How to cure psoriasis?

[summer8105]

I recently dealt with a 3 month long outbreak of guttate psoriasis. The only way to cure it is with sunshine and daily sun or UV exposure. Additionally, taking vitamin supplements such as vitamin D and zinc are helpful as well as probiotics (expensive but worth it). Good luck!

[LurkLurkLurk43]

Depends how severe it is. Mine is horrible so I’m on one of the new biologic drugs - Taltz and Cosentyx and those. For more mild psoriasis, you may find improvement from some of these things:

Avoid fragrances in body/skin/hair products and ALSO laundry detergent and fabric softener - basically anything that will be in contact with your skin, you want to avoid as many irritants as possible, and fragrance is a big one.

Take care of your skin. By this I mean don’t use harsh overly drying cleansers/soaps, and moisturize. Again skin irritation = more psoriasis.

Try to reduce your stress in general. Psoriasis is actually an immune system thing, not a skin thing, so anything that gets your immune system all wound up and cranky can make it worse. Stress/lack of sleep/poor diet will all make your immune system unhappy, so do self care.

Get your vitamin D levels checked - these go to proper functioning of the immune system also. But too much is also bad, so check before adding supplements. It’s a blood test most doctors can order.

Try to wear soft/non-irritating clothing as much as possible. Psoriasis tends to pop up in places with a lot of rubbing, so tight waistbands and bra bands can encourage psoriasis patches to form. I can’t go without a bra, but I try to take my normal one off and swap it for a very soft ‘sleeping’ bra when I’m at home. It isn’t nearly as supportive or flattering (which is why I don’t wear it all the time) but it’s good enough for home or in the winter under several bulky layers. Likewise I change from jeans/trousers to soft knit lounge pants.

Talk to a doctor about the topical choices availible. You want to be careful, especially on the face, but sometimes you just need the extra oomph to make a spot go away, particularly if it’s in a really bad place.

Also consult a doctor about UV therapy. There’s a couple ways to do it and it’s usually very successful, but you do have to go back to the doctor’s office a lot in most cases. (Sometimes you can get a home unit approved, but I don’t know how popular they are.) Do not just go tanning - the amount of UV you want to get the desired benefit without unnecessary risk of skin cancer is quite specific and tanning booths and the sun are hard to control properly. The UV set up in a doctor’s office is maintained and tested out the wazoo so they can make fine adjustments and get exactly what strength they want. Also, tanning beds are not necessarily the right form of UV. Definitely don’t just go tanning without looking into how UV therapy is done properly first - if you burn yourself too badly in addition to the skin cancer risk, it can actually make the psoriasis worse. (Because skin irritation.)

Finally, this is not really about treating psoriasis but a lot of people overlook it - be aware that if you have psoriasis or a family history of psoriasis (like a parent or sibling has it) you can get a form of arthritis called psoriatic arthritis. So if you have what you think may be an unreasonable amount of joint and tendon aches and pains, consult a doctor and make sure they know about the psoriasis and are familiar with psoriatic arthritis. (Some doctors are not aware PsA is a thing and will just guess at some other type of arthritis or brush you off entirely, and PsA does not respond to the same treatments as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.)

[ScottHiggins]

A month ago, my mother was admitted to the hospital and because of this I experienced a lot of stress. It seems to me that stress has affected the fact that red spots began to appear on my hands. They don't hurt or make me uncomfortable. The skin on these spots is a little flaky. Could you please tell me if it is psoriasis?