How can homeopathy help mitigate psoriasis symptoms?

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease with unknown aetiology that affects the quality of life in patients in various ways. Some of the standard features are erythematous scaly eruptions with severe itching and pain, with a preference for limbs and trunk extensor surfaces. It may be present for months to years, with exacerbations lasting weeks to months and remissions lasting months to years. The severity varies from mild scaling and occasional flares to extensive involvement leading to lifelong disability. There is no known cure, but homeopathy has been very effective in controlling the symptoms and minimizing flare-ups. Let’s know about psoriasis and how homeopathic treatment can help.
What is psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory disease with unknown aetiology that affects the quality of life in patients. Some of the standard features are erythematous scaly eruptions with severe itching and pain, with a preference for limbs and trunk extensor surfaces. It may be present for months to years, with exacerbations lasting weeks to months and remissions lasting months to years. The severity varies from mild scaling and occasional flares to extensive involvement leading to lifelong disability. There is no known cure, but homeopathy has been very effective in controlling the symptoms and minimizing flare-ups of psoriasis.
What causes psoriasis?

Many theories about what triggers psoriasis, including genetics, stress, physical trauma, infection, or dry skin. One of the most accepted hypotheses is that psoriasis is an autoimmune disease in which the immune system mistakenly attacks healthy skin cells, resulting in inflammation and scaling on various body parts. The exact reason why this happens is unknown, but these factors may contribute to worsening symptoms:

* Autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus

*Anxiety, stress, and depression

*Abnormalities in the immune system

How common is psoriasis?

About 2% of people worldwide (125 million) have psoriasis, and it’s more common among those living in temperate climates. Psoriasis may affect as many as 15 percent of those aged 65 or older.

What are the commonly affected areas of psoriasis?

• Around or inside joints (osteoarthritis) such as knuckles, knees, hips, and spine
• Red patches with silvery scales on elbows, knees, scalp, lower back, and nails
• Skinfold underarms between upper thighs or buttocks where skin rubs together because of obesity or overweight
• Scalp, causing redness and itchy, scaly patches of skin

What are the main symptoms of psoriasis?

1. Redness

Red, scaly patches of skin are the most common sign of psoriasis. The red patches may lighten or darken in color with changes in your skin’s exposure to the sun. They can be itchy or painless and tend to grow thicker with time. Sometimes, there is no color change at all. Small blood vessels under the surface of red patches appear as white lines on your skin (known as guttate psoriasis). Areas with few patches may have more silvery scales that are dry and flake off easily (known as plaque psoriasis). Your fingers or toes may become swollen if affected areas are near joints. Psoriasis on palms and soles is often very thick, itchy, and painful.

2. Patches of thickened skin

Certain areas, most often your elbows or knees, become sharply turned inward or outward in a process called ‘skin folding. This makes the affected area more likely to crack, bleed, and get infected. Elbows are most commonly affected, but you may also see this on your armpits, neck folds (a crease between your neck and shoulders), waistline, genitals, groin folds (between genitals and legs), under breasts, or under buttocks where skin rubs together because of obesity or overweight. Psoriasis patches that involve skin folding can be hard to treat because they’re more challenging to reach with topical treatments like creams and ointments.

3. Scalp psoriasis

Some people have a severe form of psoriasis on their scalp, which can cause hair loss and make it difficult to style your hair. Other symptoms include:

*Itching, burning sensation on the scalp

*Dry or oily patches of skin on the scalp (seborrheic dermatitis)

*Redness, scaling, and pain in areas with psoriasis-affected skin (erythrodermic psoriasis)

4. Psoriatic arthritis(joint problem):  

Arthritis is prevalent among people with psoriasis, and about 20 percent develop it at some point in their lives. It usually occurs after age 50, but you may create it in your 30s or 40s. Psoriatic arthritis is inflammatory arthritis in which the immune system attacks the joints, leading to painful swelling and stiffness.

5. Eye problems:   

Suppose you have psoriasis on or around your eyes. In that case, you may also have issues associated with dry eyes such as iritis, conjunctivitis (pink eye), corneal damage, cataracts, glaucoma, inflammation of blood vessels inside eyelids, or loss of vision associated with uveitis(watch).

Psoriasis is not considered dangerous, but it can be pretty annoying, especially when severe flares last for more than 6 weeks at a time. It’s important
What are the different types of psoriasis?
Psoriasis manifests in many different ways depending upon its severity and location. There are five main types:

1. Plaque psoriasis:Plaques are raised, red areas on your skin that can be smooth or rough. They may itch or feel sore, and scales may develop after time. Areas most commonly affected include knees, elbows, scalp (alopecia), buttocks/thighs/groin folds (intertriginous psoriasis) where skin rubs together because of overweight or obesity, hands, and feet.
2. Pustular psoriasis: This type can be a severe condition that involves fever, chills, nausea, and vomiting. In its most severe form, it occurs in fewer than one in a thousand people with psoriasis. It is also known as “pompholyx,” in which blisters are formed under the skin.
3. Guttate psoriasis:This type occurs when droplets of blood leak out of capillaries in the skin, turning patches red and itchy in appearance in its most severe form. It is also known as “drop-derm” because fine scales are not visible.
4. Inverse psoriasis: This type begins in the crease between your skin and other areas, such as genitals or armpits, so it is always accompanied by itching, stinging, burning sensation at the affected site, redness of the skin, etc. It worsens after time, with cracks developing at sites and bleeding and infections at the affected areas.
5. Erythrodermic psoriasis: This type occurs when your whole body is covered with red, inflamed skin. It may even be painful to touch because of the pain associated with it.
   Homeopathy is one of the best alternative therapies for Psoriasis treatment, as it does not have any side effects and has no reports of recurrence after treatment. Homeopathic remedies are safe to prescribe to pregnant women, children, and older people because they do not cause any known side effects or toxicity when used appropriately at prescribed doses for indicated periods by healthy individuals.

