Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition. More than seven million Americans suffer with psoriasis, a chronic skin disorder characterized by an overproduction of skin cells that result in flaky and patchy raised areas on the skin’s surface. The patches are usually found on the arms, legs, trunk, or scalp but may be found on any part of the skin. The most typical areas are the knees and elbows. Psoriasis can begin at any age but usually starts either around the age of 20 or between 50 and 60. Psoriasis is not contagious and cannot be passed from one person to another, but it is most likely to occur in members of the same family.

Causes

The majority of affected people have relatively mild psoriasis symptoms. Still, psoriasis at its worst can be painful, disfiguring and disabling. Psoriasis can be triggered by a number of factors, such as stress, climate changes, streptococcal or HIV infection, superficial wounds, physical illness, or taking certain drugs such as lithium, beta-blockers such as propranolol, quinidine (a heart medication) or antimalarial medications.

Symptoms

Patches of red, inflamed skin, often covered with loose, silver-colored scales. These patches may be itchy and painful and sometimes crack and bleed. In severe cases, the patches of irritated skin will grow and merge into one another, covering large areas. The patches don’t always itch and are painless unless they crack or become infected, but many children are upset by the appearance of the psoriasis. If the nails are affected they may be thickened with tiny pits in the surface, and occasionally there is arthritis in the joints.

Treatment

Treatments applied directly to the skin are sometimes effective in clearing psoriasis. Doctors find that some patients respond well to sunlight, steroid ointments, medicines made from vitamin D3, coal tar, or anthralin.

Biologic drugs are taken from living material (human, plant, animal, or microorganism). They act on parts of the body’s immune system to prevent inflammatory disorders, including psoriasis. These work by blocking the activity of TNF, the primary cytokine involved in psoriasis. Alefacept (Amevive) and efalizumab (Raptiva) are T-cell blockers and block the overactive T-cells.

By themselves, moisturizing creams won’t heal psoriasis, but they can reduce itching and scaling and can help combat the dryness that results from other therapies. Moisturizers that are heavy and oily are usually more effective than lighter lotions.

Artificial UV light therapy and oral or injectable medications are reserved for more moderate to severe cases of psoriasis and may have a higher occurrence of side effects. The type of psoriasis and the severity of the psoriasis will help the doctor determine the best treatment approach.

By: ashu

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Alien writes for skin disorders . He also writes for health doctor and you can get more information on psoriasis treatment .

As a consequence of our exposure to this world of psoriasis we began research and came to understand just how widespread it is. In Great Britain 1 in 50, in Australia between 1 in 25 and 1 in 50 and in the USA 4.5 million adults have been diagnosed, 20% of those with conditions which would be considered moderate to severe.

It would seem that world wide 125 million people are sufferers. Of these, 28 million will develop psoriatic arthritis.

Psoriasis is:

A skin condition that causes thickened red areas sometimes silver or scaly in appearance. This thick scaling results from an increase in the number of skin cells. Whereas in the majority of the population normal skin cells mature in 28 to 30 days in psoriasis the process is seven to ten times faster. Your skin cells cannot shed that quickly and the resultant piling up of cells leads to raised scaly plaques, eventually leading to silvery white scales when the dead cells are farther from the surface.

Psoriasis most commonly affects elbows, knees, legs arms and back but may flare up anywhere including the scalp, nails and mouth. Nails could lose their luster, developing ridges. The pattern is of periodic flare-ups then healing. This cycle may be triggered by stress, certain food allergies, infections, nutritional deficiencies, reactions to medication, climate change and even the build up of toxins from unhealthy eating.

The fact that you are reading this shows your willingness to try various treatments until you find what best suits you. This is paramount in your quest for relief.

Treatments:

There are many forms of treatment and more appear from time to time. These include:

Systemic medications – prescription medications that affect the entire body – steroid, coal tar. Usually reserved for patients with moderate to mild psoriasis.

Phototherapy. Usually used for patients with a condition that does not respond or whose condition is widespread.

Topical treatments – agents applied to the skin which help slow down or normalize the excessive cell reproduction and reduce inflammation, these could be steroid or non steroid based.

Alternative approaches – diet, mind therapies, sun and water therapies.

According to some sources many cases of psoriasis went into remission during WW 11 when protein and caloric intake were restricted lending credence to the idea that diet could be an important part in controlling the outbreaks. Many physicians suggest limiting the consumption of animal proteins and including sufficient fiber.

There is widespread agreement that the diet should be high in fresh vegetables, fruits and also whole grains but low in saturated fat. Fiber is essential in maintaining a healthy colon. Raw fruits and vegetables are also recommended, as is fish for the Omega-3 fatty acids, especially salmon, mackerel, sardines and herring.

Essential are adequate quantities of Vitamin B complex, B1 (thiamine) to improve circulation and healthy skin.B6, also for the skin, B5, to aid in adrenal function, B12, to aid cell formation and longevity. Vitamins A, C and E, Zinc, Folic acid and Glutathione and milk thistle extract to cleanse the liver.

Shark cartilage may be used to inhibit the growth of blood vessels. Regular, moderate exposure to sunlight may help, preferably not in high peak hours but before 10am or after 2pm to avoid sunburn, since UV rays slow down cellular division in the skin.

Finally, it cannot be overstated the paramount importance of keeping the skin moist. In this way significant relief may be obtained. This may be achieved with a variety of topical methods and in the past couple of decades one of the most effective of these comes from jojoba based products the “Ultimate Moisturisers”. The jojoba plant (pronounced ho-ho-bah) is unique among the plant kingdom and when applied to human skin mixes instantly with the skin’s own sebum. It then makes its way deep into the skin’s cell and matrix level where it holds water in the skin by forming a lipid layer. Since jojoba naturally contains Vitamins A, D&E, is antibacterial and antifungal it kills almost all common skin bacteria and fungi. Furthermore it is almost indistinguishable from the skin’s natural sebum.