Psoriasis help – Psoriasis experience and management

The average person is really uninformed about his (or her) skin, especially regarding a psoriatic condition. Most individuals are mainly interested in ridding themselves of the disease without having to delve too deeply into the particular whys and wherefores. However, a person’s chances of achieving this goal are greatly enhanced if he is armed with even a smattering of knowledge as to what is actually happening to the skin. Even a minimum of insight and understanding usually instills a desire to approach the prescribed regimen with discipline as ‘well as enthusiasm. Having a physician tell a patient what to do is one thing, but making that patient actually understand the reasoning behind it is even more important. The patient will then do what he is supposed to do and know why he is doing it.

Before I continue to explain this new view and -approach to healing psoriasis, I would like to review some known facts about the disease, for my readers to acquire a more thorough understanding of what we are dealing with and the obstacles that we must overcome.

What Is Psoriasis?

Although the name of the disease is derived from the Greek psora, meaning “the itch,” itching does not necessarily accompany psoriasis.

When it does, it can be devastating, but in general, I have found that about half of the patients I have cared for were not particularly bothered by an itch. Eczema, however, another common skin disease, is usually accompanied by an itch. In a later chapter, we will discuss the close link between eczema and psoriasis, which is not ordinarily recognized. It may please the reader to know that once my patients were on the right course, the itch, whether from psoriasis, eczema, or a combination of both, was the first symptom to disappear. This is the first sign that the process is working. It means that there is less surface activity. It then becomes a matter of time and persistence before the scaling stops and the lesions eventually and gradually fade away.

People’s experience of itch can vary from none at all to severe; one in three people say that, for them, itch is the worst aspect of the condition. Other troublesome sensations, including burning, hurting and stinging, are also reported. Life can certainly be made miserable by the chronic itchy, scaly and inflamed ‘plaques’ that may occur on any part of the skin and scalp. A ‘plaque’ is the term for the scaly, red, raised patch of skin affected by psoriasis that can vary in size from 1 cm to 20 cm or more in diameter. People may find the condition disfiguring, and it can have a profound effect on their lives.

Seemingly trivial psoriasis can cause major psychological problems in some people, whereas others with what looks to be more severe psoriasis are able to cope better.

YourSkin

The skin is a vital, living organ, always moving, changing, teeming with life, and constantly renewing itself, The functions of the skin are numerous, spectacular, and miraculous. Without our being conscious of it, our skin protects us from harmful outside influences, prevents our losing vital internal elements, holds our body together, warns us of potentially harmful internal as well as external temperature changes, plays a major role in our immune system, and performs countless other functions. It also relays pleasurable sensations, beautifies our appearance when cared for, and, in general, equips us with the necessary protective barrier that enables us to live in this world.

That the skin constantly renews itself is an important factor to grasp, for here is where psoriasis enters the picture. Normally, the skin regenerates itself about once a month, or approximately every twentyeight days. In psoriasis, this process is speeded up; the skin attempts ro renew itself every three or four days .. One does not have to be a genius to realize that with such a deviation from the norm, something certainly is amiss.

Look at your skin as having two basic layers. The deeper layer, called the derma ot dermis, carries all the blood vessels, nerves, glands, and so forth, and is where new skin cells are formed. The surface layer is called the epidermis and is the harder; less delicate, protective component, covering the sensitive structures of the dermis.

Once the dermis forms new skin cells, they begin to migrate outward through various layers to form the cells of the epidermis. It takes about two weeks for these cells to move from the dermis to the epidermal layer. It then takes approximately two more weeks for the cells of the epidermis to die and gradually slough off. In the meantime, new cells have already replaced the old ones. When a person is healthy, this process continues from birth to death, a marvel of biomechanical engineering.

When psoriasis is present, everything goes awry. The dermis tries to produce’ the new cells at an alarming rate. The surface area becomes red, inflamed, extremely sensitive, visibly raised, and scaly. The specific area involved can rise to three times its thickness above the surface of the epidermis (this is known as acanthosis).

A Comparative View

Upward enlargement of dermal papillae permits up to a threefold increase of the dermoepiderrnal area, which together with the threelayered germinative cell layer accounts for a ninefold increase in germinative cell population. It is primarily this increase that reduces the turnover time of the epidermis from a normal twenty-eight days to three to four days.

A psoriasis victim can form a scale so deep that peeling it offcauses bleeding underneath. This is known as the Auspitz sign. The cells that are migrating to the surface under these conditions are obviously not normally effective in all of their functions because they have not had enough time to form completely; that is, they are immature. Not only is the process unsightly, but it is unhealthy in that the normal functions of the skin are impaired, rendering the patient prone to internal as well as external environmental hazards.

Toxins are emitted from the body via the perspiratory system (sweat glands), Why toxins exit more readily from some areas rather than from others is anybody’s guess, for sweat glands are everywhere. There are about a hundred such glands in one square centimeter of skin surface, an area about the size of a little fingernail and approximately an eighth of an inch thick.

There is a theory that lesions appear more frequently in areas of the body that are more subject to stress and strain, such as the elbows and the knees. This view, however, does not hold true in all cases, since many people have lesions where there is no particular strain Of trauma; for instance, the abdomen or the back.

The most common sites for lesions to form are the scalp, the elbows, the knees, the small of the back, and the lower legs. Lesions can, however, appear literally anywhere, including under toenails and fingernails as well as on the sensitive inner linings of the mucous membranes. Why psoriasis shows itself here, there, at everywhere really is immaterial when it comes to healing the disease.

Specific names have been given to the various types of psoriatic lesions, It must be remembered, however, that regardless of the varying degree of severity or the differences in appearance, the disease is the same, Many people who followed the regimen presented in this book found that different kinds of lesions responded favorably even though they were treated basically the same way. Someone who has had the disease for twenty years cannot realistically expect to respond to treatment as quickly as a person who has had the disease for only two months, although sometimes it is possible. Usually, the longer a person has had the condition, the greater the pollution of the system, Consequently, it will take ‘time to clean out and replenish each cell of the body,

Despite the potential impact of psoriasis, many people with this condition do not consult their doctors about it. One estimate indicated that up to 80% did not consult their GP over a period of a year. The reasons for this are probably many and varied, some people disregarding trivial psoriasis and others, with more severe disease, being despondent and fed up with the routine of applying messy creams day in, day out. favourite alternatives to consulting a GP include:
• no treatment at all;
• self-treatment;
• consulting practitioners of complementary therapies;
• holidays around the Dead Sea.

Misconceptions abound, causing upset, embarrassment and difficulty in accepting the various treatments. Commonly held beliefs include:
• it’s infectious;
• it’s an allergy;
• it’s to do with the blood;
• it’s all caused by stress;
• it will never get better.

None of these is correct. Moreover, psoriasis will get better and worse at times, regardless of the treatment being used.

When psoriasis clears completely, either on its own or after treatment, doctors refer to it as being ‘in remission’, but the length of remission is very variable. This adds to the confusion about what has triggered an attack. What is clear is that there are a number of potential trigger factors, although the reaction will vary from person to person.Psoriasis on its own can be a serious disease and more than enough for someone to cope with, but when it is complicated by such things as arthritis it can be very disabling. About 10% of people with psoriasis are thought to have arthritis as well, but the real number may be higher as not everyone will report it or link it to the psoriasis. Psoriatic arthropathy (arthritis) is common enough to have its own special name and is a particularly difficult form of arthritis that may – in one uncommon form – cause severe deformities of the joints in the hands.

This can be quite disabling and, when combined with the skin disease, has a major effect one quality of life.