Other Psoriasis Blogs of Interest

Other blogs of interest concerning psoriasis and the treatment of psoriasis can be found at:
The Psoriasis Page: http://psoriasispage.blogspot.com/
Psoriasis is a chronic, genetic, noncontagious skin disorder that appears in many different forms and can affect any part of the body, including the nails and scalp. Psoriasis is categorized as mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the percentage of body surface involved and the impact on the sufferer's quality of life.


PSORIASIS TREATMENT : http://psoriasistreatment.blogspot.com/
Psoriasis is a chronic skin disorder that affects over 6 million people in the United States. Psoriasis is caused by a hyper proliferation of the epidermis, concomitant inflammation, and vascular changes, which occur based on combined genetic and environmental factors. Psoriasis occurs equally in men and women and is rarely life threatening.

Psoriasis Can Improve During Pregnancy

For women with psoriasis, high levels of estrogen during pregnancy seem to improve their skin condition, a study suggests.
Dr. Gerald D. Weinstein, of the University of California, Irvine, and colleagues studied fluctuations in psoriasis during pregnancy and the post-partum period. The researchers assessed the body surface area affected by psoriasis in 47 pregnant women and 27 non-pregnant, menstruating women. In addition, levels of progesterone and estrogens were measured.
Overall, 55 percent of the pregnant women patients reported improvements in psoriasis, 21 percent reported no change, and 23 percent reported worsening, according to the researchers' article in the Archives of Dermatology.
In the post-partum period, 9 percent of patients reported improvement, 26 percent no change, and 65 percent reported worsening.
Significant decreases in the body surface area affected by psoriasis were observed from 10 to 20 weeks into pregnancy compared with the non-pregnant group, but the situation reversed by 6 weeks post-partum, Weinstein's team found.
The improvement in body surface area correlated with levels of estrogens and the estrogen-progesterone ratio.
The investigators say it would be worthwhile to look into how estrogen improves psoriasis, and whether the hormone might prevent worsening of psoriasis after menopause.
SOURCE: Archives of Dermatology, May 2005.

Psoriasis Scams

This is a critical review of psoriasis treatments promoted on the net. Many of these are scams. Some are just deceptive misinformation, others are potentially dangerous. Secrets are revealed wherever possible to spoil the marketing game. It's a shame that these hucksters prey on people desperately looking for a safe and effective treatment.
Skip to: FDA Steroids Skin-Cap SkinZinc Miralex Exorex Zinc Miracure Kessler Psoriasis.COM Lupicare Itchstopper Psorigon Emu Oil Neem Oil Ewell CureBook GilTeva Amjo D.P.Ray silver PsoriasiCure feedback
Why is this page needed?
Quackery is everywhere. With a few notable exceptions, commercial sites selling psoriasis treatments emphasize only the claimed benefits of their products and provide no support for those claims. They rarely mention risks, side effects, or offer an accurate list of ingredients so that consumers can make their own informed choice. The only public place to find this information has been in the psoriasis newsgroup, and the postings don't stay around long enough for newcomers to see them. By putting this information here on the web, the reviews will hopefully be as visible to the world as the commercial sites are now.
One universal trait of the Hall of Pshame sites is that they raise unrealistic hopes of miracle cures and rapid clearing. Most psoriatics have become hardened to these tactics, but sometimes the sales pitch can be very convincing. "What have you got to lose?" is a common question. The fact is, that besides the money lost, the time wasted on an ineffective treatment could have been used to try something more realistic. The greatest loss is when a desperate person gets fooled again, and loses hope of ever finding something that works.
Please distinguish between the treatments being offered and the methods used to promote them. The intent here is not to invalidate anyone's personal success with a treatment, but to show how the claims are deceptive and misleading. The promoters of the secret cures no doubt got benefit with their regimen, but it is a serious mistake to assume that their experience will be universal. Psoriasis covers a wide range of symptoms that can be triggered by many different causes. What has been discovered repeatedly in the open forum discussions is this: What works for one person does nothing for the next.

Understanding Psoriasis

People with psoriasis may notice that there are times when their skin worsens, then improves. Conditions that may cause flareups include changes in climate, infections, stress, and dry skin. Also, certain medicines, most notably beta-blockers, which are used in the treatment of high blood pressure, and lithium or drugs used in the treatment of depression, may cause an outbreak or worsening of the disease.
More information on psoriasis can be found at:
http://www.dermatitis-ltd.com/aboutpso.php3

What is Flexural Psoriasis?

