10 Things I Wish Someone Told Me About Psoriasis

I know it’s hard to diagnose yourself with something like psoriasis. There are so many images on the internet of people who look way worse than you do. All you want is for someone to tell you that they understand what you’re going through, that they know how bad it hurts, and that everything will be okay. But I can’t promise any of those things because everyone goes through this in their way. However, let’s know about psoriasis first, then I can share what I wish someone had told me about psoriasis.

★ What is Psoriasis?
Psoriasis is an autoimmune skin disease where your immune system mistakenly attacks healthy skin cells. To defend itself, the body produces large amounts of skin cells that build up on the surface of your skin and form scaly red patches known as plaques. Up to 30% of people with psoriasis will develop psoriatic arthritis, a condition in which the joints are affected by the same autoimmune reaction that causes psoriasis in the skin. This results in symptoms like painful swelling or stiffness in one or more joints. So basically, it’s where your immune system thinks terrible guys are trying to hurt you, but they are your cells. The more people you ask about this, the more confused you’ll become because no two cases are alike.

★ Causes of psoriasis:
There is no one factor in understanding psoriasis. It could be:

1. Genetic:Â If you or a family member has psoriasis, you have a greater chance of developing it yourself. About 30% of people with psoriasis report having a family history of the skin condition.
2. Environmental factor:Â Something in your environment might trigger the disease to come out earlier or more severely, such as certain medications or accidents.
3. Stress: While stress doesn’t cause psoriasis, it may trigger an outbreak or make symptoms worse. Some people find that a new psoriasis diagnosis’s physical and emotional stress can affect their quality of life several months to years after the initial diagnosis has been made.
4. Infectious cause: Some experts believe that a virus or bacterium might play a role in triggering the condition.
5. Smoking:Â People who smoke may experience more severe psoriasis symptoms and frequent outbreaks of new lesions, but it’s been unclear whether smoking directly causes psoriasis or worsens its symptoms.
6. Alcohol:Â People with psoriasis might drink more alcohol than others, according to a small study. It’s unclear whether drinking affects the severity of psoriasis or if people with chronic skin conditions are more likely to drink.
7. Diet: Research suggests that certain dietary factors may worsen symptoms of psoriasis, but these studies have been done on animals or cells, not people.
8. Physical Injury:Â Scientists don’t know if an injury to the skin can trigger the immune system to attack healthy skin cells and cause psoriasis. However, it’s possible that physical trauma or infections can worsen your symptoms if you have psoriasis at the time of injury.
   
   ★ Psoriasis Symptoms:
   Psoriasis Symptoms vary from person to person and can change over time. You might start with a:

1. Red, raised area that may look like a bump.
2. Scaly area that’s made up of thick, silvery scales. It can be dry and itchy or moist and sore.
3. Plaque is thick build-ups of scale-like skin cells that cover large areas of your body or just one small spot. The scales on psoriasis plaques are usually silvery-white.
4. Guttate psoriasis looks like small pinhead-sized red spots with a thin white border on top of them. It’s often triggered by an infection, such as strep throat or the flu.
5. Inverse psoriasis appears where your skin curves, such as your groin or underarms. The affected skin has a red, shiny appearance and may ooze fluid. This is also known as flexural psoriasis.

★ Psoriasis Triggers:

* Stress/Tiredness: As weird as that sounds, your body releases chemicals that flares up psoriasis when you’re super stressed. This makes sense because you often get an outbreak after a long day at work, after an argument, or when you are stressed.

* Cold Weather: It’s been noticed that people have more psoriasis outbreaks during the winter months. But why would a cold temperature trigger a skin disease? A study of mice with psoriasis suggests that low temperatures cause skin cells to release a chemical involved in inflammation.

* Alcohol: Doctors don’t know for sure whether drinking alcohol worsens psoriasis symptoms, but one study found that drinking two or more alcoholic drinks per day may trigger an outbreak.

* Exercise: Some people with psoriasis report flare-ups after working out, especially when the exercise is strenuous and involves a lot of sweat. It’s unclear what causes the link between activity and psoriasis. It could be that the mechanical stress of exercise irritates affected skin and causes an outbreak, or it could be that people with psoriasis drink more alcohol when they exercise because they’re stressed about working out.

* Infections: Some experts believe that certain infections — including strep throat, smallpox vaccinations, HIV, hepatitis B virus infection, and certain sexually transmitted diseases — may trigger psoriasis. There’s also some evidence that smoking, heavy alcohol use, and stress might play a role in triggering psoriasis.
This was a little introduction to psoriasis. I hope it helped you learn something new about this skin condition.

