If you’ve been diagnosed with psoriasis, you may be wondering what exactly the disease is and how it will affect your life.
Psoriasis is an autoimmune disease that causes new skin cells to grow much faster than normal, leading to raised, red patches and flaky scales that can be painful and even itchy.
Learn more about the most common causes and symptoms of psoriasis here!
What is psoriasis?
Itching, red patches on your skin, or scales. These are just some of the psoriasis’ common symptoms. But what exactly is psoriasis?
It’s a disease that affects your immune system and causes inflammation, skin cell build-up, and sometimes even joint pain in the affected areas.
There are five main types of psoriasis: plaque psoriasis (the most common), guttate psoriasis (appears as small lesions or spots), inverse psoriasis (underneath the skin), pustular psoriasis (pus-filled bumps), or erythrodermic (redness all over).
Depending on your symptoms and which type you have, treatment can range from creams to medication to surgery.
What are the common causes?
While it’s not fully understood what exactly causes psoriasis, some common triggers may increase your risk.
These include Stress (both physical and mental) Smoking Alcohol Skin injuries Chronic skin conditions such as atopic dermatitis or eczema Changes in diet A history of infection from strep throat or infected cuts/scrapes Exposure to toxic chemicals Heavy alcohol consumption Certain medications Blood disorders Family history Genes (it’s strongly believed that heredity plays a role in developing psoriasis) Some experts believe that changes in gut bacteria could cause or contribute to certain cases of psoriasis.
There’s no scientific proof for these claims yet, but research is ongoing.
What are the general symptoms of psoriasis?
The most common symptom is itching, which can happen when a new patch appears or if you’re exposed to certain triggers.
To relieve itchiness, avoid scratching any red or scaly areas on your skin, use moisturizers regularly, and make sure to wear loose-fitting clothes that allow air to circulate.
When your skin isn’t exposed to triggers like stress or hot weather, it often clears up quickly.
If symptoms flare up periodically throughout your life but aren’t severe enough for treatment, you may just have mild psoriasis.
If periods of severe psoriasis come in cycles alongside times of milder symptoms, you likely have moderate-to-severe psoriasis.
How can you manage your diet?
There are several things you can do to manage your diet so that it doesn’t interfere with psoriasis.
The first is to limit gluten intake. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and a few other grains.
Oats have no gluten, but they’re often cross-contaminated with gluten during production. If you have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), avoiding all foods containing wheat, rye, barley, or oats may help the psoriasis symptoms.
For other psoriasis-infected people who just want to avoid gluten for specific reasons, it’s a little more complicated because many products contain hidden sources of wheat proteins, such as hydrolysed wheat protein or maltodextrin.
These ingredients are usually listed on food labels as natural flavors or vegetable broth.
How can I maintain a healthy lifestyle?
If you’re someone with psoriasis, you may be focused on finding ways to treat your condition. However, it’s important to take care of yourself both mentally and physically to maximize your health.
To that end, here are some points you can follow to stay healthy:
Get adequate rest — Even if you’re constantly busy taking care of others or just thinking about work-related matters, consider giving yourself some time for rest each day.
Exercise and meditation: Go for a walk at lunchtime, listen to a meditation tape or take a short nap during your break. You’ll feel better and more productive when you get back to work.
Eat right: Eating well is an essential part of maintaining good health. It not only helps keep your skin clear but also gives you energy throughout the day so that you can live life fully.
Make sure to eat plenty of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains while avoiding too much sugar and processed foods.
What can I do at home?
If you’re dealing with psoriasis, there are many things you can do at home to help keep your skin healthy.
First, it is important to understand what factors lead to flare-ups. Finding out your triggers will help prevent symptoms from occurring when possible.
Here are some of the most common triggers for psoriasis.
Stress: A stressful event in your life could be one of your triggers. It might not seem related to a flare-up, but stress is known to affect the immune system function.
In addition, people who have an anxiety disorder or depression are more likely to develop psoriasis than those who don’t suffer from these conditions.
It’s also worth noting that stress tends to worsen the existing symptoms and can make them last longer than they normally would have otherwise.
What should I avoid doing?
Although no cure exists for psoriasis, it’s possible to control symptoms. In addition to this, a few lifestyle choices can worsen it.
Here are some tips to help you live well with psoriasis. Avoid caffeine: In addition to aggravating stress levels, which can worsen psoriasis symptoms, studies suggest that caffeine consumption may also make skin lesions more severe in people with psoriasis.
In moderation (no more than one cup a day), tea doesn’t seem to cause problems for most people with psoriasis.
Where can I find help in managing my condition?
If you have psoriasis, you probably want to know what causes it so that you can manage your condition better.
The exact cause of psoriasis is not known, but some risk factors are involved in developing psoriasis.
These risk factors include family history, smoking, and obesity. Those who do not have any associated risk factors may simply develop psoriasis as a result of stress or other unknown factors that can trigger it.
For example, if you recently experienced trauma or had surgery performed on your skin, you may notice new patches appear in these areas after recovering from these procedures.
What are the primary treatments?
The first step in managing psoriasis is to identify what form it takes. T-cell (also known as plaque) psoriasis, which accounts for about 10% of cases, involves red, scaly patches on areas like elbows and knees.
Guttate psoriasis causes clear drops to appear on the skin’s surface. Nail psoriasis manifests itself through thinning nails with ridges.
Inverse psoriasis shows up as pink or purple patches with a whitish halo around them that lie flat against your skin.
Erythrodermic psoriasis affects all the areas of your body and can cause internal inflammation as well as skin redness.