Psoriasis: Living well and Healthy

Author: Wayne Mcdonald

Psoriasis is a non-contagious, lifelong skin disease. According to the National Institutes of Health, as many as 7.5 million Americans have psoriasis.

There are five types of psoriasis.

#1-Plaque psoriasis - Most common form of the disease

#2-Guttate psoriasis - Appears as small red spots on the skin

#3-Inverse psoriasis - Occurs in armpits, groin and skin folds

#4-Pustular psoriasis - White blisters surrounded by red skin

#5-Erythrodermic psoriasis - Intense redness over large areas

Plaque psoriasis appears as raised, red patches or lesions covered with a silvery white buildup of dead skin cells, called scale. Psoriasis can occur on any part of the body such as the scalp, the face, the hands and even the nails.

Treatment Overview

At this time there is no cure for Psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. There are many different types of treatment that can reduce, or nearly stop, the symptoms of psoriasis. No single treatment works for everyone and some people use a combination of treatments.

Here are five tips for treating the symptoms of psoriasis (see our disclaimer at the bottom of this article).

TIP#1---Caring for your Scalp

For my dry and tight scalp I use Alberto VO5 Oasis shampoo and conditioner. It takes care of the psoriasis on my scalp, leaving it well moisturized that I don't have to put mineral oil on my scalp overnight. It also minimizes psoriasis scalp flakes.

TIP#2---Dealing with Itching

Today, out of desperation, I tried Lanacane on my hands right after a Narrow Band Light treatment. A couple of hours passed. The rest of my guttate psoriasis drove me wild! My hands?? Not at all!! I then bathed in the Aveeno Oatmeal bath mix. and applied, to my wet body, Burts Bees Apricot Kernel Baby Oil. But, most of all, I was super impressed with the Lanacane. It worked for me. I am just newly diagnosed and had no clue this itching could be so severe. Gayle, WA

TIP#3---Herbs and Dietary Supplements

I have had guttate psoriasis for 34 years and it always fluctuates between being good and bad based on stress, weather, etc... I have gone through years of creams, light treatments and avoidance altogether until a friend told me about Omega 3-6-9 gel caps with flax, borage and fish oil. My skin has improved markedly and I no longer treat myself with UVB light treatments on a regular basis!

TIP#4---Homemade oatmeal bath

I grind about 3/4 of a cup of regular dry oatmeal in a blender, then pour it into a clean knee-high nylon stocking. Run bath water through the stocking. When you're done filling the tub, knot the stocking at the top and use the remains for a "loofah." This helps keep my skin soft. I follow with Aveeno moisturizing oil lotion.

TIP#5---Scale Removal Tips and Products

I saw how well my son's cradle cap treatment worked on his scalp, I decided to try it on my face and ears. It worked like a charm! It is Gentle Naturals cradle cap treatment by Oragel. It has a pleasant scent, and is moisturizing as well. I apply it about 1/2 hour before my shower and use a washcloth to gently massage the skin.

Source: National Psoriasis Foundation/USA

Although there is no cure for psoriasis, there are treatments that can reduce, or nearly stop, the symptoms of psoriasis. Work with your doctor, read articles about psoriasis, and join a support group. Soon --- You will be Living Well With Psoriasis.

Disclaimer: The information presented is only for discussion. Check with your doctor before beginning any new treatment. And always make sure your doctor is aware of any natural or herbal product (including vitamins and supplements) you are using, as some may interact with prescription medications. Results and personal experiences will vary from person to person.

Copyright (C) 2007 Wayne McDonald

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/psoriasis-living-well-and-healthy-273745.html

About the Author: Get the Facts. Psoriasis Resources and Links, Psoriasis Articles, Psoriasis Treatments and Natural Remedies, plus Tips to Living well with psoriasis at http://www.psoriasistlc.com/

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80% of world population suffers from Stress Today whereas only 4-5% suffer Psoriasis, Why?

