Psoriasis is a common skin disease that affects the life cycle of skin cells by making the skin cells grow too quickly. The body does not shed these excess skin cells, so the cells build up rapidly on the surface of the skin, forming scales and itchy, dry, red patches and lesions. Psoriasis patches can range from a few spots of dandruff-like scaling to major eruptions that cover large areas. Mild cases of psoriasis may be a nuisance. But more severe cases can be painful, disfiguring and disabling. There are five types of psoriasis: Plaque, guttate, pustular, inverse, and erythrodermic. About 80% of people living with psoriasis have plaque psoriasis. Plaque psoriasis causes patches of thick, scaly skin that may be white, silvery, or red. These patches can develop anywhere on the skin, with the most common areas being the elbows, knees, lower back, and scalp.
Psoriasis is a persistent, long-lasting, chronic disease. Faulty signals in the immune system cause new skin cells to form in days rather than weeks. In other words, the cause of psoriasis is related to the immune system, and more specifically, a type of white blood cell called a T lymphocyte or T cell. T cells travel throughout the body to detect and fight off foreign substances, such as viruses or bacteria. However, if you have psoriasis, the T cells attack healthy skin cells by mistake as if to heal a wound or to fight an infection. The reason T cells trigger this reaction seems to lie in our DNA. People who develop psoriasis inherit genes that cause the condition.
Many people find psoriasis to be just a nuisance, but for many others, it can be disfiguring and disabling--affecting their daily lives, especially for someone with arthritis. Most importantly, the inconvenience of having the condition is probably mostly due to the unpredictable nature of psoriasis. Psoriasis is a chronic medical condition. Some people have frequent flare-ups that occur weekly or monthly, while others have occasional flare-ups. No cure exists, but psoriasis treatments may offer significant relief. Lifestyle measures, such as using a nonprescription cortisone cream and exposing your skin to small amounts of natural sunlight, can improve your psoriasis symptoms. Therefore, improve the condition as soon as possible by contacting your dermatologist. Dr. Umar is a board certified dermatologist in Los Angeles who is very experienced in treating Psoriasis. For more information, please contact FineTouch Dermatology in Los Angeles at (310)318-1500, or visit http://www.finetouchdermatology.com
