Psoriasis is a disease that affects, according to the estimates of WHO experts, from 2 to 4% of the world population. A feature of the disease is that only representatives of the white race suffer from psoriasis. Determining the causes and treatment of psoriasis is considered one of the priority tasks of modern medicine. Today science is very advanced on these issues, but the causes of the disease have not yet been fully understood, just as the ways to a complete cure for this disease have not been found.
Causes of psoriasis
Physiologically, psoriasis is caused by a too short life cycle of skin cells. While this cycle normally goes from 21 to 28 days, in patients with psoriasis the cycle lasts only 3-6 days. This is what causes psoriatic plaques to form. The reason for this phenomenon is mainly debated among specialists. While some consider psoriasis to be a disease caused by hereditary factors, others believe that the disease occurs due to malfunctions of the immune system, which are a direct consequence of a whole range of various external factors.
Today, among doctors, the multifactorial theory prevails, which explains the onset of psoriasis with the following reasons:
- Inheritance;
- Malfunctions of the immune system due to:
- Postponed infectious diseases;
- incorrect nutrition;
- Alcohol abuse;
- Unfavorable climatic conditions.
However, all the experts are absolutely in agreement on one thing, psoriasis is not a contagious disease and it is impossible to "catch" it on the street like the flu or a sore throat.
Symptoms of psoriasis
Today doctors consider psoriasis a systemic pathology, that is, it is customary to speak of psoriasis as a pathology with complex effects.
It is believed that the earliest signs of psoriasis development are:
- A constant feeling of general weakness;
- Feeling tired;
- Frequent depression and depression.
These symptoms should be alarming. However, the clinical symptoms of psoriasis manifest themselves in skin lesions. In the case of psoriasis, it is very often psoriatic plaques that suddenly appear on the patient's body. They may initially be small (a few millimeters), but over time they can grow significantly (up to 10 centimeters in diameter).
By the nature of the rash, psoriasis is usually divided into:
- Spot (the diameter of the plates is small, it does not exceed the diameter of a match head);
- Drop-shaped, sized with a lentil grain, but droplet-shaped;
- Round coin-shaped plaques resembling a coin up to 5mm in diameter.
A feature of psoriasis is the formation of scales on the plaques, which are very easy to remove. This is due to the fact that they are formed from the cells of the keratinized epidermis. The ladder first forms in the center of the plate and subsequently spreads to the edges. Sometimes a pink ring forms around the plaque, which indicates the growth of the plaque itself. When the scales are removed, a smooth, shiny surface of the skin remains, which has a pink color, due to the proximity of the location of the blood vessels (capillaries).
Psoriasis classification, what psoriasis looks like (photo)
In most cases, doctors deal with ordinary (vulgar) psoriasis. However, in about 10% of cases, the manifestations of psoriasis have other external signs, which can be clearly seen in the photo.
According to the external manifestations of psoriasis, it is customary to distinguish the following forms:
- Psoriasis vulgaris (common). It begins with a rash of small papules that vary in size from a matchstick head to a pea. Scaling occurs on these papules and the papule turns into a typical psoriatic plaque. As a rule, the plaques have well-defined boundaries, which allow them to be clearly visualized in relation to healthy skin. The plaque can be itchy. If the patient tries to remove a papule or plaque, peeling is observed. After the flake is removed, a smooth, shiny surface is revealed. If you continue the scraping process, droplets of blood appear very quickly, the so-called "blood dew";
- Psoriatic erythroderma. This, an extremely unpleasant disease like form of psoriasis, occurs in about 2% of those suffering from this disease. Erythroderma manifests itself in the form of severe itching, widespread redness of the skin and lamellar peeling. Often, psoriatic erythroderma is associated with generalized pustular psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. Often, infections such as strep infections complicate the course of the disease. Sometimes erythroderma occurs spontaneously already in the first stage of psoriasis. In some cases, erythroderma develops due to improper treatment of psoriasis;
- Pustular psoriasis. This form of the disease is characterized by the formation of pustules that resemble small abscesses. With flux, this form of psoriasis can be generalized and localized. With a localized form, pustules are found in the area of the soles of the feet and palms. With a generalized form, the patient has an increase in body temperature and signs of intoxication of the body. This form of psoriasis is very dangerous and can even be fatal;
- Psoriatic arthritis. Many experts distinguish it as an independent autoimmune disease. It appears in the form of an inflammatory process in the patient's joints and muscles;
- Nail psoriasis. In some cases, common psoriasis affects the nail plates, hence it is referred to as nail psoriasis. The defeat of the nails by psoriasis is very similar to a fungal infection. Due to the disease, the nail plate can deform and eventually even completely disappear.