Copyright © 2007 Rajesh Chowdhry

There is so much of variation in severity level of psoriasis and the timing when psoriasis first appears or some people suffer from flare ups every year whereas others do not see any flare up for years. Or people facing same kind triggers but psoriasis will appear in some cases only. These and many more questions are always there in every psoriasis patient.

Some time back one of our patient from UK (original name replaced for privacy reasons) asked these questions and Doctor replied him.

The question and answer to the same is so important that today I am reproducing it below for the benefit of all psoriasis patients.

Q. if toxins and stress are the causes then how come Psoriasis breaks out at the age of 5 or even less? On the other hand if it is hereditary then why most of the people suffer it from the age of 25+? And above all why only 4-5% of population suffers from Psoriasis whereas more than 80% suffer from stress?

James, UK

Answer.

Dear James,

It is a very interesting question and to understand it one has to go to root of the psoriasis problem. Let me try and explain it in very simple words.

Ayurveda texts equate psoriasis with a big Himalayan River. A Himalayan river is always made up of 100s of small rivers and tributaries that join at different stages to make the big river. Every one of these small rivers or any one of these small rivers can become the main source for the big river. It does not make any difference that which source contributes at what stage of the river journey.

Similarly psoriasis is a system disorder which is fueled by different causes and triggers such as toxins, stress etc, they all gets connected and contribute in forming Big Psoriasis River. Besides the presence of some or all of these causes and triggers the body system must have what I call blocked waste disposal tunnels and open flow through gates. By flow through gates I mean open flow of toxins from inner body to outer body i.e. skin.

Toxins

Any thing and every thing what we eat generates toxins in the form of waste. Our body system takes this waste out in the form of stool, urine, sweating, etc. When our essential elements extraction system from food gets faulty or over burdened, it generates excessive toxins which disposal system is not able to handle and toxins gets mixed up to main stream. Or instead of excessive generation there can be a leakage in the system thereby normal waste generation gets mixed up with main stream system. Or waste from food stays longer in the disposal system due to regular indigestion and/or blocked waste disposal tunnels and makes the disposal system over burdened. Any one or every one of these conditions can be present in the body and they create pressure on the body system

But still may not result into psoriasis until flows through gates are open for these toxins to reach to the skin level.

Stress

Every one in the world faces stress though in varying degree. Stress is always there at mental level. Till our body chemistry is strong, stress remains at mental level, though constantly putting pressure on body system and weakening the body chemistry. Once it breaks through the body chemistry it tries to weed itself out through constant fatigue and high blood pressure. But in the process the body immune system gets weakened. When it pushes the flow through gates to get opened it becomes the trigger for psoriasis.

This means if excessive toxins formation is not there or leakage into the system is not there then no matter what level of stress one faces, it will not trigger into psoriasis. On the other hand flows through gates are already opened then a small amount of toxins in the body system and small amount of stress can trigger psoriasis.

Now James, if you are following what I discussed above then you can clearly see that unless all the elements of psoriasis are present together it does not appear on the body. That is why not every one in the world face psoriasis, though every one suffers from stress and further psoriasis appears in majority of the cases from the age 25 onwards. There are few exceptions where psoriasis appears at the early ages, to a 5 year old kid or even to newly born baby. Hereditary is one of the cause but is not the only cause, the body system of a newly born can be weakened due to number of other reasons such as premature birth etc. even then weakened system can be a path to the river but still may not result into psoriasis if other elements are missing. This means there is a hereditary risk of psoriasis but can be avoided simply through diet and yoga. This reasoning is further supported by our research on the subject that only 18% psoriasis condition is hereditary and there is no co relation between hereditary condition and severity of psoriasis.

If we extend the above reasoning further then it clearly explains why a particular kind of medication or medication system works on some people and not on others and also why a particular medication works on for a limited period of time and then it fails.

Let me explain it a little bit more.

Diet Programs

Under these programs one tries to avoid the kind of food which generates more toxins in the body. Now people who are generating excessive toxins will see the benefit from these programs and there psoriasis subsides but for people where toxins are getting into system through leakage or immune system is gone to very low level or waste disposal tunnels are blocked that they will not see any benefit from the diet program.

