Statistical data indicate a colossal percentage of patients with psoriasis worldwide - within 3-5%. Mostly the disease affects the skin, which manifests itself as a red rash, with a characteristic inflammatory reaction. In this case, the plate is covered with a silver scale on top. The main difficulty in treating the disease is the lack of drugs for a complete cure. It is assumed that the main factors influencing the spread of psoriasis are: metabolic deviations, external factors, stress and heredity.
Most scientists agree that heredity plays one of the most important roles. In the presence of genetic abnormalities, any external stimulation can trigger the manifestation of psoriasis. These can be nervous, depressive, psycho-emotional abnormalities, poor-quality clothing material, mechanical damage to the skin, poisoning with chemical compounds, infectious diseases, etc. Methods of treating psoriasis are reduced to the transition of the disease from acute symptoms to asymptomatic manifestations. Of great importance is not only the behavior of a person during the relapse period, but also the prevention of psoriasis, for which prevention is responsible.
The main methods of preventing psoriasis
Psoriasis prevention consists in maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eliminating negative factors. At the same time, prevention has a fairly general form, that is, it allows you to prevent the development of other diseases, since immunity is improved and the body works smoothly, the probability of qualitatively resisting environmental stimuli increases.
Prevention is a set of measures aimed at maintaining health in the body. There are several areas of influence that can help prevent relapse:
- High quality skin care;
- Stick to a diet;
- A relaxing massage is recommended;
- Refusal of bad habits;
- Avoid stress and depression;
- Prevent corrosive chemicals from entering the skin and respiratory tract;
- Maintain the right level of trace elements and vitamins in the body.
Skin care
High-quality and thorough skin care is required:
- Periodically carry out water procedures, even in the cold season. For a hot season, you can use a cool shower, pouring, and in a cold period, use hot baths with the addition of soda, salt, herbs, etc. ;
- It is important to take care of your skin so as not to cause irritation and cuts. Use soft sponges, and it is better to refuse hard sponges altogether, otherwise a relapse is possible;
- Eliminate solid soaps from use. Also prevent the entry of solvents such as gasoline, kerosene; It is better to wash the hair on the head with special shampoos, which contain the spread of the disease and can act as a treatment for psoriasis. These include shampoos, conditioners and lotions;
- Prevent cracking of the skin to rule out the likelihood of symptoms. After taking a bath or shower, it is important to moisturize the skin, for this use masks, creams, ointments, etc. This accelerates the restoration of the hydrolipidic membrane and prevents increased water loss. It is necessary to use such means once a day;
- Indoor humidity should be at an optimal level (50-55%). If the air is too dry, the skin begins to dry out and then crack. Humidifiers can be used;
- Increased air circulation increases skin dryness in air conditioners and drafts. It is necessary to limit the time spent in such premises;
- Mechanical damage must be excluded. Cuts, bruises, abrasions, skin tears often cause a relapse;
- Chemicals, such as bathroom care, should be used to a minimal extent and only with personal protective equipment, even if prolonged exposure to the respiratory tract is also harmful;
- Trim nails short to avoid accidental skin injury;
- Some types of cosmetics contain aggressive substances in their composition, which adversely affect the skin. You may need to switch to medical cosmetics.
Application of the wellness massage
Psoriasis prevention becomes even more effective if massage is applied. Massage techniques that stimulate blood circulation are considered to be particularly beneficial. Thanks to active blood circulation, the removal of metabolites, toxins is accelerated, and the skin regeneration process is accelerated, preventing the exacerbation of the disease. The massage involves using your fingers to gradually stretch the skin around the plaque. It is necessary to capture an area of 2-4 cm around the affected area. The plaques themselves should not be touched, it is fraught with aggravation of the disease. A full body massage can be done to prevent new plaque from forming. Mostly it is necessary to work out the back, then move on to massage the limbs and the end of the abdomen. The rib cage responds well to squeezing and rubbing. The duration of the procedure is 10-15 minutes.
Proper nutrition and diet
Nutrition plays a vital role in preventing the development of almost all chronic diseases, and psoriasis and its prevention are no exception. There are some diet programs that can produce positive results, such as the Pegano diet, but the essence is the same and it is to eliminate harmful substances. It is because of the negative effects of food that relapses occur. This is justified by the fact that liver damage in psoriasis is a characteristic course of the disease.
- Do not eat fried, spicy, salty and pickled dishes at all. Also exclude canned food, semi-finished products can be eaten in small quantities, but only homemade. Eat perishable foods with caution. All this compromises the food transformation process in the digestive tract;
- Do not eat citrus fruits, as they are considered highly allergenic fruits. Also in the composition of citrus fruits there is colchicine, which destroys folic acid and, in turn, is one of the important components of skin regeneration;
- It is not recommended to eat corn;
- Relapses are possible due to bananas, mangoes and strawberries;
- It is forbidden to eat sweets and flour-based products;
- Eating potatoes is acceptable, but it should be significantly reduced. This is due to the high potassium content. Reacting with sodium, they antagonize calcium. Calcium is important in addressing the inflammatory response;
- Fatty meats should be kept to a minimum, mainly pork and lamb. Replace with more dietary meats;
- Highly allergenic foods are: eggs, tomatoes, coffee, chocolate, honey and mushrooms;
- Dairy products are healthy because they contain a lot of protein and fat. It is recommended to introduce cottage cheese, milk, fermented cooked milk and cheese into the diet. Thanks to the most important amino acids, the course of biochemical reactions throughout the body is normalized. At the same time, a high calcium content helps to eliminate inflammation and allergic manifestations;
- Treating and preventing psoriasis works well with plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits, and herbs. However, they should be eaten raw. Carrots have beneficial properties, thanks to vitamin A. This component leads to the normalization of skin metabolism and helps to perform faster regeneration;
- Porridge should be present in the diet every day. The most useful cereals are: wheat, oats and buckwheat;
- For the fastest treatment of psoriasis, it is necessary to drink plenty of fluids, including juices, water, including mineral water, tea, etc. ;
- If you have an intolerance, avoid using allergens. This nuance is determined with the help of the attending physician.
