Causes and Symptoms of Psoriasis

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Affecting close to one out of every fifty adults, psoriasis is a physical condition that can cause significant mental suffering. Clinical research has come to the conclusion that although psoriaisis manifests itself as a skin complaint, the actual cause is rooted in the immune system of the body.

There are a number of different symptoms connected with a flare up of psoriasis including salmon colored skin that becomes cracked, flaky and irritated. With plaque psoriasis, which is also the most commonplace type, the afflicted areas develop round, oval or irregular formed patches of red which are covered with skin that is scaly and silver colored. There is no consistence in the size or shape of the patchy areas and occasionally, individual smaller patches can merge together and appear as a single large irregular shape of irritated skin. sometimes cracks and bleeds|These areas are unsightly and on occasions crack and start bleeding].

Affected skin can be very sore and often has a burning sensation. There are no hard and fast rules as to how long any particular flare-up will last. It could last ten days or you may have to endure it for several weeks. One of the worst aspects for those affected is that it is a chronic complaint and recurring flare-ups can happen at any time.

Even though any part of the body can be affected by psoriasis, the most frequent areas are the hands, head, trunk, elbows and knees. Flare-ups are inclined to be symmetric, meaning that both sides of the body will experience flare-ups in identical areas at the same time.

Hereditary factors play some role in psoriasis which means that those folks with parents or grandparents who have had psoriasis have a greater risk that they will develop it also. For some unidentified reason, T-cells, which are required to make the white blood cells that assist our bodies to fight infection, cause the skin to become inflamed. These same cells also set off some bodily process which results in the over production of skin cells. With nowhere else to go, these surplus skin cells accumulate on top of one another and create the telltale appearance of raised patches on the skin’s exterior. The red look is a result of increased blood supply that is required to sustain these skin cells.

Although not the causes of psoriasis, common triggers include sunlight, strep infections and injuries, both past and present, to the skin Anxiety and stress can also trigger an outbreak as can changes in hormone levels. Higher incidences of psoriasis have also been noted in those folks with the early stages of HIV infection. Smokers and alcohol drinkers are thought to be at greater risk of developing psoriasis although it is not contagious and cannot be passed on.

In the absence of any known cure for psoriasis, there are several effectual treatments that can at least ease the symptoms. Resisting the temptation to scratch the affected area and keeping it moist is a great start.

Topical treatments are used initially with a view to slowing the excess production of skin cells. Coal tar, salicylic acid, corticosteroids, synthetic vitamin D, tazorac and anthrallin are common localized treatment choices as are specially formulated bathing products and moisturizers. For more serious cases where localized treatments maybe ineffectual, systemic medications may be prescribed by the physician. Phototherapy, where patients are exposed to medically-supervised ultraviolet radiation is also effectual in treating psoriasis.

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