Further people who initially saw the benefit from the diet program will always remain on the risk of sudden flare-up because any excessive stress level or body injury can trigger the psoriasis again.

This is because with diet programs one can only reduce the toxins generation but can not eliminate them all together. To live you have to eat something and this will generate some amount of toxins.

Topicals, steroids and other creams.

They all clears skin superficially. This is like creating dam at the end of the river. They provide temporary relief but as the pressure mounts on the skin, they fail.

Methotrexate and other medications

These medications tries to plug in flow through gates but after some times they also fail because of constant pressure of toxins and other triggers on the body.

Biologics

They try to work at immune system level and block the immune system of the body through which these toxins are flowing. You will see lots of success with these systems in the beginning but risk remains because the pressure on body remains in the form of toxins generation or leakage or both and or triggers like stress. Moreover as these systems are immune suppressant, they increase the risk of other diseases which were being protected by these immune systems in the body such as infection and related problems.

To solve the problem of psoriasis, medication system has to be such that attacks on all the elements pf psoriasis together and eliminates them.

Only that treatment can give you clear skin and life long remission where the treatment not only remove toxins from the body but removes the blockages from the waste disposal system, plugs all the flow through gates, restores your immune system and reduces the impact of stress on your body chemistry and off course clears the skin from existing psoriasis lesions. Only that treatment plan is complete.

Dr. Dhawan

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Author Rajesh Chowdhry is Clinic Administrator at clinicpsoriasis interacting with psoriasis patients every day. Psorcure Treatment plan offered by clinicpsoriasis is the well known treatment plan for clear skin with 95%= PASI reduction and very long term remission period. To know more about Psorcure Treatment Program or you want to discuss about this article or yoga and psoriasis, you can contact author at http://www.psorcure.com

Psoriasis Basics - Quality of Life With Psoriasis

Though neither contagious nor a threat to life, Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that flares and remits throughout the life span of its victim. The inflammatory skin condition is triggered off by faulty signals in the immune system. Psoriasis occurs when some of the white blood cells cause the body to fight the normal skin-tissue (and sometimes the joints). Most common symptoms of Psoriasis encompass patches of raised, reddish skin covered by silvery-white scale, as well as, burning sensation, irritation, inflammation, itching and bleeding. In severe cases, the itching and discomfort may keep a person awake at night, and the pain can make everyday tasks difficult. The inflammation is caused by the abnormal discharge of "healing" chemicals by the white blood cells. The red and flaky patches mostly appear on scalp, elbows, knees, and lower back.

Psoriasis is not taken as a serious ailment as it is not life threatening to the victim. Nevertheless, being inflicted with Psoriasis has extremely serious repercussions on the patient's quality of life.

To begin with, Psoriasis is a chronic disease. This means that it is a lifelong condition because currently there is no cure. Under the circumstances, a patient of Psoriasis struggles helplessly all his life without any respite. According to a study, the patients of Psoriasis considered the general appearance of their skin to be the worst part of having the disease. Another study revealed that the patients found itching and scaling especially agonizing.. No doubt, the patients of Psoriasis are therefore seen depressed, angry and irritated both during flares and remissions. The incessant itching, scaling, irritation and inflammation keeps them arrested in negativity and disinterest.

Apart from the piercing physical pain and irritation, patients of the skin disorder undergo an emotional trauma on daily basis. They become reclusive as they experience low self-esteem and lack of confidence. They feel dejected, as the response from the society is disdainful. So much so that many patients, especially men take up heavy smoking and intake of alcohol, to relieve themselves from the emotional torture. However, experts relate smoking and drinking to be one of the possible reasons for the onset of this skin disease.

The society fails to realize the pain behind the dejected faces, going through an ugly experience. Most of the people who meet them look down upon their miserable physical appearance without empathy. The feeling of social rejection keeps strengthening within the victim.. A study reveals that most of the patients of Psoriasis experienced stress due to reaction of others to their sorry physical state. It has also been observed that most of the people suffering from Psoriasis suffer from sexual recession because of the painful realization of their physical symptoms.

