Psoriasis

Psoriasis General Information

Psoriasis is a very common medical condition that affects the life cycle of the skin cells. If a life cycle of a healthy normal skin cell lasts approximately one month, when this disease occurs, the process takes only few days. The result is a fast build up of the cells, leading to the appearance of itchy, dry patches with a red coloration and thick silvery scales that become painful. The scaly patches are called psoriatic plaques and are actually areas of inflammation that occur because of the excessive production of skin cells. It is highly important for you to be well informed in what concerns this type of skin disorder.

Psoriasis can be extremely difficult to deal with because it is persistent and long lasting. Patients affected by this type of chronic medical condition experience very tricky signs and symptoms that go in remission or just improve, alternating with periods of worsening. Some persons consider it a nuisance while others see it as disabling, especially if it comes in association with arthritis. The biggest problem for a patient who confronts with Psoriasis is that his/her skin disorder has no cure and he/she must live all the rest of their life following treatments for it. Despite of the fact that there is no cure, treatments for this type of medical disorder succeed very well to relieve the symptoms and to improve the patient’s quality of life. The exact cause of this type of illness is not known for sure, although scientists link it with genetic problems.

Psoriasis Symptoms

Psoriasis is a very difficult disease to deal with because the signs and symptoms specific for this type of skin disorder affect seriously the patient’s quality of life. Usually, this medical condition is graded as mild because it affects only 2-4 % of the body. As it progresses, it becomes moderate, affecting 5-10% of the body. The severity is measured considering all the following factors: the impact on the patient, the proportion of skin surface that is affected, the activity of the disease and the respond to different types of treatment. The rapid accumulation of skin cells leads to the development of silvery-white patches that occur more often on the knees and elbow, but can also affect the genitals and the scalp. The signs and symptoms of Psoriasis usually vary in intensity from case to case and include the following: small scaling spots (characteristics for children), swollen stiff joints, soreness, itching, red patches on the skin covered by silvery scales, burning sensation etc.

The mild and moderate cases are usually considered a nuisance by almost all the patients, but the more severe ones are extremely painful, being disabling and disfiguring. Some patients will also accuse thickened, ridges and pitted fingernails or dry cracked skin that may suddenly bleed. Physical discomfort may be common. The fact that Psoriasis attacks the skin, the human major organ and causes visible marks on its surface, may bring poor-self image, fear of public rejection and stress, provoking social isolation and significant major depression, even thoughts of suicide.

Psoriasis Treatment

We strongly recommend you to call your doctor as soon as you start experiencing any of the signs and symptoms specific for this disease. Although it can not be completely cured, the painful signs and symptoms of Psoriasis can be easily relived with the help of a proper treatment applied in time. It is very important to inform your doctor about your family and personal medical history, as well as all the symptoms you accuse. The diagnosis is established after the health care provider performs a physical test, based on how the skin looks. If the doctor is not sure, he/she can perform several diagnostic procedures and special blood tests. For example, in some more advanced stages of Psoriasis, a biopsy of the skin or scrapping are necessary to help distinguish this type of skin disorder from other similar ones. There is a specific sign of this medical condition, Auspitz’s sign (a bleeding pinpoint) that can be seen when the plaques are scraped from the skin bellow.

After ruling out other possible illnesses and if the tests indicate that the patient is suffering from Psoriasis, the health care provider will continue with the adequate treatment option. The effectiveness of therapies in various patients is variable and questionable. After analyzing the patient’s age, sex, type of Psoriasis, its severity, location and extent, comorbidities, quality of life etc, the doctor can decide which treatment option to apply. Medicines are not usually administrated because they can be very toxic for a patient suffering from this delicate medical condition. Usually, the topical treatment is preferred by the majority of specialists. Because dryness leads to the build-up of skin cells on plaques, health care providers will prescribe moisturizes and bath lotions that help soothing the affected skin. The inflammation is reduced by applying ointments and medicated creams directly on the plaques. This will also clear affected skin, remove the built-up scale and reduce the skin turn over. Promising results are also assured by some creams and ointments that contain the following: Corticosteroids (such as desoximetasone, prescribed as Topicort), Coal Tar, Retinoid, Anthralin (Dithranol), vitamin D3 or Argan oil.

There are some disadvantages of this therapy. The agents can provoke irritation of the healthy skin, can not be applied for long periods of time, can be awkward to apply, can stain clothing, can be time consuming or can have strong odor. Phototherapy can be really effective for curing Psoriasis. It is well known that daily, short and non-burning exposure to sun can help improving, even clearing this type of skin disease. This property of sunlight is given by the UV light (ultraviolet). Doctors usually combine the phototherapy with systemic treatment (Retinoid) or with topical treatment (Calcipotriol, Coal Tar etc). Photochemotherapy is a combination between Psoralen and phototherapy with UVA (ultraviolet A) light. Psoralen is activated by UVA light and inhibits the unusual massive production of skin cells. This treatment option has some side effects, for example fatigue, nausea and vomiting, itching and burning sensations, headache etc. Applied for too long, it provokes melanoma skin cancers.