Recognize the Symptoms of Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a condition which affects many thousands across the United States. Unbeknownst to many, psoriasis is an autoimmune disease. This means the immune system malfunctions within the body, causing the condition. What occurs is that skin cells rapidly grow and build up in specific places. Unlike the standard growth elsewhere, it can’t shed off in time. The area becomes red and painful and can crack open.

Unsurprisingly, a months worth of skin cell growth over a couple of days is not comfortable for people. Many people who suffer from it also feel low self esteem due to the red scaly patches that accompany it. There are actually quite a few different types of psoriasis which are similar, but can vary in the types of skin patches and locations on the body. When it comes to psoriasis, it’s good to know all about it. Finding symptoms and getting diagnoses will lead to effective treatment and control of psoriasis.

Symptoms of Psoriasis

There are several symptoms of psoriasis. Many of them are quite visible and as such can be rather obvious to the person who develops them. Here are many of the common symptoms:

• Inflamed Skin - These red patches of skin will rise up off of the skin due to the accelerated skin cell growth.
• Scales - In addition to red skin, silver scales will commonly form on top of the red patches. In some cases, they will form on the skin directly.
• Dry Skin - This isn’t just moderately dry skin, but skin that will crack painfully and can bleed through the cracks.
• Soreness - Unsurprisingly, inflamed skin isn’t comfortable. Many people will feel quite a bit of pain in the regions affected.
• Skin Irritants - The skin around affected regions will often feel incredibly itchy. Alternatively it can also produce a burning sensation that is quite painful.
• Joint Pain - One of the few symptoms not on the surface of the skin, many will feel their joints are swollen and quite painful during movement.

Someone who believes they have psoriasis doesn’t need to have all of these symptoms. Any one of them can be a sign that is occuring. This is also because the symptoms will typically appear and then disappear later. This cycling of symptoms works like an attack or flare up.

Getting a Diagnosis

Once a person feels they have psoriasis, the next step is checking with a doctor for a proper diagnosis. Typically this is pretty easy. The symptoms are rather obvious and a doctor can quickly diagnose it without much more than a glance. It’s good to provide the doctor with all information and a background of any family as well. While typically, it’s an autoimmune condition, it can also be given via genetics in some rare cases.

If, for whatever reason, the doctor is unsure, they may request a biopsy for lab tests. They will simply take a section of skin and send it off to the lab for results. This is a simple procedure performed quickly. Some local painkillers may be used to keep a patient feeling good.

Treatment of Psoriasis

There are actually quite a few treatment options for psoriasis. The combination of them will help to avoid triggering an attack. Treatments are broken up into passive treatments intended to reduce the number of attacks and active treatments to reduce the pain and symptoms during an attack. Here are some of the treatments suggested:

1. Medication - Medication is unsurprisingly one of the most common treatments suggested. The combination of drugs to avoid attacks and to reduce the severity of them is common. Not everyone reacts well to medication however. Some people actually find it to be a trigger for attacks (usually medications for other issues). These can come in pill form, or topical treatments used during a flare up.
2. Changes in Lifestyle - This treatment encompasses several aspects. The first is working to lose weight. It can reduce severity, and maintaining a healthy weight is just always a good choice. The second change is in diet. There are many foods which can cause inflammation just like psoriasis does. Many of these also act as triggers for an attack as well. Cutting sugars, red meats, dairy and processed foods out of a diet can make a bit difference. Finally, a lifestyle change that needs to be made is typically avoiding alcohol consumption.
3. Light Therapy - This is a treatment regularly undergone from people suffering from moderate or worse psoriasis. The UV light will attack the white blood cells. In turn, this will cause the skin to relax and stop producing new skin cells at an exaggerated rate. It can be very effective for some people.