Psoriasis treatment
Modern medicine does not yet have in its arsenal of means that can completely cure psoriasis, there is still not enough knowledge about the causes and features of the course of the disease. However, in the arsenal of doctors there is a number of drugs that can significantly relieve the manifestations of psoriasis and transfer them from the acute stage to long-term remission. In the treatment of psoriasis, the doctor takes into account the age, sex, lifestyle, state of health of the patient and only taking into account all these factors chooses a treatment strategy.
Most often, the treatment of psoriasis begins with external therapy. These include:
- Salicylic ointment, which is used as the disease progresses;
- Hormonal drugs that are prescribed if salicylic ointment is useless;
- Creams containing ditronal. They have anti-inflammatory effects and help get rid of psoriasis symptoms fairly quickly.
But not always the means of external therapy bring the desired result. Then a different treatment tactic is chosen, and a systematic approach is considered one of the most effective methods today.
Traditional medicine in the treatment of psoriasis
There are a huge number of traditional medicine recipes for psoriasis. Many of them really help in the treatment of this disease. But do not overestimate the possibilities of such recipes, since traditional medicine can be used as an auxiliary therapy, but in no case as a primary means of treatment.
Probably the most common traditional medicine for psoriasis is celandine. Unfortunately, this method can only be treated in the summer, when finding celandine is not a problem. The essence of the method lies in the action of plant sap on the plates. It is enough to simply break the stem and direct the droplets of juice on this fracture on the skin affected by psoriasis. This should be done every day for three months. The maximum effect of treatment is believed to occur in the third year of treatment.
In second place in popularity is birch tar, which is simply spread over the affected surface for an hour. According to another method, after such application of tar, it is recommended to use celandine juice. The course of treatment in the first and second cases is 15 days.
Egg-based ointment is considered to be very popular in the treatment of psoriasis. To prepare it, take two raw eggs and mix them with sunflower (olive) oil and whisk. Next, add half a tablespoon of vinegar to the resulting mixture. Affected areas are smeared with a mixture once a day. The mixture itself is stored in a cool dark place.
It helps very well with the exacerbation of psoriasis and a bath to which a decoction of walnut shells is added. For a bath, you need to prepare half a kilo shells of walnuts. The bath is carried out for no more than 15-20 minutes at a temperature not higher than 37 degrees. It is recommended to take ten baths with breaks in one day.
Diet for psoriasis
According to many experts, proper nutrition in psoriasis is extremely important to avoid prolonged periods of exacerbation of the disease. It is believed that the essence of the diet is to maintain the acid-base balance towards the alkaline component. Thus, 70-80% of the products should be alkaline and only 20-25 acid-forming.
Those that form alkali include:
- Fruits (except black and red currants, blueberries, plums, plums and grapes);
- Vegetables (excluding legumes, Brussels sprouts, squash, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines).
It is customary to refer to acid-forming products:
- Starch;
- The cheese;
- Sugar;
- Meat
- Butter;
- Cream.
Therefore, a psoriasis patient's diet should include:
- Water (at least 2 liters per day);
- Fresh steamed fruit (canned fruit not desirable). We recommend apples, dates, figs, apricots, oranges, peaches, raisins;
- Vegetables, even fresh or steamed. Recommended beets, cucumbers, lettuce, carrots, celery, spinach, zucchini, watercress, cabbage.
- Cereals (in small quantities). Recommended are buckwheat, wheat, barley, millet porridge, as well as baked goods based on rice and cornmeal;
- Lean fish, four times a week
- Poultry (chicken), two or three times a week. It is allowed to give a sick young ram once a week;
- Milk (better skimmed);
- Soft-boiled eggs, two or three times a week;
- Vegetable oil at the rate of 3 teaspoons per day.
Prophylaxis
And although there is no way to prevent psoriasis, there are ways to significantly reduce its manifestations and maximize the remission phase.
For this you need:
- Take care of your skin and keep it moist;
- Avoid excessive exposure to cold or hot air;
- Minimize the likelihood of injury to the skin surface;
- Give up alcohol and tobacco;
- All diseases come from the nerves, so you need to minimize the stressful effects and try to be in harmony with yourself and the world around you.