Psoriasisis a chronic inflammatory skin disease. This is a genetic disease that manifests itself in the form of characteristic formations on the patient's body - papules or plaques of pink-red color visible to the eye, the surface of which is flaky and covered with scales. The disease, as a rule, is accompanied by severe itching and pain, causing suffering to patients, both physical and moral. Psoriasis rashes can appear anywhere on the body, but most often they are localized on the patient's scalp, elbows and hands. Especially chronic psoriasis on the head causes moral discomfort to patients, because it cannot be hidden under clothing.
What is the origin of the name of the disease "psoriasis"?
The name of the disease "psoriasis" comes from the Greek word - Psora - to scratch (-sya). Indeed, itchy skin rough, scaly, silvery white, difficult to treat, is a typical picture of the manifestation of this disease.
Who is affected by this disease?
A disease such as skin psoriasis affects approximately 3-5% of the population in several countries. Men and women - alike. Psoriasis can develop at any age, but it usually first appears around the age of 20, often earlier in women than in men. However, the Medical On Group company has collected impressive statistics on the treatment of children and the elderly with this disease.
In addition to heredity, psoriasis has the following causes:
- excessively active division of skin cells;
- fatigue;
- decreased immunity after illness.
Answers to the most frequently asked questions
Is psoriasis contagious?
Ordinary psoriasis vulgaris is a hereditary genetic disease accompanied by metabolic disorders, endocrine glands, lesions of the immune system. Psoriasis is not contagious! It is not an external infection and there is no need to fear or avoid people suffering from this affliction.
Are children of parents with psoriasis likely to have this disease too?
Since we are talking about a hereditary genetic disease, there is such a probability and it is quite high: if both parents suffer from psoriasis, children will get sick with this disease with a probability of about 33. 3%.
Is it good for sick people to spend as much time in the sun as possible?
It is generally accepted that sunlight in a certain amount contributes to the treatment of psoriasis, but in some cases, exposure to the sun, on the contrary, can exacerbate the process. Be that as it may, before any medical procedure and if changes in the condition of the skin are detected, it is recommended to consult a professional dermatologist.
What causes periodic outbreaks and disease decline?
Experience shows that mental stress, stress and neurosis, unhealthy lifestyle and diet cause exacerbated manifestations of psoriasis. In addition, cases where the disease has worsened even more precisely as a reaction to an irrationally formulated treatment are not uncommon.
Does smoking, drinking alcohol affect the course of the disease?
Yes, it does. Smoking and drinking alcohol negatively affect the development of the disease, can contribute to the intensification of the manifestations of psoriasis.
Psoriasis treatment. It's possible?
Hereditary psoriasis of the legs, arms or head is one of the most common but difficult to treat skin diseases. Psoriasis is characterized by scaly redness of the skin, the appearance of which is caused not by an infection, but by increased cell division. In a healthy person, a complete renewal of skin cells occurs in almost a month, and in a patient - seven times faster.
The exacerbation of psoriasis can be caused by physical stress and overexertion, wounds and cuts on the skin, strep infections of the upper respiratory tract, and a reaction to drugs. Unfortunately, it is impossible to protect yourself from all this, which means that the medicine is still unable to prevent an attack of the disease or to cure it completely. But to control the course of psoriasis, choosing effective methods of treating the symptoms, modern dermatologists are quite capable.
Can psoriasis be cured permanently?
Since it is a hereditary genetic disease, the treatment of psoriasis offered by modern medicine is reduced to eliminating the external manifestations of the disease, cleaning the patient's skin of rashes for a long time.