Treatment of Psoriasis

Effective treatment of the dry, red, and flaky skin associated with psoriasis

Many people suffer from psoriasis. Its painful itching and burning lesions cause physical discomfort as well mental anguish for those who are afflicted.

Unfortunately, there is no cure for psoriasis. However, a number of treatments can relieve the symptoms and cause many sufferers to experience drastic improvement in their symptoms.

Psoriasis is not a life-threatening disease. It affects men and women of all ages, but most often those between the ages of 20 and 30.

Although psoriasis is not life-threatening, it is categorized as serious, because the skin disorder is painful and its appearance can be very troublesome to anyone who has it.

If you suspect that you might be suffering from psoriasis, you should consult your doctor to be diagnosed.

Signs of psoriasis are thick and/or raised scaly areas with small buds, which unlike pimples, do not contain pulp.

Psoriasis is most often seen in the hairline and scalp, elbows, knees, or around the nails. The entire body may, in extreme cases, be covered by psoriasis.

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The cause of psoriasis

The root cause of psoriasis is unknown, but recent research suggests that psoriasis is triggered by inflammation due to a problem with the skin’s immune system and T-cells (a type of white blood cell).

This means that while normal skin cells are produced in 28 to 45 days, with psoriasis skin cells are produces in 3 to 6 days. This dramatic cell production is the cause of the scaly skin layers.

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Treatment of Psoriasis

Unfortunately, there is no cure for psoriasis, but as mentioned earlier, there are nonetheless a number of different methods you can use to relieve  the symptoms of psoriasis.

Salicylic acid against Psoriasis

Daily use of salicylic acid (also known as Beta Hydroxy Acid, abbreviated BHA) has shown excellent results against Psoriasis. BHA is an acid that can remove dead skin cells from the skin’s surface (exfoliate the skin) without the use of grains, scrubbing, or the like, in a very soft and gentle way.

BHA is so gentle that it can be used on a daily basis, which has shown the best results, because doing so continuously removes dead cells from the skin’s surface.

The advantage of using BHA is that unlike other acid treatments, BHA simultaneously penetrates the skin and exfoliates the skin from the inside. Additionally, BHA soothing to the skin.

Salicylic acid will therefore not only remove the dead skin cells, it will also help to reduce redness and irritation.

Danish Skin Care’s Perfect Skin Power Treat with salicylic acid could be used on a daily basis for the relief of psoriasis – surely always in a cooperation with your doctors advice.

Salicylic acid has no noticeable side effects. If you can tolerate salicylic acid (and  most people can), it is an easy product to start out with.

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Cortisone cream treatment for psoriasis

Cortisone creams reduce inflammation and itching and reduce the skin’s natural cell division, and are therefore an effective treatment for psoriasis.

Depending on the concentration of cortisone, cortisone cream can cause side–effects such as stinging, irritation, dryness, acne, enlarged blood vessels, and loss of skin color, and should be used with discretion.

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Coal tar treatment for psoriasis

Coal tar can be used for the treatment of psoriasis and is available in non-prescription and prescription strengths of from 1% to 5%.

Tar is effective in the treatment of psoriasis because tar reduces skin-cell division, which will reduce the incidence of psoriasis.

The side-effects of tar treatment for psoriasis include extreme skin sensitivity to UV radiation (sun), skin irritation, unpleasant odor, and clothing discoloration.

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Light therapy treatment for psoriasis

Light (UVA and UVB) has been shown to have a beneficial effect on reducing the symptoms of psoriasis. This is why many with psoriasis experience a reduction in their psoriasis symptomsin the summer or after a vacation in a sunny climate.

The sun emits UVA and UVB rays. These beams, however, dramatically deplete the skin and may cause skin cancer, enhance the process of aging of the skin, and reduce skin immune defenses.

The use of light therapy against psoriasis is effective, but the side-effects are great. This treatment method should be used wisely or not at all, in favor of other therapies.

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Using UVB rays against psoriasis

A doctor may expose skin to UVB rays using special UV lamps to improve psoriasis symptoms.
A more recent form of treatment for psoriasis are lasers that emit UVB light.

UVB lasers work faster than sunlight or UVB irradiation and dramatic improvements can be seen after  ten treatments. A significant advantage of using UVB laser treatment is that UVB lasers can treat targeted areas, so that larger areas of the body are not exposed.