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Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a long term autoimmune condition that causes inflammation of your skin. It affects around 1 in 50 people in the UK, with flare ups that can vary in severity. The condition causes crusty patches to appear on your skin, which can look as if they're covered in scales.
These patches might present as red or pink on brown, black and white skin, with silvery or white scales. On brown and black skin the patches can also be dark brown or purple, with grey scales.
Where can psoriasis appear on the body?
It can present anywhere on the body, including the scalp, hands, elbows, feet and genitals. It can also affect the joints.
What are the different types of psoriasis?
Plaque psoriasis
The most common form of psoriasis, causing dry skin lesions covered in scales, known as plaques, often on your elbows, knees, scalp and lower back. These plaques can be sore and itchy.
Scalp psoriasis
A type of plaque psoriasis, it can occur on parts of your scalp or on your entire scalp, causing patches of skin covered in thick scales. While you mind find scalp psoriasis to be incredibly itchy, it doesn’t always cause discomfort. In acute cases it can cause you to lose some of your hair, though this is usually temporary.
Nail psoriasis
Half of all people with psoriasis will find that the condition affects their nails, causing them to discolour, develop tiny dents, or to grow abnormally. Nails might separate from the nail bed, or less commonly, may deteriorate.
Guttate psoriasis
Guttate psoriasis causes small tear-shaped sores to develop on your chest, arms, legs and scalp. Often guttate psoriasis will disappear altogether after a few weeks, but some people do develop plaque psoriasis. This type of psoriasis sometimes occurs after a streptococcal throat infection. Antibiotics might be recommended to treat the infection.
Inverse (flexural) psoriasis
This affects the creases of your skin, such as your groin, armpits, and between your buttocks. It can cause smooth patches of skin to develop in any or all of these areas.
Sweating and friction can aggravate the symptoms of inverse psoriasis, so it can be more uncomfortable in hot weather.
What is psoriatic arthritis?
Around 1 in 5 people diagnosed with psoriasis, will develop psoriatic arthritis, an inflammatory condition that can cause tenderness, pain and swelling in your joints, and sometimes lead to joint damage. Again, it varies from one person to another in severity, but early treatment is highly recommended by experts to minimise the damage to your joints.
How common is psoriasis?
It affects around 3% of people and can appear at any age, but is most common between the ages of 11 and 45. It can look unsightly and make you feel uncomfortable but it is not infectious.
What causes psoriasis?
Psoriasis is a condition that affects the immune system. When someone has psoriasis the rate at which their skin is replaced speeds up. Normally it takes 21-28 days to replace skin cells, but with psoriasis this can happen in just a few days. As a result, the skin cells can build up on the surface of the skin and appear as raised red, flaky patches.
What can trigger a psoriasis flare-up?
Many people with psoriasis will find that symptoms start or intensify because of a certain event, called a trigger.
Common triggers of psoriasis include:
- Having a throat infection or another type of infection
- An injury to your skin, through a cut or scrape, or surgery
- Using certain medicines, such as lithium or beta blockers
- Emotional stress
- Changes to your body temperature due to the weather
It’s important to know that psoriasis is not contagious, so it cannot be spread through human contact.
Can psoriasis be cured?
Psoriasis is a long-term (chronic) condition that is thought to run in families. Symptoms can appear and disappear at different times, with the severity of symptoms changing. While psoriasis can't be cured, there is a huge amount our specialists can do to help manage your symptoms and work out your triggers.
What are some of the most effective treatments for psoriasis?
Our team of Consultant Dermatologists will try to understand possible causes of any psoriasis flare ups, and work to improve symptoms, and the look and feel of your skin.
Often, first-line treatment will be a topical treatment, such as a topical corticosteroids, moisturisers for dry skin, medicated shampoos, or vitamin D ointment.
If your condition is more severe and creams on their own are not effective, we might recommend a treatment called phototherapy. Phototherapy works by exposing your skin to specific types of ultraviolet light.
In more acute cases, systemic treatments may be necessary. These are oral medicines, or medicines that are injected into your skin to work throughout your entire body.
How can I take care of myself if I have psoriasis?
Psoriasis can just be a minor irritation for some people, but for others it can have a severe impact on quality of life. Persistent symptoms and flare ups can understandably lead to low mood or depression, so it’s always a good idea to see a specialist if you are concerned about your skin.
People with psoriasis are more prone to high blood pressure, raised cholesterol and heart disease, so it's also advisable to talk to one of our GPs about this in order to assess your risk and make sure you receive the right treatments.
In the meantime, it’s important to remember that psoriasis is an inflammatory condition, and there are several things you can do to help yourself, including avoiding any known triggers. Other suggestions include:
- Eating a healthy diet and exercising regularly
- Quitting smoking and reducing your alcohol intake
- Finding ways to reduce stress, such as yoga or meditation
- Making sure you take your prescribed medications
- Keeping your skin well moisturised to prevent dryness and cracking
Our Consultant Dermatologists are highly experienced in managing psoriasis and can work closely with you to create a long term treatment plan, including lifestyle changes based on your known triggers and individual needs.
Visit our London clinic for your psoriasis
We know about the impact that psoriasis can have on your life. Our Consultant Dermatologists have extensive experience in diagnosing and treating psoriasis, to give you the best possible care for your symptoms. You can make an appointment online or call 020 7244 4200 to find out more about how we can help you.
