Ways to Get Rid of Psoriasis

A chronic, non-contagious disease, psoriasis [pronounced sore-EYE-ah-sis] varies in its severity and how it responds to treatment. It results from inappropriate responses of the body's immune system to essentially attack the body itself and can occur on any part of the body that's covered by skin. The resulting inflammation can be as mild as something resembling dandruff or as radical as a body covered with thick, crusted plaques. Less than 10 percent of sufferers have an extreme form of the disease; it is a mild form in 65 percent of cases. Everything else is in between mild and serious. Though it usually doesn't get any worse over time, about 10 percent to 30 percent of people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes pain, stiffness and swelling in and around the joints.
Psoriasis is a disease which takes different forms, including:


Scalp psoriasis
At least half of all people who have psoriasis have it on their scalp. As with psoriasis elsewhere on the body, skin cells grow too quickly and cause red lesions covered with scale. In severe cases of thick, crusted plaques covering the entire scalp, the hair may fall out. The affected area can extend beyond the hairline onto the forehead, the back of the neck and around the ears. Treatments, as with any type of psoriasis, are often combined and rotated because it can become resistant to medications after repeated use. Many treatment options can help control scalp psoriasis and its symptoms:

• Tar products and salicylic acid are generally sufficient for treating very mild scalp psoriasis.


• Ultraviolet (UV) light treatments.


• Systemic (oral or injected) treatments may be tried if psoriasis is present elsewhere on the body and/or the psoriasis is severe.


• Topical medications (applied to the skin).

• Ultraviolet (UV) light. Overexposure to UV light can burn the skin, especially the thinner skin around the genitals, so it is therefore used only in special circumstances and in very low doses.


• Protopic and Elidel. Both of these drugs reduce skin inflammation much as topical steroids do, but they do not cause thinning of the skin. They may cause some irritation when they are first used, but they do not promote yeast or bacterial growth, which may further help with inflammation and itching.

• Dovonex. Though this synthetic form of vitamin D3 has the potential for irritation, it does not have any of the drawbacks of topical steroids, and mixing it with petroleum jelly may minimize irritation.
  
  Tazorac. Because of its potential for irritation, some doctors alternate its use with a low-strength topical steroid.


• Over-the-counter (OTC) moisturizers. The skin in affected genital areas should be continuously moisturized, but choose wisely: moisturizers with fragrance and perfumes may irritate.


• Steroids. Prolonged use of topical steroids can permanently thin the skin and cause stretch marks. Furthermore, psoriasis may become resistant to clearing with continuous long-term use of steroids.

Article Source: http://www.bodyformind.com/db

Sam Richardson specializes in skin care medications research, including dovonex drug, which is used for psoriasis treatment.
Click here to read more on topical steroids.

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