How does homeopathy help in treating psoriasis?

1. The only way to treat psoriasis is to stimulate the body’s defense system (immune system), and constitutional homeopathy can do this effectively, safely, and gently over time like any other chronic condition.
2. Homeopathic medicines are prepared from natural sources like plants, metals, minerals, etc., which are free of any side effects; hence they are very safe even when used for a long duration.
3. Chronic diseases require a more extended treatment than acute conditions, the periods being measured in months and years depending on the severity rather than days or weeks. So there might be a need for repeated medication on the pattern of chronic diseases that need regular treatment.
4. Modern medicines are often used to suppress disease activity. Still, they do not cure it, whereas homeopathy can treat the underlying cause of the disease and not just its symptoms giving a permanent cure for psoriasis.
5. Many homeopathic remedies have been proved effective in treating psoriasis by clinical trials conducted over the years with satisfactory results.
6. The best approach for any case of psoriasis is individualized treatment with constitutional homeopathy. Homeopathic treatment should be started early before much damage is done to the joints, especially elbows, knees, etc., as this may lead to long-term joint problems after clearance of skin condition. So, early homeopathic treatment with constitutional remedies is essential.

What can homeopathic treatment do to your psoriasis?

1. It effectively clears patches of erythema, scales, and fissures which are characteristic features of psoriasis.
2. It brings down the redness, heat, itching, scaling associated with it.
3. It heals skin lesions faster than conventional medicine with no side effects.
4. Suppression of acute flare-ups is seen after starting homeopathic treatment when concomitant conventional medicine fails to do so or leads to various adverse effects like nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, etc., due to prolonged use of steroids and other medications immunosuppressive drugs.
5. The severity of flares decreases after long-term continuous use of constitutional remedies acting on more profound levels through immune system stimulation without any adverse effects if taken under expert guidance.
6. This helps incomplete resolution of psoriasis with no recurrence after completion of homeopathic treatment without any adverse effects even if long-term steroids are needed for active disease control before starting constitutional homeopathy.

When to choose homeopathic treatment for psoriasis?

1. During active stages of psoriasis before forming thick plaques or erythematous bases, scaling is mild to moderate with no destruction of superficial layers of skin; redness, itching is present.
2. In case of extensive involvement over large areas spreading to joints and palms, leaving patches after prolonged use of steroids or other local treatments like tar derivatives which should be discouraged for long-duration application due to various side effects.
3. When conventional treatment fails to clear the disease after 3-4 courses without recurrence, even with continuous usage for a more extended period.
4. During pregnancy, there are safer options available in homeopathy than modern system medications that are known to cause congenital disabilities or abnormalities in newborn babies if used during pregnancy.
5. When other systemic ailments like arthritis, gout, diabetes, etc., present along with psoriasis as the constitutional remedy will also help clear up these concomitant medical problems effectively and quickly without side effects.
6. If the percentage of eosinophils and basophils is more than 34% and 24% respectively in peripheral blood smear for a prolonged duration during active relapses of skin disease, which takes months or years to resolve under conventional treatment alone due to various adverse effects of modern system drugs.
7. For children and adults alike, homeopathy is the safest option for treatment of chronic disorders like psoriasis, where complete resolution from root cause is possible when the constitutional remedy is taken under expert guidance from a proficient homeopath/allopathic physician with combined experience in both systems of medicine with complete recovery in a few months or one year depending upon the severity.
8. In elderly patients who have psoriasis, allopathic medicines can have adverse effects on kidney and liver function tests leading to life-threatening consequences if used with steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs for a prolonged duration.
9. Homeopathy has no side effects in any age group, whether young or old in psoriasis, even treated chronically in the long term without suppression of symptoms.
10. Homeopathy is an excellent choice of treatment for pregnant women who develop psoriasis during this time due to various side effects of allopathic drugs which are contraindicated to use during pregnancy, especially steroids and other immunosuppressive medications should be strictly avoided due to unfavorable outcomes on fetus leading to congenital disabilities or abnormalities in newborn babies.
11. It can also be used as a complementary option and conventional treatment based on the severity of psoriasis, whether mild, moderate, or severe, without any possibility of negative interaction between them.
12. Most importantly, homeopathic remedies are cost-effective compared to allopathic treatments with complete resolution from root cause without recurrence within a few weeks/months once the constitutional medication is taken after detailed case-taking, making it an ideal treatment choice for the long term.

Homeopathic treatment is the best alternative therapy for people who have psoriasis when taken under expert guidance. It would help if you visited a registered homeopathy doctor as soon as possible for a case analysis and further treatment. You can book an appointment through OHO Homeopathy now!