Inverse or Flexural psoriasis is localized in the flexural surfaces of the skin, e.g., armpit, groin, under the breast, and other skin folds. Typically, it appears as smooth inflamed lesions without scaling and is particularly subject to irritation due to rubbing and sweating. This type of psoriasis is often white in color, appears softened as if soaked by water, and may resemble a fungal infection. There is very little scaling, although the patches are inflamed and can be very sore. Appearing as it does in the folds of the skin, it is moister than other forms of psoriasis, and can be more uncomfortable physically. Flexural psoriasis rarely occurs by itself. It is more likely to accompany common plaque psoriasis. Psoriasis sufferers in their middle years or old age are more susceptible to this type of psoriasis as are people who are overweight and have more folds of skin.

Psoriasis Can Affect The Ears

Psoriasis is commonly found in the ears too. In this case it can appear as dry scales in the ear canal. It also occurs behind the ear so this area has to be checked to look for the plaques if the diagnosis of psoriasis is considered. The image shows some dryness of the skin in the ear, with some scaling, which is characteristic of psoriasis.

Guttate Psoriasis Can Affect Children Too

Guttate psoriasis is characterized by small red dots (or drops) of psoriasis. Guttate is derived from the Latin word gutta meaning "drop." It often appears on the trunk, arms and legs. The lesions may have some scale. Guttate psoriasis frequently appears suddenly following a streptococcal infection or viral upper respiratory infections. There are also other events that can precipitate an attack of guttate psoriasis: tonsillitis, a cold, chicken pox, immunizations, physical trauma, psychological stress, illness, and the administration of anti-malarial drugs. Guttate psoriasis is many small patches of psoriasis, all over the body, and often happens after a throat infection. Guttate Psoriasis most often affects children and young adults. It appears as small, red bumps-the size of drops of water-on the skin. It usually appears suddenly, often several weeks after an infection such as strep throat.

Facts on Psoriasis

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition affecting approximately 4.5 million people in the United States.
New skin cells grow too rapidly, resulting in inflamed, swollen, scaly patches of skin in areas where the old skin has not shed quickly enough.
Psoriasis can be limited to a few spots or can involve more extensive areas of the body, appearing most commonly on the scalp, knees, elbows and trunk.
Psoriasis is not a contagious disease. The cause of psoriasis is unknown, and there currently is no cure.
Psoriasis can strike people at any age, but the average age of onset is approximately 28 years. Likewise, it affects both men and women, with a slightly higher prevalence in women than in men.
Approximately 30 percent of people with psoriasis are estimated to have moderate-to-severe forms of the disease.
Psoriasis can be a physically and emotionally painful condition.
It often results in physical limitations, disfiguration and a significant burden in managing the daily care of the disease.
Psoriasis sufferers may feel embarrassed, angry, frustrated, fearful, depressed and, in some cases, even suicidal.

Five Types of Psoriasis

There are five different types of psoriasis. The most common form of psoriasis is called "plaque psoriasis," which is characterized by well-defined patches of red, raised skin. About 80 percent of people with psoriasis have this type. Plaque psoriasis can appear on any skin surface, although the knees, elbows, scalp, trunk and nails are the most common locations. The other types of psoriasis are: Guttate described as small, red, individual drops on the skin. Inverse psoriasis is smooth, dry areas of skin, often in folds or creases, that are red and inflamed but do not have scaling Erythrodermic psoriasis is characterized as periodic, widespread, fiery redness of the skin. Pustular psoriasis which involves either generalized, widespread areas of reddened skin, or localized areas, particularly the hands and feet (palmo-plantar pustular psoriasis).Typically, people have only one form of psoriasis at a time. Sometimes two different types can occur together, one type may change to another type, or one type may become more severe. For example, a trigger may convert plaque psoriasis to pustular.

Pustular Psoriasis

This type of psoriasis usually appears as a large red area covered with yellow-green pustules. They tend to be one to two millimeters in diameter and are quite tender. The yellow color is caused by masses of white blood cells (polymorph leucocytes), which flood into any part of the skin that is damaged or infected, in order to fight infection and aid recovery.After seven to 10 days, the pustules become dispersed and a brown scale appears. This scale will start to shed as new pustules develop in other areas, often in a continuous cycle.The most common type of pustular psoriasis affects the palms and soles. It isn't normally itchy however it can be sore or uncomfortable to use either your hands or feet, for example if you are writing or walking.

Learn more about this type of psoriasis at:
http://www.internationaleczema-psoriasisfoundation.org/pustular_psoriasis.php4