Second: How much psoriasis has the patient had previously before the treatments started?
Third: Do you have arthritis or other conditions that can be connected to the psoriasis.
But, what we usually start with, when someone has just a couple plaques of psoriasis on their their body, the treatment usually starts by using a topical anti-inflammatories. This is the most common form of topical steroid ointments. These are anti-inflammatories that help to bring down the scale and any irritation that is associated with psoriasis. In the past 20 years there’s been so much exciting science surrounding psoriasis and its treatments.Â
Plaque psoriasis, these are red scaly plaques on the skin surface
The most exciting of which no doubt has been the development of biologics are tiny proteins that are actually cultured from human cells in a laboratory that stop The immune reaction that’s happening in the skin, so they can stop psoriasis before it happens. This represents what science is all about.
There’s guttate psoriasis, which are a little kind of rain drop patches on the skin The reason that many of my colleagues prefer biologics for treatment of psoriasis, is, because they’re extremely efficacious at putting the patient in remission extremely efficacious. And at changing the patient’s life significantly from a physical and mental perspective, when it comes to skin conditions like psoriasis. Sometimes sun exposure is encourage, as a form of treatment.
Pustular psoriasis, which commonly affects the palms and feet. There’s actually light boxes in our office of ultraviolet b, called narrow band uvb boxes. This is where a patient is given a prescription to get in the light box to help with the inflammation associated with psoriasis. Often this is prescribed to people who have larger areas of psoriasis, that is just too hard to slather on a cream or an ointment.  There are oral medications that can be use to treat psoriasis. This may be used in a situation where somebody has pustular psoriasis on their hands and feet.
That has a tendency to be a bit more tricky to treat. So, it’s extremely important to maintain a very gentle skin routine. And then there’s also inverse psoriasis and inverse psoriasis is where you can get red rashes and your armpits groin or under the breasts now psoriasis can happen at any age. Believe it or not from birth up until uh, elderly age.The reason for this is, we don’t know what really causes it. All we know is that it’s an immune mediated condition.
If, you’ve been diagnosed with psoriasis there’s a couple of important points that you need to know. The first of which is that it’s not curable. But, it’s treatable. And, there is no reason for anybody to be walking around with a skin condition that makes them feel uncomfortable. When considering treatment for psoriasis, there are options available. But, you have to consider a lot of things. I recommend using a gentle cleanser on psoriasis in the morning.
The good news is, psoriasis has a tendency not to affect the face, which is a saving grace, which spares a lot of people from having to deal with inflammation on their face. But, it’s a horrible and painful condition, regardless where the breakout occurs. So, having a treatment for psoriasis, is, necessary. Towards that end, I do recommend patients with psoriasis continue on an anti-aging routine, if they so desire. I’m a big fan of vitamin C. We talk about it on Dearderm all the time. And of course you want sun protection before you leave the house.
So a broad spectrum spf of 30 or higher on your face and your hands daily, is essential and then at night before bed again cleansing the skin with a gentle cleanser using a retinoid. If your skin is not inflamed, is okay and then a nice heavier night cream, just to make sure that your skin is hydrated. If you are experiencing a lot of inflammation or some inflammation on your face with psoriasis, I recommend during the flares, a gentle cleanser, until it subsides. It is best to stick with a gentle cleanser and moisturizer, until the flare is gone.
Remember my motto: it’s, not just about the face. You have a whole bunch of skin below your neck. Let’s. talk about body care for a second, for a patient with psoriasis. When people have thicker plaques on their skin, the use of an alpha, hydroxy acid, such as lactic, acid or a urea based product, can really go a long way to help to get rid of those scales off the skin. Remember, it’s not a scrub. It is really just a gentle exfoliant for the skin. I don’t think it’s really effective to just randomly exfoliate the body, because you can get what’s called the kebner phenomenon. The kevner phenomenon is when psoriasis comes out in areas of trauma. So, the more you scrub, the more likely you are to get a flare of psoriasis in that area. Keep it simple. Cleanse the area by using a gentle exfoliator over the plaques, as needed, and moisturize.
Of course, every day there seems to be a great product for users in advance therapy that has a smidge of exfoliators in it. That’s a nice compromise between total exfoliation and just moisturizing. I think that would be a very nice choice for anyone who has psoriasis on their skin, to receive help for the inflammatory skin condition affecting them.
It’s important that you’re eating and sleeping well. And exercising enough contributes to your overall skin health. If you think you have psoriasis you don’t need to live with it. Make an appointment with your dermatologist, because there’s a lot of great treatment options, that will make things better for you.
Thank you so much for joining me on another episode of dearderm. Don’t for get to leave questions below and don’t forget to subscribe. Be well and good. See you later
