Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a life-long non-contagious inflammatory disease, mainly affecting knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp, in rare cases mouth area is affected as well. The disease may also affect nails, pitting and/or thickening them. Psoriasis often occurs around healing injury (physical, chemical, electrical, infective or inflammatory).
 

• Psoriasis: causes | triggers | types | skin care
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Causes of psoriatic lesions:

Psoriasis appears as inflamed spots (plagues) of raised, reddish skin covered by silvery-white scales. These silvery scales consist of dead skin cells and flake off lesions easily.

Psoriatic lesions are thickened due to an increased number of skin cells in the affected areas; the cause of this swift growth in cell quantity is related to excess activity of special white cells (called T-cells). T-cells trigger inflammation that makes the skin grow too rapidly. Normally, the turnover rate of skin cells is approximately 23 days, but in psoriasis it is diminished to only 3-5 days.

Factors that may activate psoriasis condition:

• psoriasis flare-ups may be provoked by infections;
• certain medicines (beta-blockers, lithium, anti-malarials, stopping courses of some oral or topical corticosteroids);
• excessive sunburns, injuries, overall skin dryness (especially in winter);
• the lack of sunlight.

The condition of psoriasis may be exacerbated by perceived physical or emotional stresses. After symptoms of psoriases have cleared, the marks of dark or pale skin may stay on the places of lesions, these pigmentary spots often improve by themselves in a few months.

Types of psoriasis:

There are several types of psoriasis that differ by symptoms:

• discoid/plaque psoriasis – is the most common type of psoriasis that begins as a small red bumps, that then become larger and develop in large flat patches (plaques);
• guttate psoriasis - usually affects children and teenagers. Guttate psoriasis commonly appears as numerous wide-spread small, red, scaly spots on the skin. It is caused by streptococcal throat infections (tonsillitis), shows up after a sore throat and often clears up by itself in weeks or a few months;
• pustular psoriasis – is the type of psoriasis that is mainly confined to palms and soles;
• inverse psoriasis – typically affects armpits, buttocks, genitals and skin folds (under the breasts, in the groin area;
• erythrodermic psoriasis – is a severe form of psoriasis that involves the entire surface of the skin;
• psoriatic arthritis – joint disease that seems to be related to psoriasis: in more that 20% of psoriasis-affected people symptoms of psoriasis are accompanied with symptoms of arthritis, some 5-10% of them experience some joint functional disabilities. In some people arthritis seems to improve when the condition of psoriasis goes better and vice vérsa.

How to take care of psoriatic skin:

• there is no cure for psoriasis, but the condition may be improved by reducing inflammation and controlling the growth of skin cells;
• follow dermatologist's instructions for treating psoriasis (possible medicines to treat psoriasis are synthetic vitamin D analogues, vitamin A derivatives (retinoids), tar, anthralin, some topical medications containing cortisone compounds);
• the mild exposure to sunlight makes the skin produce natural vitamin D and helps the majority of psoriasis-sufferers (not excessive, sunburns may aggravate the condition);
• care should be taken to avoid injuries, stresses, infections;
• try to use shielding lotions to alleviate scaling and itching, to smoothen the skin.

The results people get using Gloves In A Bottle
to alleviate symptoms of psoriasis*: