What this is?
- Psoriasis is a condition of the skin
- In this condition, one of the cells ( keratinocytes) that make
up the layers of the skin, divide and multiply excessively.
- It is chronic ( lasts for a long time) but doesn't spread from
one person to another ( non-contagious)
- Many factors work together to cause the disease. The factors
responsible for causing psoriasis are
- stress
- Infection ( staphylococcus, streptococcus, HIV)
- Alcohol
- Drugs ( aspirin, Iodine)
- Genetic predisposition ( that explains why the patient and his
father have the disease)
- Your immune system starts attacking its own tissues
(autoimmunity)
- Obesity
What occurs?
This disease affects the skin, eyes, and joints. However, Skin
is the most common organ to be involved.
Skin lesion looks like
- Raised palpable plaques with a clear boundary between skin
lesion and normal skin
- These plaque are itchy
- irregular in shape
- The skin lesions are dry and scaly (scales are
silvery-white)
- It can be present of the trunk, scalp, and outer surface of
upper and lower limbs (extensor surface). The lesion are present on
both sides of the body.
- It may affect the nails (pitting, the nail may separate from
the nail bed)
- It may involve the joints of the hands - the joint present
close to the nail bed ( distal interphalangeal joint) and can also
involve the spine.
Two treatments that may assist him?
- Topical steroid applications (halobetasol) - this cream reduces
the size of the lesion and complete resolution can occur by 4 - 6
weeks
- Phototherapy with psoralen with ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B
- this form of treatment will reduce the cell turn over and destroy
the cells in the lesion.