Overview
Psoriasis causes red, itchy crusted patches on the knees, elbows, trunk, and scalp. Psoriasis disease is an incurable chronic disease. It flares up for a few weeks or months, then fades or relapses. There are treatments available to help manage psoriasis symptoms. You can also improve your psoriasis-related quality of life by changing your lifestyle.
What exactly is psoriasis?
Psoriasis disease is an autoimmune disease that causes skin cell proliferation. Scaling is caused by a buildup of skin cells.
Inflammation and skin irritation are common around the scales. Psoriasis scales are whitish-silver in colour and cause thick red patches. These patches can break and bleed.
Psoriasis symptoms are caused by increased skin production. Ordinarily, skin cells grow deep within the skin, then slowly surface. They fade away. A skin cell’s lifespan is one month.
Psoriasis types
Plaque Psoriasis
Plaque psoriasis is the most common type, characterized by dry, elevated, red skin areas (lesions) covered in silvery scales. The plaques could be scratchy or tender, and there could be a few or a lot of them. They commonly appear on the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp.
Guttate Psoriasis
Psoriasis disease with a guttate appearance. This type specifically targets children and young adults. A bacterial infection, such as streptococcal infection of the throat, is usually the cause. Tiny, plunge scaling lesions appear on the trunk, upper limbs, and lower body.
Inverse psoriasis
The skin folds of the genital area, buttocks, and breasts are particularly affected. Streamlined patches of red skin develop in inverse psoriasis, which exacerbates friction and perspiration. This type of psoriasis symptom is caused by fungal infections.
Pustular psoriasis
This uncommon form of psoriasis disease tends to make pus-filled growths on the palms of the hands or the soles of the feet, which can appear in large patches of generalized suppurating psoriasis disease or specific areas.
Erythrodermic psoriasis
Erythrodermic psoriasis causes a red, peeling rash that can cause irritation or burn ferociously.
What are the psoriasis symptoms?
The reason of psoriasis varies from individual to individual and is determined by the type of psoriasis. Psoriasis can appear like a few flakes on the scalp or elbow, or it can cover the entire body.
The following are the main psoriasis symptoms:
- Patches of raised, inflamed skin that appear red on fair skin and brown or purple on darker skin tones.
- Red patches have whitish-silver scales or plaques, while purple and brown patches have grey scales.
- Itchy skin and burning sensations across patches
- Dry skin that may break and bleed
- Soreness around patches
- Thick, pitted nails
- Joints that are sore and inflamed
All of these psoriasis symptoms are not experienced by everyone. Some patients show more or less of it.
What are the Psoriasis Causes?
Psoriasis causes aren’t known for sure, but experts think it’s caused by a lot of different things. During inflammation, new skin cells form too quickly. The immune system is malfunctioning. Every 10 to 30 days, new skin cells are born. For people who have psoriasis disease, new skin cells grow every 3 to 4 days or so. The silver scales are formed by old cells being replaced by new ones.
There are some diseases that run in families, but they may not show up for many years. This could happen to, for example, a grandfather and their grandson, but not the mother of the child.
Things that can cause an outbreak of psoriasis causes:
- Surgery, cuts, scrapes
- Emotional stress
- Strep infections
- Medications, such as blood pressure drugs, anti-malaria drugs, lithium and other mood stabilisers, antibiotics, and NSAIDs, can help.
Risk Influencing Psoriasis causes:
History of the family– The disease is inherited. Having one psoriasis-affected parent increases your risk of developing the disease, and having two psoriasis-affected family members increases your chances much more.
Stress– High-stress levels may raise your risk of psoriasis skin disease because stress harms your immune system.
Smoking– Tobacco use not only raises your chance of psoriasis skin disease but can also worsen the condition. Smoking could also play a significant role in the disease’s early stages.
Diagnosing psoriasis
Psoriasis causes can be diagnosed with two tests.
- Physical examination: Most doctors can diagnose with a physical exam. Psoriasis symptoms are easily distinguishable from other conditions that cause similar psoriasis symptoms. During the exam, show your doctor any concerns. Inform your doctor if anyone in your family has it.
- Biopsy: Skin samples are taken to confirm a suspected diagnosis or to clarify psoriasis symptoms. This is a biopsy. The skin will be sent to a lab for microscopy. The test can determine your psoriasis type. It can also rule out other illnesses. Most biopsies are performed on the day of your appointment. To make the biopsy less painful, your doctor may inject a local anaesthetic. They’ll send the biopsy to a lab for testing.
Treatment options for psoriasis
It is incurable. The treatments aim to reduce inflammation, slow cell growth, and remove plaques. Treatment options for psoriasis skin disease include:
- Topical treatments: Topical treatment includes the application of corticosteroids, anthralin, vitamin D analogues, topical retinoids, and coal tar. Directly applied creams and ointments can help reduce mild to moderate psoriasis. Topical psoriasis treatments:
- topical corticosteroids
- topical retinoids
- anthralin
- vitamin D analogues
- salicylic acid
- moisturizer
- Systemic drugs: Oral or injected medications may be required for moderate to severe psoriasis skin disease that hasn’t responded well to other treatments. These drugs have severe side effects. They are usually prescribed for short periods. These include:
- methotrexate
- cyclosporin
- biologics
- retinoids
- Light Therapy: UV or natural light is used to treat psoriasis disease. White blood cells that attack healthy skin cells and cause rapid cell growth are killed by sunlight. UVA and UVB light may help relieve mild to moderate psoriasis symptoms. For moderate to severe psoriasis skin disease, a combination of treatments is recommended. This therapy combines several treatment methods to reduce psoriasis symptoms. Some people get the same treatment for life. Others may need to switch treatments if their skin stops responding to them.
- Tonsillectomy: The surgical removal of tonsils would reduce throat infections and decrease psoriatic triggers. It is performed on patients with recurrent streptococcal infections that tend to trigger or maintain their skin disease.
How can flare-ups of psoriasis be avoided?
You can’t control your genes; you can control your psoriasis symptoms and restrain psoriasis flare-ups with routine therapies. To relieve the discomfort of psoriasis symptoms, you can use ointment medications, take oral medications, or get injections.
Psoriasis disease can also be reduced with phototherapy or light treatment. The use of ultraviolet light, either natural or synthetic, impedes skin growth and inflammation.
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