Topical corticosteroids range in strength from mild to very strong. Only use them when recommended by your doctor.
Stronger topical corticosteroids can be prescribed by your doctor and should only be used on small areas of skin or on particularly thick patches. Overusing topical corticosteroids can lead to skin thinning.
Heres My Diet And The List Of Products I Use:
Nothing sold in a convenient store, all that is garbage.
No beef or cured pork.
No white bread.
Coffee thats diluted with an inch of milk. When Im at home, I use coconut milk.
IPAs and hard ciders are the only alcohols that dont trigger my psoriasis. I have read online other people who say IPAs do not cause outbreaks either. If I drink a Bud or Coors or whiskey, my skin gets bad immediately.
I drink one to two cups of detox tea a day.
Recommended Reading: What Is The Best Vitamin To Take For Psoriasis
Are There Complications Of Psoriasis
In some people, psoriasis causes more than itchiness and red skin. It can lead to swollen joints and arthritis. If you have psoriasis, you may be at higher risk of:
- Use medicated shampoo for scales on your scalp.
Other steps you should take to stay as healthy as possible:
- Talk to your healthcare provider about lowering your risk for related conditions, such as heart disease, depression and diabetes.
- Lower your stress with meditation, exercise or seeing a mental health professional.
Ways To Treat Psoriasis At Home
Psoriasis is a recurring autoimmune disorder characterized by red, flaky patches on the skin.
Even though it affects your skin, psoriasis actually begins deep inside your body in your immune system.
It comes from your T cells, a type of white blood cell. T cells are designed to protect the body from infection and disease. When these cells mistakenly become active and set off other immune responses, it can lead to psoriasis symptoms.
Even though theres no cure, many treatments exist to ease the symptoms of psoriasis. Here are 12 ways to manage mild symptoms at home.
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Does Psoriasis Affect The Brain
There is no one answer to this question as psoriasis can affect the brain in a number of ways. It can damage and reduce cognitive function, which can lead to Acute Psoriasis Disease and other medical conditions. Additionally, psoriasis can also lead to it becoming into a chronic condition, which can impact quality of life.
How To Get Rid Of Psoriasis: 9 Tips And Remedies
1. CREAMS AND MEDICATIONS
If you want to know how to get rid of psoriasis, there are various prescription creams and ointments that can be used to treat and prevent the symptoms of mild to moderate psoriasis. In more extreme cases, oral medication may be required. Treatment options will depend on the type of psoriasis and the severity of your symptoms, and since they each come with different side effects, its important to discuss the pros and cons of each option with your doctor. Sometimes oral medication is only prescribed for a short time, and is alternated with other treatment options to keep side effects at a minimum.
2. LIGHT THERAPY
Also known as phototherapy, this type of treatment uses natural and/or UVA and UVB light to stop overactive white blood cells from attacking healthy skin cells. Light therapy can be used alone or in combination with creams and medications, and is effective in reducing symptoms and improving skin. There are risks and side effects, and symptoms can worsen if treatment isnt closely controlled and monitored.
3. DIETARY CHANGES
Since psoriasis causes inflammation, many people find their symptoms improve when they eliminate inflammatory foods from their diet, such as processed foods, refined sugars, dairy, and fatty cuts of red meat. If you want to know how to get rid of psoriasis, make sure your diet is full of anti-inflammatory foods, including:
4. WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
5. LIMIT USE OF ALCOHOL
6. STOP SMOKING
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Different Shades Of Psoriasis
When Teddleton began breaking out with small bumps on her arms and elbows, the doctor on the Army base where she worked thought it was a reaction to the solvents and other chemicals she used to preserve vehicle parts in her job. He gave her a cream and reassigned her. But the bumps kept getting worse. Teddletonâs primary care physician conducted allergy tests and gave her more creams and antibiotics. Nothing helped. By then, her skin was inflamed from her scalp to her feet, even inside her mouth.
Delores Teddleton
Severe pain and itching eventually landed her in the emergency room. Finally, after blood work and a biopsy, a dermatologist diagnosed her psoriasis at age 21. âI suffered a lot of years with it. All would give me were creams, and it would get worse,â says Teddleton, who lives in Long Beach, Mississippi. âIt was probably because they hadnât seen people of color with psoriasis before. When I got on the computer to research it, I never saw people of color with it. It was always pictures of Caucasians.â
Psoriasis is often more severe on skin of color. In 2011, the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology published a study of racial and ethnic variations among 2,511 psoriasis patients and found that Asians had the highest percentage of body surface area affected at 41 percent, and Caucasians had the lowest at 28 percent.
Dandruff Vs Psoriasis Flakes
While psoriasis flakes arent actually different than dandruff , in many ways they can be more distressing, as they tend to be more intense, says Dr. Bressack. Some patients experience severe shedding of large flakes on their scalp or the areas of their body where their psoriasis flares. Flakes are, however, usually less noticeable on the body than the scalp, he says.
What causes skin to flake in dandruff versus in psoriasis is very different. Psoriasis flakes are the result of your overactive immune system speeding up the rate at which your skin cells grow, causing skin cell buildup or plaques that then may flake off. Garden-variety dandruff, on the other hand, can occur for a number of reasons, including skin that is too dry or oily, a fungal infection, or sensitivity to hair care products.
Treating psoriasis flakes with dandruff-oriented products alone may not work. You need medications that address the root cause of psoriasis with the appropriate topical, biologic, or systemic treatments.