In a nutshell, the irritating skin condition called Psoriasis brings down the quality of life of its patients considerably. They are deprived of their social, emotional and physical well-being and robbed off their rightful happiness.

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For more information on psoriasis join our information portal. Learn more about the disease as well as proper skin care.

What Causes Psoriasis To Worsen?

Physicians do not know what causes some people suffer from psoriasis. They have found, however, that certain factors contribute to a flare-up of the disease. Patients with psoriasis need to educate themselves so that they can stay away from these irritating agents or conditions which cause their symptoms to worsen.

Temperature seems to be an aggravating factor for those with psoriasis. A temperature that is too cold can cause the inflammation of psoriasis to worsen. The drying effect of a heater irritates the skin and makes flaking more troublesome. A sudden drop or intense rise in temperature also seems to make the condition worse. Patients report that a mild, stable climate is the most beneficial to keep from aggravating their psoriasis symptoms.

Infections in the body also have a negative effect on psoriasis. Whether the infection is an upper respiratory tract infection, strep throat, boils, or common thrush, it seems to cause the symptoms of psoriasis to worsen. The good news is that once the infection has been effectively stopped, the inflammation of the psoriasis also tends to decrease.

Stress seems to be a common denominator in most instances of worsening psoriasis. The initial stress may come from any source, but once the psoriasis flares up, the stress is self-perpetuating. Looking in the mirror at a body covered in sores is stressful. Answering the questions of friend and family concerning one's appearance or condition is stressful. Even the burning and itching of psoriasis result in stress that worsens the disease itself.

Doctors also feel that some medications may play a role in causing psoriasis to worsen. Some of the prescriptions medicines that are suspected are beta-blockers and corticosteroids. These are excellent drug for their intended purposes, but in some people, they bring a higher risk of reaction, causing psoriasis to worsen. Other suspected drugs are those used to treat malaria and Lithium. If these drugs seem to worsen a patient's psoriasis, doctors do have other prescriptions that can be given to replace them.

Through paying close attention to factors that precipitate a major breakout of psoriasis, patients and their doctors can eliminate many undesirable elements. Trial and error seems to be the only way to know exactly what causes psoriasis to worsen in individual patients and to personalize their treatment plans accordingly.

Smoking May Raise Psoriasis Risk

Smoking not only takes its toll on your body from the inside, but a new study shows it also affects how your skin looks and feels on the outside.

Researchers found that smoking increases the risk of psoriasis, which causes symptoms such as inflammation, redness, itching, and scaling of the skin.

The study shows the risk of psoriasis was 78 percent higher among current smokers compared with people who had never smoked and 37 percent higher among smokers who had quit previously.

Researchers say the results suggest that quitting smoking may help alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis in smokers with the skin disease.

"These findings, along with well-established hazardous health effects of smoking, provide clear incentives for smoking cessation in those at risk for and suffering from psoriasis," writes researcher Hyon K. Choi, MD, of Harvard Medical School, and colleagues in the American Journal of Medicine.

Smoking Linked to Psoriasis
Researchers looked at the relationship between smoking and psoriasis in more than 78,500 female registered nurses who took part in the Nurses Health Study II. The women were followed for 14 years, and during that period 887 cases of psoriasis were reported.

Researchers measured lifetime smoking exposure in pack-years. A pack-year is the number of packs smoked per day multiplied by the number of years a person has smoked.

The results showed that smoking not only increased the risk of psoriasis, but heavier smoking increased that risk further. For example, compared with women who never smoked, the risk of psoriasis was 60% higher for those with a smoking history of 11-20 pack-years and more than two times high for those with 21 or more pack-years of smoking.

Exposure to secondhand smoke during pregnancy or childhood also increased the risk of psoriasis (21 percent and 18 percent increased risk respectively).

Researchers found the risk of psoriasis decreased after quitting smoking, with the risk of psoriasis among former smokers comparable to nonsmokers 20 years after quitting.

