Treatments for Psoriasis

Briefly, psoriasis is a chronic, but non-contagious disease which affects the skin in joints. Typically it causes red patches on the affected area. These patches or areas of inflammation are called psoriatic plaques. What happens is that the skin just rapidly accumulates at these sites and turns silvery/white. These spots could happen anywhere, but they are most common around the elbows and knees. The cause is unknown, but there may be links to a genetic passing of the trait. So, now that we have had a refresher as to what psoriasis is we can dig into the treatment ladder. Unfortunately due to our own biochemical differences, the treatment in essence is a trial and error.

Basically, there is a progressive discipline to the treatment of psoriasis including topical, photo, and systemic treatments. The treatments will start at the lowest form and work towards the most severe treatments. Particular treatments are based majorly on the location, type of psoriasis, and severity. It is notable that over time psoriasis can become resistant to a treatment, this can cause a change as well. The first level of treatment available is topical. These treatments include the topical creams, ointments, and steroid creams. Unless your case is severe enough to skip this stage, you will start here. There are both over the counter and prescription medicines that fall into this category. On top of the ointments and medicated creams, you should be able to locate some decent bath or soak treatments.

The next level of treatment is phototherapy. The cheapest version of this is exposure to the sun. The exposure has to be in short durations and you have to avoid burns though. The UV rays in sunlight were identified as beneficial to the treatment of psoriasis. This is what lead to many hospitals adopting the UV treatments they use today. Phototherapy can be used as a stand alone treatment, but is normally combined with the other forms of treatment.

The last level of treatment is systemic treatment. The name is derived from the fact that these treatments are usually in pill or injection form. The medicines are geared towards healing from the inside out. Systemic treatment tends to have a high level of toxicity and requires the patient to be observed closer than the other two forms of treatment. The patient undergoes frequent blood and liver testing to ensure the medicine is not doing more harm than good. Pregnant females are not able to undergo the systemic treatments, again due to toxicity.

These are the three major treatments that are used in most clinics/hospitals. There are also alternative methods of treatment available including climate therapy, doctor fish, and sulphur. With the constant changes in medicine, there is always a new treatment on the horizon.