Quitting alcohol and smoking
There is no reliable data on whether alcohol can provoke the disease, but it is known that in patients with already developed psoriasis, the course of the disease is greatly aggravated by drinking. It is also possible to generalize the usual vulgar form of the disease to a more severe form, for example, psoriatic erythroderma.
As for smoking, everything is a little simpler. It is noted that it can provoke both the disease itself and aggravate the current form of the disease. Particularly at risk are people who consume 20 or more cigarettes per day. The main problem is a decrease in the activity of the immune system due to a lack of oxygen and a weakening of muscle tone and vascular walls. It is also important that smoking aggravates blood circulation through the capillaries, as well as suppressing antioxidant protection.
A healthy lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is one of the fundamental factors that affect the well-being of the skin. It is important to have a good daily routine, including getting enough sleep. Doctors most often advise to go out into nature, in the fresh air, go to the sea, to resorts, to sanatoriums.
Physical activity helps restore a healthy state of the body, which is the main disease prevention factor. Sports activities are great, especially fitness and swimming. Such a set of measures allows you to strengthen the immune system and eliminate nervous tension.
Anti stress
Psychoemotional disorders and tension negatively affect the course of the disease and very often provoke its onset. Of fundamental importance in prevention is the normalization and stability of the emotional state and nervous system. You should try to exclude external stimuli as much as possible. Ancient practices like yoga and meditation, as well as extra sleep, can help with this. In more serious situations, they use sedatives or get along well with herbal teas.
If psoriasis involves nervous system disorders - headaches, sleep disturbances, nervousness, then medications can be used. Effective: motherwort, valerian, Nervo-Vit. They allow to normalize sleep patterns, increase the capacity of the immune system and improve resistance to stress.
It is difficult to achieve a result without making your own efforts, you need to take everything more calmly.
Opera
Some professions are categorically unsuitable for a psoriasis patient. Adverse factors include: high temperature, too much dryness or humidity in the room, the use of chemicals. In addition, the choice of profession should not fall on specialties with a high level of nervous stress, as well as the risk of mechanical damage. It is best to stay away from highly allergenic environments.
The use of vitamin complexes
Vitamins have an extremely beneficial effect not only on the course of the disease, but also on its prevention. Thanks to strong immunity, it is possible to prevent relapses, along with this, the metabolism improves, which has a beneficial effect on the skin condition. Important vitamins are:
- A - is responsible for keratinization, which significantly accelerates the regeneration of the skin;
- E - Mostly appreciated for its antioxidant effects. It also prevents metabolic abnormalities and acts as an integral part of DNA synthesis;
- D - is a regulatory substance for the exchange of phosphorus and calcium. At the same time, it stimulates regeneration in the epidermis and normalizes the membrane, cell structure;
- Group B - are actively involved in the metabolism of the skin, improve oxygen absorption. The elements of the skin respond favorably to the presence of vitamins of group B, which is demonstrated by the normalization of the nervous system.
Most often, products with a high content of vitamins or preparations are used. Recommended: Undevit, Geksavit and Dekamevit, but they must be used according to the doctor's recommendations.
medications
Consultation with a doctor is required before taking any medications. In some cases, the agents, on the contrary, provoke an aggravation of the disease, which is manifested by an increase in symptoms. The use of lithium preparations, as well as those containing gold and beta-blockers, should be avoided.
Any, even the most harmless, at first glance, diseases can provoke psoriasis. It is necessary to address the timely treatment of all ailments. Upper respiratory tract disease often aggravates psoriasis.
Climatotherapy, ultraviolet rays
Ultraviolet radiation has a beneficial effect on the course of psoriasis and its prevention. Patients are prescribed sun for 5-10 minutes, burning is unacceptable. In addition, sea water has a positive effect, especially from the Dead Sea, although this indicator is individual, on the contrary, it harms some. Skin wounds are a contraindication to swimming in seawater. During an exacerbation, you shouldn't swim. The time for performing climatotherapy must be adjusted individually.
When sunbathing, you need to use protective creams. The attending physician will be able to tell whether sunbathing will have a beneficial effect, otherwise there is a high risk of exacerbation of the disease.
Trauma
Lesions are very dangerous manifestations that can cause psoriasis, as well as aggravate it. This increases the risk of secondary infections from cuts and abrasions. Plaques often appear around lesions. Prevent the formation of injuries as much as possible.
clothing
A factor such as high-quality and suitable clothing is one of the principles for preventing psoriasis or its recurrence. It is recommended to use clothes made of soft fabrics made from natural materials, it is better that they have a light color. This will help avoid plaque injury and reduce pain on the skin. The lighter color will help make the silver scales less visible. Linen, cotton and other soft fabrics are ideal for bedding. Avoid wearing woolen sweaters and similar irritating materials.