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Psoriasis symptoms, treatments and causes

Author: Sophie Eagan
Published: Apr 8 2014

According to statistics 125 million people worldwide suffer with this condition, that’s 2-3% of the population. Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease, it is pronounced - sore-eye-ah-sis. It’s a medical condition where the cells grow too quickly, signals from the immune system then tell more skin cells to grow days later rather than weeks, the body does not shed the old skin cells quick enough.

Psoriasis Symptoms & Treatments

The Signs & Symptoms

There are currently 5 different types of Psoriasis, the most common being plaque. 80% of people with Psoriasis have this, Plaque Psoriasis can be spotted by looking at areas of the skin to see whether the area is white, silvery or red. The most common areas are knees, elbows, lower back and scalp. The other four types are Guttate, Pulstar, Inverse and erythrodermic.

Psoriasis is also known to affect nails, 50% of people that are already suffering from the disease also see changed to their finger and toenails. You can tell this if the nail starts to come away from the nailbed, starts to develop pitting or turns a yellow/orange colour. Without treatments, this form of Psoriasis can progress and become debilitating. If you think you have this, it is important to go and see a dermatologist who can advise you further and also advise you of possible treatments, the earlier the better as you can prevent deterioration.

What Causes Psoriasis?

First of all Psoriasis is NOT contagious, you cannot get it just from touching someone, swimming in pool areas etc. It is much more complex than that, so complex that Scientists are still studying how it forms and develops! What we do know is that a person's genes and immune system play a major role, when a person has Psoriasis the T cells (which are in the white blood cells) trigger another skin cell by accident, thus causing Psoriasis! This is why at times you may hear the disease being referred to as - T-Cell mediated disease.

Who Can Get Psoriasis?

People all over the world develop Psoriasis, in the USA alone there are cases of 7.5 million people with the disease and around 150,000 new cases per year! Studies also show that Psoriasis develops equally between men and women so it is not just one sex that forms Psoriasis. Another study shows that Caucasians develop the disease more frequently than in other races. If you have a family history of Psoriasis, then it is a lot more likely you will also develop it.

The Treatments

This can be a tricky one indeed, as there are many different treatments out on the open markets but not all of them suit everyone! It can be very frustrating finding the right treatment as it can take a number of weeks to see any improvements. Treatments range from creams and shampoos, ultraviolet light therapy, systemic tablets and also biologic infections. There will be times when the condition gets you down, however don’t let new treatments stop, you must visit your doctor between each treatment so they can review your progress and condition before moving forward with another.

Author Bio: Sophie Eagan is a long term sufferer of Psoriasis, she found finding treatments hard and she did feel down a few times, but she did not let this stop her and she finally found her treatment. Sophie now lives a very happy life and the treatment is working like a charm! For those who would like to try her treatment, see Tinefcon.

Image source: http://farm1.staticflickr.com/195/489536302_1803dcc666_b.jpg

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