Psoriasis

[Storer68]

I suffer from it too (mildly and not as much as i did when I was a nioper) , and i find that stress brings it on.....

E45 cream from Boots seems to help.

http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pharmacy2u.co.uk/images/catalogue/medium/E45ShowerCream.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.angliangardener.co.uk/feeds/Health/pharmacy0144.html&usg=__DDOAd7EvKflITs70Cn8d3SuCRDU=&h=300&w=300&sz=61&hl=en&start=12&tbnid=fVCDx1kzKIiOLM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3De45%2Bboots%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den

 

[Mrs Coach]

Stress, shock and oddly enough throat infections! are the major cause in most outbreaks of psoriasis. Girls with psoriaisis in the family may want to think twice before accepting that first fag from a school friend, as the chemicals in cigarettes have been proven to activate psoriasis that is lurking in the genes. Boys, it hasn't been proven on, although there are many cases of it happening! Weird eh. Most sufferers have at least one family member with the disease. Lucky me to have both parents with a mild case eh, I didn't really stand a chance!

There is no proven link to any sort of food or drink allergy or other allergens causing outbreaks, however, person to person, you may find that certain things cause a personal 'flare'. This also is the case for any treatment or drug. A cream that works wonders for one person will not do a jot of difference for the next.

Living as healthily as you can may effect an improvement, however, that is linked to 'de-stress' and general well being. So it's basic common sense in that respect : 5 a day, not smoking or drinking to excess.

Two quite expensive forms of treatment that give TEMPORARY relief are the skin munching fish of Turkey and the Dead Sea treatments in Israel. Both treatments give relief for up to 18 months, are very pricey, and the 'high' of clear skin can give way to depression when your lovely skin starts to blotch up again.
There are groups who travel to the Dead Sea for treatment, so you dont have to have a friend to go with you. Other countries send their 'nhs' patients there for treatment as it costs less than an intensive hospital stay for a sufferer - our nhs unfortunately isn't as forward thinking.

Light treatment is offered in hospitals, and like all treatments, works great for some, and not for others. It involves basically tanning tubes at high intensity for 30 seconds. It burned my skin and was quite painful, but other people have raved about it.

There's loads of creams and lotions the doctor will prescribe, dovobet, dovonex etc. They will only treat the result of the disease (scaly skin) by thinning it out. Lifestyle changes will effect the greatest change. You need to experiment with which creams and lotions have the greatest effect on you personally.
Any food, drink or vitamins that 'nourish' the skin cant do you any harm.

There are several different forms of the disease too. The most common are Plaque (saucer sized patches on knees, elbows and other areas of the body), guttate (tiny patches like dalmations spots all over) but is the easiest to treat and pustular (affecting mainly feet and hands, with scab like patches peeling off with wet skin underneath) - this is quite uncommon.
Lucky me, I've had experience of all three! Hooray!

OP - I'd also advise your friend to check out the psoriasis forums online, as it really helps to find other people are going through the same thing, and can give words of support and encouragement when you need them. They can also give first hand experience of treatments available.

I'm happy to be contacted by him if he needs words of advice from a sufferer of 20+ years!
Paula x

 

[Lethargic]

I have also found some changes in lifestyle can help -
Drink as much water as possible.
Eat fruit as much and often as possible.
Avoid Air conditioning (I know its difficult these days) where possible.

It seemed to help me

 

[Adam Virgo's Shirt]

My ex husband suffers with it, and was given the UVA treatment on the NHS but it left his skin with red/purpley blothches that have never gone away

He too used to see a marked improvement when we went to sunnier climes for our holibobs

The Donovex cream worked well for him, and there was another cream he bought mail order but can't remember the name of it! I think it was herbal in origin but not much help on that one sorry

But re the Methotrexate, I'm intrigued as to why it is prescribed for Psoriasis as Meth is an immuno suppressant. Is Psoriasis an immune disorder then?

To the people who have taken Meth, did you find side effects with it? I agree with Clothes Peg in that I found it an awful drug to take. Made me feel really nauseous for about 72 hours after I took it, so for 3 days out of 7 felt crap and had to keep eating to keep the nausea feelings at bay!

 

[gullshark]

Is Psoriasis an immune disorder then?

Yup! its a T cell disorder.

 

[Mrs Coach]

Metho and Cyclosporin are the two mainly used drugs - but there's a new, very expensive one out too - cant remember the name of it, but it's more effective on guttate sufferers.

 

[Clothes Peg]

But re the Methotrexate, I'm intrigued as to why it is prescribed for Psoriasis as Meth is an immuno suppressant. Is Psoriasis an immune disorder then?

To the people who have taken Meth, did you find side effects with it? I agree with Clothes Peg in that I found it an awful drug to take. Made me feel really nauseous for about 72 hours after I took it, so for 3 days out of 7 felt crap and had to keep eating to keep the nausea feelings at bay!

Apparently it slows down cell growth. Hence why it can cause pregnancy problems and difficulty in conception. In America, it's licenced for use as a chemical abortion drug (according to the internet). Can't believe I willing chuck that crap down my throat every week in the hope it will make me better when it actually makes f*ck all difference.

 

[ATFC Seagull]

Their condition may be caused by food or other allergies. A week abroad could mean a week away from those allergens.

Don't mean to sound rude but that is an absolutely ridiculous reply. I dunno what you are on about mate - this isn't some sort of self-diagnosed thing. My father has suffered from psoriasis since long before I was born, at times practically his entire body covered in sores like the one posted earlier in this thread.

Its nothing to do with diet - its a proven treatment that UV light relieves the sores. He has been through various stages of treatment including PUVA (UV lighting), self-injecting and other stuff - he's lucky enough to see a local specialist on the NHS who for years has been preaching sun - used to get will pissed off when my dad spent all his holidays in Ireland!

 

[Chelt Fan]

Hi Cheltenham Fan here.Suffered for many many years had it particularly bad on my scalp.Went to the barbers one day and a new chap was cutting the hair there he saw the problem and advised me to massage pure Olive Oil into my scalp.Haven't had it since my daughter who also had it on her scalp did the same and hers has gone also.Worth giving it a go good luck its not a nice thing to suffer with

 

[dougdeep]

There's nothing worse than skin problems in my opinion. I've suffered for many years, and it's sometimes as much as 75% of my body. Anyone else with a serious condition should ask to be referred to a specialist as they have access to a bigger range of drugs.

 

[mcshane in the 79th]

What's the difference between it and eczema ? I have to use loads of diprobase for my dry skin, and also find that sun helps clear it up. Although the combination of cold weather and central heating is probs why it is so much worse in winter compared to summer.