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Psoriasis

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Symptoms and Signs

The most common symptoms of psoriasis are reddish patches of inflammed skin covered by silvery scales


"Psoriasis can be painful and can be profoundly disruptive to a person's life," says Jill Lindstrom, M.D., an FDA dermatologist. She adds -"People who don't have it don't understand how burdensome the disease can be. There is constant shedding of scales. There can be functional impairment, itching, and pain."

The symptoms of psoriasis can manifest in a variety of forms. According to the symptoms, the disease can be classified into plaque, pustular, guttate and flexural psoriasis.

Plaque psoriasis.

a) Plaque psoriasis, also called psoriasis vulgaris - is the most common variant of the disease and is seen 80 to 90% of the affected individuals. In this form of psoriasis, inflammed skin displays elevated or bumpy areas (plaques) covered with silvery white scales.



b) Flexural psoriasis or inverse psoriasis –In this type of the disease, smooth inflamed patches appear inbetween skin folds.It is aggravated by sweat and friction and is therefore prone to fungal infection.This type of psoriasis is specific to the genital area ( between the thigh and groin) , under the breasts(infra-mammary fold), under thebelly fold (pannus) and in the armpits.



c) Pustular psoriasis is charecterized by bumps( pustules) filled with pus that is non-infectious. The skin adjoining the pustules is tender and red . These pustules, if localized to the hands and feet, are called palmoplantar pustulosis. They may also occur as widespread patches, distributed throughout the body or confined locally.



d) Nail psoriasis causes changes in the finger and toe nails such as

• Discolouring

• Pitting

• Formation of lines across the nails

• Thickening of skin beneath the nail

• Loosening and crumbling of nail



e) Guttate psoriasis –In this form of the disorder, numerous ‘tear drop’ spots appear over the trunk, limbs, and scalp. This form of psoriasis is also linked to streptococcal throat infection.



f) Erythrodermic psoriasis is charecterized by inflammation and exfoliation of the skin, accompanied by severe itching, swelling and pain in a widespread fashion. This type of psoriasis may sometimes be fatal.



g) Arthropathy-5-10% of individuals with psoriasis have a chronic, rheumatoid factor negative type of inflammatory arthropathy which can assume a central pattern(ankylosing spondylitis) or a peripheral pattern (rheumatoid arthritis).

Psoriatic arthritis is a connective tissue inflammation which affects the joints particularly those of the fingers and toes resulting in a sausage-shaped swelling of these parts (dactylitis).

It affects 10-15% of people who suffer from psoriasis.This form of arthritis may also affect the hips, knees and spine.

Psoriasis in children -The type of psoriasis that is most commonly prevalent in young children and teenagers is guttate psoriasis. It usually occurs after an upper respiratory infection, although it must be noted that the infection is not the direct cause of psoriasis. The disease can also be triggered by stress, streptococcus infections and skin injuries.

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Member Comments (4)
Posted by: dreemancall Posted on: 8/15/2009
Today's the world is returning towards natural way of curing due to the harmful effects of today's chemical & synthetic medicines. People are deeply worried on this issue and also insisting to use natural way of curing to get health & security.

Our psoriasis cure process is 100%
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Posted by: psoriasis89 Posted on: 6/2/2009
What is psoriasis? What causes psoriasis? Is there a cure or treatment for psoriasis? Psoriasis is a skin condition, it is a disease, but it is not contagious. The name comes from the Greek word for "itch." It can be hereditary, caused by external influences (allergic reaction to foods or the environment) and sometimes stress. 4-5% of the population is known to be affected, and this number is growing. However, it is suspected that 1 in 5 people have some form of psoriasis either descripts or none descript. Once you have psoriasis, it is very likely you will have it for ever. It may go away, and come back. It might respond to various treatments, and it may not. Basically psoriasis is your body over producing skin cells. You have too many skin cells in one location which is why it often swells up, becomes dry and even flaky. It can often be very itchy, red, sore, cracked and very tender. Psoriasis usually affect the scalp, hands, stomach, knees, feet and elbows. It is linked to dandruff and unfortunately to some forms of arthritis.
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Posted by: poriasis Posted on: 5/11/2009
Are you suffering from Psoriasis?

More than 4.5 million adults in the United States have been diagnosed with psoriasis, and approximately 150,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. An estimated 20% have moderate to severe psoriasis. Psoriasis occurs about equally in males and females. Recent studies show that there may be an ethnic link. It seems that psoriasis is most common in Caucasians and slightly less common in African Americans. Worldwide, psoriasis is most common in Scandinavia and other parts of northern Europe. It appears to be far less common among Asians and is rare in Native Americans
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Posted by: pepe56 Posted on: 3/3/2009
I had psoriasis for two years and negligently did not care. It affected my scalp and both elbows. Whenever I went I left dandruff spills and that started to be a problem and people started to notice and comment on my elbows' white patches. I went to see doctors and their prescriptions were expensive and did not work. Until I talked to the owner of a pharmacy. He told me to use Polytar liquid shampoo for scalp. I used it everyday and washed my hair and scalp with. I did not use any other shampoo. I also used it on both my elbows at the same time. I took some precautions not to use other bath soap on the affected area. That was a miracle the patches completely dissapeared on my elbows, but some tiny points remained on my scalp. 6 months later, it reappeared on my scalp (seems the residual points developped) and appeared on one elbow. Just now I am using polytar again and it is working again on my scalp and also on my elbow. I keep thinking that if somebody use liquid shampoo (e.g polytar) on the affected areas, and a tar soap instead of ordinary bath soap, psoriasis CAN be cured. The affected parts must be rubbed with the shampoo until the rashes dissapear, and the shin become clear reddish. Furthermore I personally think (although I did not use it) that just after the shampoo and until the next one, a parrafin application will soften and repair the skin until the next shampoo application. In fact, I also noticed that the psoriasis patches start to cure from the centre first and then towards the edges. The skin became clear and back to real NORMAL. I have just started treating the resurge (mid february 2009) and will be able to tell soon whether the shampoo worked this time also. If somebody can start a daily usage (with deeply working the lesions, then applying parrafin), he may also be able to tell whether it worked or no in his case.
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