What is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a skin disorder where skin cells start to multiply much faster than usual and affected areas of the skin start to become raised, bumpy, and reddened as a result. Psoriasis most commonly occurs on the scalp, knees, elbows, and lower back and there are 5 different types of psoriasis. Plaque psoriasis is the most common one, and nail psoriasis, scalp psoriasis, pustular psoriasis, and guttate psoriasis are the other primary condition types. Sub types include inverse and erythrodermic psoriasis.
For most sufferers their psoriasis is deemed to be mild or moderate, meaning that less than 10% of their body is affected. Some people with psoriasis may also experience psoriatic arthritis as a result of having the disorder.
What Causes Psoriasis?
Psoriasis can have a genetic component to it, meaning that you can inherit it from members of your family. It is not a contagious disorder and cannot be passed from one person to another through contact. The physiological cause of psoriasis is based in the bodyβs immune system and the way it overreacts to stimuli and promotes inflammation in the skin. This inflammation is what causes the cells to start overmultiplying, and instead of skin cells multiplying in the standard 10 to 30 days they do it in just 3 or 4 days.
This is what causes the scaling on the skin that is the primary symptom of plaque psoriasis. There can be more to what causes psoriasis. Some people will experience it because of hormonal changes during menopause or pregnancy, excessive stress, or use of medications like high blood pressure treatment meds or ones for heart disease prevention. Antimalarial medications or overuse of steroidal medications can also promote psoriasis.
Psoriasis Symptoms
Developing plaques on the skin is the foremost of all psoriasis symptoms. These plaques will be different in color based on the suffererβs skin tone, and it is common for the plaques to be itchy. They may also crack and bleed, and if the person has severe psoriasis the plaques may grow across skin surface areas and merge with each other. Fingernails and toenails may also change color, get small pits in them and / or come loose from the nail bed.
With scalp psoriasis sufferers will have small scaly flakes seen on the scalp or in hair, and with pustular psoriasis sufferers will have discolored, scaly skin with tiny pustules on the palms of hands and soles of their feet. Guttate psoriasis causes pink, red, brown, or purple spots on the torsos of children and young people.
Psoriasis Treatment
There are a number of different potential treatment approaches for psoriasis. For plaque psoriasis the most standard one is to use a medicated steroidal cream like Roflumilast (Zoryve) that is formulated to slow the growth of new skin cells and provide relief from itching and general skin discomfort. It may also be helpful for sufferers to apply a moisturizing cream to help with the skin dryness that is also a problem when a person has psoriasis.
Coal tar shampoo is often recommended for scalp psoriasis treatment, and it can be obtained without a prescription. Vitamin A retinoid creams can also be helpful to reduce the severity of psoriasis. Biologic treatments for psoriasis with medications like Adalimumab (Humira) or non-biologics like Tofacitinib (Xeljanz) may also be a possibility too based on the doctorβs assessment of the way psoriasis has seen to originate and is progressing for the patient.