Recommended Reading: Can Psoriasis Go Into Remission
Tips For Managing Genital Psoriasis Symptoms
The location of genital psoriasis can intensify symptoms. One of the characteristics of psoriasis is the tendency for it to get worse with any kind of skin trauma, Ellis says. In the groin area, that trauma can be caused by too-tight clothing, skin rubbing on skin, athletic activity, and sex. All of these may make symptoms worse, Ellis says.
Wearing loose clothing can help. Keeping skin hydrated is also an important part of management, says Ellis.
Here are some tips for caring for skin when you have genital psoriasis, according to the American Academy of Dermatology:
- Use a mild, fragrance-free cleanser. Avoid potentially irritating deodorant or antibacterial soaps and body washes.
- Apply fragrance-free moisturizer to the psoriasis after bathing, when skin is still damp. Also apply when the area feels dry to reduce rubbing and irritation. A good rule of thumb for products: the fewer ingredients on the label, the better.
- Use quality toilet paper.
- Avoid contact between genital psoriasis and urine or feces.
- Get plenty of fiber in your diet. A high-fiber diet or a fiber supplement will ease bowel movements.
- Avoid long, hot baths.
- Apply cool compresses to dry and itchy areas.
The bottom line: Let your dermatologist know about any symptoms, Ellis emphasizes. We have amazing treatments.
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Best For Intense Itch: Curl Curl Hydratherapy Itch Defense Wet Skin Moisturizer
Thanks to oatmeal extract, vitamin E, and a ceramide complex, this goes to town fast, minimizing itch and generally making skin feel better. The formula is water-activated, so youre meant to slather it on immediately post-shower . Its so great for irritated skin conditions that it has both the National Psoriasis Foundation’s Seal of Recognition and the National Eczema Association’s Seal of Acceptance.
Recommended Reading: Scalp Psoriasis Back Of Head
Try The Re Collection
First and foremost, we suggest doing what you can to completely reset your skin. This would mean revitalizing your skin and achieving a smooth appearance.
We know that this likely sounds easier said than done. However, for your convenience, we recommend that you use MadeMans Re Collection to help you to achieve the impossible.
With MadeMan, nothing is impossible when it comes to mens skincare.
Our Re Collection is designed to provide men with the sort of confidence that can only come with a handsome and healthy complexion. The collection comes with two products, The Resetter and The Refresher.
The Resetter is a deep, but gentle non-irritating cleanse. Keeping your skin clean and clear is essential for preventing blocked pores on the skin that can create unevenly textured skin.
Our cleanser eliminates impurities from your pores, leaves your skin refreshed, and maintains your skins pH balance.
The Refresher is a fast-absorbing moisturizer that uses complex nutrients to promote the skins natural repair process, fix fine lines, and boost natural collagen production. All of these properties are useful for both fixing and preventing textured skin.
Together, The Resetter and Refresher offer maximum hydration, protection from free radicals, and a healthy and youthful appearance. This is in large part due to our products carefully selected ingredients. Both the cleanser and moisturizer are water-based and use all-natural ingredients.
Nevus Depigmentosus And Halo Mole
Nevus depigmentosus is a congenital disorder characterized by a white patch that is non-progressive hypopigmented macule. It is said to be stable and remains fairly the same size throughout different stages of life.
Halo nevus or halo mole on the other hand is a mole that has lost its pigment and hence appears to be a raised white bump on skin. According to DermNet, these moles are benign and occur mostly in adolescents from the age of 15 years.
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How To Safely Remove Psoriasis Patches
Removing the silvery scales from plaques may improve the look and feel of the plaques and may reduce some symptoms or make them more tolerable. Removing dead skin may also make medications more effective, as they can absorb into active skin cells rather than old or dead skin cells. Some options may include:
Can Psoriasis Move To My Hands
Yes, psoriasis can make an appearance on any part of your skin, including your hands and fingers. It can manifest as cracking, swelling, or blistering.
However, psoriasis is not spread by touch. And its not contagious. It can, however, be genetically linked. Having a family member with the disease may
Palmar and plantar psoriasis affect only the palms of your hands and the soles of your feet. If youre experiencing psoriasis symptoms on your palms, you may have this form of psoriasis.
Between 12 and 16 percent of those living with psoriasis have this type.
This can be accompanied by pus-filled bumps on your hands. Treatment for this includes aggressive use of topical corticosteroids.
Psoriasis can also appear on fingers, knuckles, nails, and on the tops of your feet. Peeling and dryness can make using your hands for daily tasks painful and uncomfortable.
Symptoms in nails occur in about 50 percent of those with psoriasis. Symptoms in nails can include:
Recommended Reading: Triggers For Psoriasis Flare Up
Now Lets Talk About Sex With Genital Psoriasis
Not surprisingly, genital psoriasis can complicate your sex life. Indeed, more than 40 percent of people with psoriasis report some kind of sexual dysfunction, likely due to the emotional stressors that go along with the condition, according to a report published in December 2018 in the New Zealand journal Psoriasis.
If genital psoriasis is causing issues with intimacy, sometimes it helps for a patient and their partner to come to a doctor visit together,â Ellis says.
One important thing to share with a partner: Genital psoriasis is not contagious.
More tips to make sex easier:
- Avoid sex when the genital area is inflamed or raw.
- Use topical medication in genital areas only as directed by your doctor. Dont try to speed healing by using more.
- Keep your genital area clean wash gently after any sexual activity.
- Use a lubricated condom to avoid irritating inflamed areas.
Additional reporting by Paula Derrow.