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Psoriasis Treatment: A Life long Management!
What is psoriasis? Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition. It is marked by patches of raised reddish skin, covered with a whitish silver layer. The most common form plaque psoriasis is common on the knees, elbows, scalp and the lower back.Why does it occur?

Causes and Risk Factors of Psoriasis: Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder of unknown origin; however, heredity seems to play a role in susceptibility. Psoriasis can be triggered by a number of factors, such as stress, climate changes, streptococcal or HIV infection, superficial wounds, physical illness, or taking certain drugs such as lithium, beta-blockers such as propranolol, quinidine, and a heart medication or anti malarial medications.

How does it occur? Normally, skin cells mature and shed after about a month. In psoriasis, the cell maturation speeds up, taking only three to four days. Because the lower layer of skin cells divides more rapidly than normal, dead cells accumulate in thicker patches on the skin’s outermost layer, called the epidermis. All types of psoriasis cause itching, and discomfort. The condition can crack and bleed, and itching can be severe. Psoriasis is a lifelong condition. However, it is possible to dramatically reduce and control outbreaks.

How to find or diagnose?Dermatologists diagnose psoriasis by examining the skin and noting specific characteristics of the lesions. Occasionally they may need to biopsy the lesion and examine the skin under a microscope to confirm diagnosis. There are no blood tests or other laboratory tests available for establishing diagnosis.

Where does it occur?Psoriasis occurs in a variety of forms that differ in their intensity, duration, location, shape and pattern of scales. The most common forms are: Plaque psoriasis, or psoriasis vulgaris, is the most common form of psoriasis. It is characterized by raised, inflamed, red lesions covered with a silvery-white buildup of dead skin cells or scales. This is found primarily on the trunk, elbows, knees, scalp and finger or toe nails.

Pustular psoriasis is a rare form characterized by small pustules ,white head-like lesions found all over the body or confined to the palms, soles and other isolated areas of the body.

Guttate psoriasis occurs most frequently in children and is characterized by numerous small, red, drop-like scaly macules that develop rapidly over a wide area of skin. This may appear following an infection, most frequently Strep throat.

Inverse psoriasis occurs in the armpit, under the breast, in skin folds, around the groin, in the cleft between the buttocks and around the genitals. It is usually pink and irritated but lacks the thick scale seen in other forms of psoriasis.Some dermatologists classify psoriasis as mild, moderate, or severe. Mild psoriasis is considered to be scaling over less than 5-10 percent of the body, moderate psoriasis is considered to be scaling over 10 to 20 percent of the body and severe psoriasis is considered to be scaling over 20 percent of the body. In 5 percent of all psoriasis sufferers, arthritis will develop. This condition is called psoriatic arthritis. Arthritis is inflammation of a joint, usually accompanied by pain, swelling and changes in joint structure.

How to cure it? The majority of people’s experience of psoriasis is that of minor localized patches, particularly on the elbows and knees, which can be treated with topical medication. Psoriasis is a lifelong condition. There is currently no cure but various treatments can help to control the symptoms.

Psoriasis Treatment in moderate to severe cases: Phototherapy (used alone or in combination with other therapies):
o Ultraviolet Light B (UVB), either from sunlight or a light box in a physician’s clinic, helps to heal lesions.
o Psoralen and Ultraviolet Light-A (PUVA): combined use of a photosensitizing medication, called Psoralen and a long-wave ultraviolet light (UVA).
o Excimer lasers may be used to treat a small, localized area of psoriasis. They deliver UVB light directly to the area of psoriasis without exposing to normal skin.

Internal Medications (used for moderate to severe psoriasis): Biologic drugs are taken from living material (human, plant, animal, or microorganism). They act on parts of the body’s immune system to prevent inflammatory disorders, including psoriasis. Unlike drugs that suppress the entire immune system, biologics can fight more selectively and target only those chemicals involved in causing psoriasis. Only recently have biologics targeted toward psoriasis begun to emerge as potentially promising new treatment options.Your dermatologist by experience and trial and error will find treatments which are effective for each individual.Healing can take as little as a few weeks or as long as several months. Dermatologists may rotate patients through many different therapies to avoid long-term side effects and to determine which ones work best for that individual.

Topical Steroids
Dermatologists use various topical steroids to treat eczema based on the severity of the conditions classified as mild, moderately potent, potent and very potent.Psoriasis treatment has become a subject of skin disease management to bring down the manifestation, discomfort, suffering and mental agony of the patient. Success depends on the integral co operation from both sides.

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This entry was posted on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Beauty treatments. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.