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.