The Causes Of Psoriasis

Author: Andrew Bicknell

Psoriasis is a condition of the skin that is little understood. The underlying cause appears to be an autoimmune disorder that causes the body to produce new skin cells at an accelerated rate that leads to the inflammation and itching that is characteristic with psoriasis. Normally skin cells take 28 to 30 days to grow to maturity, but in people who have an outbreak of psoriasis this process is shortened to 3 to 6 days. The scaling, itching and inflammation of the skin is caused by the over build-up of skin cells.

It is believed that the main cause of psoriasis is driven by a certain type of white blood cell known as a T-cell. T-cells are one of the body's defenses against disease and infection, but in the case of psoriasis they leap into action unintentionally and begin to trigger other immune systems which accelerate the creation of new skin cells. Because the skin cells grow and mature quicker then normal they also die off much faster, creating a build up of dead skin cells on the surface. This build up of dead skin cells forms the characteristic plaques, or flaky patches, that sufferers of psoriasis are familiar with. The redness and inflammation of the underlying skin is a product of the increased blood supply needed to feed the new skin cells that are growing at an accelerated rate below the plaques.

While anyone at any age can suffer from psoriasis researchers have found that people in their thirties and sixties are more likely to develop this skin condition than people in other age groups. Why this is the case no one knows. It is also apparent that heredity can be a marker for an increased chance of contracting psoriasis. Children who have one parent who suffers from psoriasis have a ten percent chance of contracting the disease. That percentage goes up dramatically to fifty percent if both parents have this condition. Scientists, who have done studies on families afflicted with psoriasis, have been able to identify genes that are known links to the condition.

The exact causes of psoriasis remains something of a mystery but there are known triggers that are linked to outbreaks. Many people who suffer from this disease notice that there are times the condition is worse and times it seems to get better. Reactions to certain drugs, such as lithium and beta blockers, have been shown to trigger a psoriasis outbreak and in extreme instances make the condition worse.

Because psoriasis is caused by a faulty immune system anything that stimulates the body's defenses can bring about an outbreak. An injury such as a cut or bruise or an infection, particularly strep, can all cause an outbreak.

Another factor that can cause an outbreak of psoriasis is stress. People who suffer from psoriasis have noticed that as their stress levels go up so does the potential for a severe outbreak of their skin inflammation. Psoriasis in and of itself also causes stress leading to a self perpetuating problem of continual outbreaks that increase in severity as a person's stress level increases.

One way that psoriasis cannot be caught is through contact with someone who suffers from the disease. It is not a contagious skin condition, and although it is unsightly and can cause repulsive reactions from those who do not suffer its affects it is important to remember that those who suffer from it need the reassurance and support of friends and family along with proper treatment to help them live a normal life.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/the-causes-of-psoriasis-90570.html

About the Author:Do you or someone you know suffer from psoriasis? If you want to learn more about the causes of psoriasis, symptoms, and treatments then visit http://psoriasis.health-choices-net.com.

Some Effective Natural Cure for Psoriasis

Author: Dr.Anna Hardy

Psoriasis is a non-contagious skin disease which causes patches of thick, red skin covered with silvery scales. Itching and burning accompanied by pain are the common symptoms of psoriatic skin. The inflammations are observed mostly on the hands and legs, but they could spread to the fingernails, the toenails and even to the mouth and the genitalia.

In complicated form, psoriasis may cause pain in the joints and cracked skin. If there is an injury or a insect bite in the affected part, then there could be severe pain and aggravation, accompanied by bleeding.

Causes of psoriasis are not properly known. There may be a family prevalence of the disease, as 33% of psoriatic patients have another close family member suffering from the same disease. It may be due to viral and bacterial infections, obesity, remaining away from sunlight for long periods of time, stress, cold climate, abrasions on the skin and even alcohol consumption and smoking.

In Ayurveda, diseases such as Eka-kushta, Kitiba-kushta and Sidma-kushta are quite alike to the condition of psoriasis. These are vata vitiations. Treatment is through a very carefully prescribed dietary regimen and drug therapy.



