Are you experiencing thick silvery scales and itchy, dry, red patches on your skin that can sometimes be painful? If so, you may have psoriasis, which is a common skin disease that affects the life cycle of skin cells. It is a persistent and chronic disease. There may be instances when your psoriasis symptoms improve or even go into remission alternating with times it may worsen. For some people psoriasis is just a nuisance, but for others it is disabling. There is no cure, but there are treatments that may offer significant relief of symptoms.

Types of Psoriasis

There are five distinct types of psoriasis " plaque, guttate, inverse, pustular and erythrodermic. Plaque psoriasis accounts for approximately 80% of all psoriasis sufferers. It is typically found on the elbows, knees, scalp and lower back. Additionally, it can appear as inflamed, red lesions that are covered by silvery-white scales.

Guttate psoriasis appears as small red dot-like spots, mainly found on the trunk or limbs. It occurs more frequently in children and young adults, coming on suddenly. The sudden response is often due to some other health problem or environmental trigger, such as strep throat, tonsillitis, stress or injury to the skin.

Inverse psoriasis appears as bright red lesions that are smooth and shiny. When experienced, these symptoms can be found in the armpits, groin, under the breasts and in skin folds around the genitals and buttocks. In addition, pustular psoriasis looks like white blisters filled with pus surrounded by red skin. It can appear in a limited area of the skin or all over the body. The pus is made up of white blood cells and is not infectious.

Lastly, erythrodermic psoriasis is one of the most inflamed forms of psoriasis and looks like fiery, red skin that covers large areas of the body that shed in white sheets instead of flakes. This form of psoriasis is usually very itchy and may cause you some pain. Triggers include severe sunburn, infection, pneumonia, medications or abrupt withdrawal of systemic psoriasis treatment.

Treatment Options

If you have mild to moderate psoriasis, it can generally be managed at home using a combination of over the counter medications, prescription topical treatments and light therapy or phototherapy. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration have approved two active ingredients for the treatment of psoriasis: salicylic acid and coal tar. Salicylic acid works by causing the outer layer to shed, while coal tar slows the rapid growth of cells.

When prescription topical treatments are used, the main goal is to slow down the growth of skin cells and reducing any inflammation. Prescription topical treatments often include Anathralin, Calcipotriene and Betamethasone Dipropionate, Calcitrol, Tazarotene and Topical steroids.

Light therapy or phototherapy is controlled exposure of skin to ultraviolet light and has been proven to be a successful treatment for some forms of psoriasis. Sunshine, both UVA and UVB rays, can help alleviate the symptoms of psoriasis, but must be used with careful monitoring to ensure that no other skin damage takes place. Excimer lasers and pulse dye lasers can also be used to eliminate symptoms of psoriasis. For those with moderate to severe psoriasis, treatment often includes prescription medications, biologics and light therapy or photo therapy.

Psoriasis is a genetic disease, but it is not contagious. There is no known cure or prevention, but by talking to your dermatologist in West Palm Beach, you can be prescribed a proper treatment plan to help minimize symptoms.