• What is psoriasis?

Psoriasis (say "sor-eye-ah-sus") is a very common skin disorder. Over 7 million people in the United States have it. It is a skin condition that affects your skin and causes thick red , silvery scales and flaky skin patches to form. The thick scaling is probably due to an increase in the number of skin cells. Sometimes pus-filled blisters form. Most of the time, the skin on the elbows and knees is affected, but psoriasis can occur anywhere on the body, including the scalp, fingernails and mouth, and even the skin over the joints.
In mild cases, psoriasis affects a few areas; in severe cases, it can be over your whole body.
It can get better or worse, but there's no cure. But proper treatment can control the disease so it doesn't bother you so much.  
 

• What causes psoriasis?

No one knows exactly what causes psoriasis.  It's not caused by something you ate or something you're allergic to.   The reason your skin becomes thick and red is that the skin cells are growing faster than normal. Because of their rapid growth, there isn't enough time for the cells to shed (fall off). As a result, the cells pile up on top of each other, making thick, scaly patches on your skin.

•  Is it contagious?

Anyone can get psoriasis. Men, women, children and people of all races get psoriasis.  Psoriasis is not contagious therefore, you can't catch psoriasis from another person or give it to someone by touching them, and you can't spread it to other parts of your body.
The disease sometimes runs in families.

• What makes psoriasis worse?
  Some things that can make psoriasis worse are stress and infections. Some medicines can make it worse, too. These medicines include lithium, and certain high blood pressure medicines, such as beta blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, as well as pain relievers like some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (such as ibuprofen).

 

• What treatments are available for psoriasis?

Keeping your skin moisturized with over-the-counter products is a good first step. If your psoriasis is mild, moisturizers can work very well to treat your skin problem. Choose a moisturizer (lotion or cream) that is hypoallergenic (it should say so on the label). The best moisturizers are also the thickest and have a very rich emollient level such as shea butter.  Creams containing the vitamins C, A and E have a great therapeutic effect on healing and skin restoration as well as soothing Chamomille, Comfrey and Calendula Herbal Extracts. These include moisturizing creams and shampoos for scalp psoriasis.   Special shampoos are used for psoriasis on the scalp.

The scales of psoriasis should improve almost immediately after you begin treatment. It may take 2 to 6 weeks for the affected areas of your skin to return to a more normal thickness, and the redness may last several months. While psoriasis will improve, it may not completely go away. Sometimes, certain scaly spots will get better at the same time that other spots get worse.
 

Being in the sun may can also assist your skin in geting rid of the rash.  Sunlight can help psoriasis, but be careful not to stay in the sun too long. A sunburn can make your psoriasis worse. You should use a sunscreen on the parts of your skin that aren't affected by psoriasis. It's especially important to put sunscreen on your face.

There are various alternative treatments for psoriasis. If you must seek medical help, your doctor will decide which one is right for you.
Prescription creams, ointments, lotions and gels (also called topical medicines) that you put on the affected areas are often used to treat severe psoriasis.  (Be sure to talk with your doctor if you are using a steroid cream or ointment on your own to treat your psoriasis.) Your doctor may tell you to put your medicine on the areas of psoriasis before you go to bed and then cover the areas with plastic wrap (such as Saran Wrap). If you don't respond to any of these treatments, your doctor may prescribe a new medicine that is given as an injection. This new medication is used for moderate to severe cases of psoriasis.

 In more severe cases, medicines are taken in pill form. Other treatments include a special type of ultraviolet light therapy.

• What if I need medical treatment and how can my doctor tell I have psoriasis?

Your doctor can tell if you have psoriasis just by looking at your skin. In unusual cases, your doctor may need to do a biopsy (cutting out a small piece of skin to examine under a microscope).

For more severe psoriasis, prescription creams, ointments and lotions (called topical medicines) that you put on the affected areas are often used.  You can also try prescription creams that contain anthralin. These creams can stain your skin and clothes.   In resistant cases, medicines are taken in pill form.

 You can use prescription creams that have steroids in them, like cortisone. If you must resort to using a steroid cream for psoriasis such as  1 percent hydrocortisone steroid skin cream, you should not use the medicine for longer than one to two weeks. Be very careful when you put a steroid cream on your face or genital area. Long-term use of steroid creams can damage your skin and cause side effects that don't go away, like making your skin thin and bruised, and making the blood vessels in your skin get too large.

If your psoriasis doesn't get better with medical treatments, your doctor may have you take methotrexate pills or etretinate or acitretin, which are forms of vitamin A. However, taking regular vitamin A doesn't help. All of these medicines can have serious side effects, including liver damage and birth defects.

If you have psoriasis over a large area, your doctor may recommend phototherapy (light treatment). You'll probably go to a place that specializes in phototherapy. You'll stand under ultraviolet A light. To make the treatment work better, your doctor may have you take psoralen pills to boost the action of ultraviolet A light. This combination treatment--light plus psoralen--is called PUVA therapy (psoralen ultraviolet A light).

After you've been using a certain type of medicine for awhile, your psoriasis may "get used to" the treatment. If this happens, your medicine may not be as effective as it once was. Your doctor may change your medicine. Sometimes you may need a stronger dose of medicine. Talk to your doctor if your psoriasis doesn't seem to be getting better with treatment.

• Where can I get more information about psoriasis?

For more information, contact the National Psoriasis Foundation, 6600 S.W. 92 Ave., Suite 300, Portland, OR 97223; telephone: 1-800-248-0886.