(1) Useful Herbs in the Treatment of Psoriasis

- Black Nightshade (Solanum nigrum)

The juice of the leaves of the black nightshade can be applied locally on the affected regions. It helps in reducing the inflammation of the skin, and also has beneficial properties in allaying the pain and the itch.

- Garlic (Allium sativum)

Garlic is a blood purifier. Eating a few cloves of garlic every morning on an empty stomach filters the toxins out of the blood and provides protection against psoriasis.

- Jasmine (Jasminum polyanthum)

The flowers of the jasmine have good effects in the treatment of psoriasis. The flowers are crushed, made into a paste and are directly applied on the inflamed parts. This application reduces the pain and the itchiness of psoriatic inflammations.

- Onion (Allium cepa)

Onion has blood purifying properties. Hence, it is made an important part of the diet of a person suffering from psoriasis.

(2) Dietary Treatments for Psoriasis

A strict dietary regimen is very important in psoriasis. The wrong kind of foods can aggravate this condition, whereas the right foods can help in early treatment. The following dietary guidelines must be followed:-

- Avoid all hot, spicy and pungent foods. These take long time to digest and cause toxins in the blood, known as ama. When the ama builds up in the body, the psoriasis can spread to a great extent. Also, avoid all foods that cause constipation.

- Salts and curds must be avoided as they can inflame the skin further. This will cause greater itching and hence more discomfort. Rock salt can be taken in small quantities for flavoring, but not the salt readily available in the market.

- Cut down on fats, animal proteins and sugars. Also consume less quantity of food.

- Bitter tastes are preferable. These foods help in purifying the blood and also facilitate the kidneys to flush out the toxins from the blood. For this purpose, foods like bitter gourd, the bitter variety of drumstick and neem are very ideal.

(3) Ayurvedic Treatments for Psoriasis

The Panchkarma therapy is utilized in Ayurveda for the treatment of psoriasis. This is the first step because unless the toxins are removed from the body, it will not respond to any medication. In severe cases, purgation and bloodletting is done to cleanse the body internally. Oleation is employed using medicated ghee with bitter herbs. Commonly used herbs are neem, kutki and guduchi.

Once the purification of the body is done, Mahatikta ghrita or Panchatikta ghrita are prescribed to the person. The dosage is given in one teaspoon quantity twice a day for a month. Any guggulu preparation can be given together for better results.

There are also some popular Ayurvedic oils for external application. These are Mahamasha taila, Pinda taila, Kasisadi taila and Chandana Bala Lakshadi taila. Kushta Rakshasa taila is prescribed only for application when there is severe itching. This oil reduces the itchy sensation and prohibits the psoriasis from spreading.

(4) Home Remedies for Psoriasis

- Take one teaspoonful of sandalwood powder in three cups of water. Boil it till it is reduced to one-third the quantity, i.e. to one cup quantity. Add some rose water and sugar to it. Take this thrice a day.

- Make the powder of some almonds and boil them thoroughly in water. This is used for external application on the affected part. Keep it overnight and wash it next day with water.

- Shikakai (soap nut) boiled in water and applied on the affected parts also gives good relief.

- Attach a fresh thin banana leaf on the affected part.

- Fry thin slices of onion in ghee and eat them.

- Apply lime juice that has been diluted with water externally on the psoriatic patches.

- Cabbage soup is good for treatment of psoriasis. Drink one bowl of it everyday.

Exercise is good for psoriatic people, but care must be taken not to perform exercises like jogging and running which will put more pressure on the knees. Cycling and waling are good. Leading a sedentary life will aggravate the psoriasis further. It is also important to keep the mind stress-free through yoga. Stress can aggravate psoriasis.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/diseases-and-conditions-articles/some-effective-natural-cure-for-psoriasis-111898.html
About the Author:Read More on Psoriasis Treatment by Ayurveda and Home Remedies for Psoriasis at http://www.ayushveda.com Also read more about Ayurveda at World's Largest Portal on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic Remedies: Ayushveda.com - The Free Ayurvedic Encyclopedia.