Here are the ten things I know about psoriasis, and I wish someone had told me when I first heard of it:

1. Psoriasis is a disease of the immune system, which means that your body thinks there’s a foreign invader in your skin, even though the inflammation is happening on top of healthy skin cells.
2. There’s no known cure for psoriasis yet, but there are ways to treat it effectively using moisturizers, topical ointments, oral medications, UV light therapy, and sometimes even surgery if necessary. Some people have entirely gotten rid of lesions and be symptom-free after adopting a few lifestyle changes, such as adding supplements and exercise into their routine.
3. Psoriasis isn’t contagious or life-threatening. You can lead a perfectly everyday life with psoriasis just like you would with any other skin condition such as acne, rosacea, and eczema.
4. There’s no known reason why some people get psoriasis and others don’t, so if you have it, you shouldn’t feel weird or wrong about it because chances are there might be somebody in your family who also has psoriasis but doesn’t know they do so the only way to know for sure is by going to the dermatologist and getting checked out which will end up saving your health in the future when you find that early warning sign before it’s too late.
5. Psoriasis is associated with an increased risk of depression, anxiety, and other psychological problems. It can also make you feel alone and isolated but remember that many people go through this.
6. Psoriasis has been closely linked to cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, celiac disease, epilepsy, osteoporosis, arthritis, and cancer. Hence, it’s important to always eat healthy, nutritious foods with anti-inflammatory properties such as fruits with high antioxidants like blueberries and cherries, which help ease joint pain if your joints are inflamed due to psoriatic arthritis.
7. There’s a link between psoriasis and smoking or heavy drinking, which is another reason you should quit those things for your health. The more damage you do to yourself, the more chances of having an outbreak or exacerbation.
8. It’s essential to find out what triggers your outbreaks of psoriasis and avoid that trigger at all costs if you want to manage it better because many things could cause flare-ups like stress, alcohol, constant infections, smoking, eating junk food, or certain medications so watch out for those signs and try not to go out in the cold too much during the wintertime because you might catch a skin infection which can cause an outbreak.
9. Psoriasis is manageable, but depending on the severity, you may need medical treatment for it, mainly if it affects your mobility or quality of life, so talk about this with your doctor because some people think they handle their flares on their own when they don’t. It’s important to remember that you can always get help.
10. Homeopathic treatment for psoriasis is one of the best ways to treat psoriasis symptoms because it’s natural, non-invasive, and doesn’t involve any medication, which is always a plus. Homeopathy doctors treat the root cause of the disease, so it’s better to seek treatment from them.

Here are some things you can try to ease your symptoms:

1. Drink lots of water and stay hydrated because dehydration can cause your skin to become dry and cracked, causing an outbreak.
2. Take a lukewarm bath using Epsom salt, which will help soothe any irritation on the skin and promote healing.
3. Offer your scalp some nutrients by massaging it with avocado oil or olive oil because sometimes psoriasis cases can be triggered by inflamed scalps that often go untreated since we tend to forget about our head health as much as we should!
4. Re-moisturize every 2 hours if you live in a cold or dry environment as I do, or whenever your skin feels dried out and tight (which is usually 1 to 3 times per day, depending on your climate).
5. Apply aloe vera gel to the psoriasis patches for an immediate soothing effect that will help reduce irritation and ease any dry, flaky skin you might be experiencing at that time. Also, apply coconut oil if you like its smell, which helps hydrate the skin and keep it soft.
6. Avoid food high in refined sugar because it can trigger inflammations that are bad news for your skin health, so try not to eat too many processed foods. When it comes down to it, anything with preservatives can inflame your immune system, so always watch out for those signs.
7. Try adding turmeric or ginger to your diet because both are very anti-inflammatory ingredients that will ease joint pain and boost your immune system.
8. Get plenty of rest because psoriasis is a chronic, inflammatory disease, so it’s essential to be healthy in every way possible!
9. Wearing loose clothing instead of tight-fitting clothes will help prevent chafing from constant itching, which can irritate your skin even more and cause a flare-up.
10. Do not scratch! Scratching will cause inflammation and make things worse, so try to manage your stress levels because chronic disease is often caused by constant stress.
11. Eat anti-inflammatory foods that have vitamin B2, omega 3 fatty acids, zinc, and magnesium in it because everybody needs these elements to maintain a healthy immune system.
12. Drink green tea to boost your immune system and fight infections before they become serious problems no one wants to deal with!
    Skin conditions are scary, but they’re also manageable with the right attitude and patience. Never give up on yourself because you deserve the best life possible no matter what! When it comes to psoriasis treatment, you can visit a homeopathy treatment for psoriasis.

Homeopathic treatment for psoriasis:

• When it comes to psoriasis treatment, you can visit a homeopathy doctor for this. Homeopathic treatment for psoriasis is one of the best ways to treat psoriasis symptoms because it’s natural, non-invasive, and doesn’t involve any medication.
• Homeopathy Doctors treat the root cause of the disease, so it’s better to seek treatment from them instead of trying out different medications that can leave you feeling worse than you were before.
• Homeopathy treatment for psoriasis has no side effects, so it’s worth trying out. Homeopathy doctor provides holistic treatment for psoriasis, which works well in improving your health.
• Homeopathy treatment for psoriasis also helps to build the immune system as well as fight against the disease. So, visit a homeopathy doctor and find out how they can help you to improve your psoriasis condition.
• Homeopathic treatment for psoriasis is one of the best ways to treat psoriasis symptoms because it’s natural, non-invasive, and not suppress the symptoms. It’s always better to seek treatment if you are feeling worse than you were before. You can book an appointment with a homeopathy doctor through OHO Homeopathy!