Psoriasis - All you need to know - Dr. Leelavathy

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Psoriasis is an inflammatory chronic condition that can not only affect the skin, but it can affect the hairs, the nails and the joints. It affects the skin with small and big red patches or erythemas . It can also affect the joints and the scalp. For people working in front offices, or marketing or chefs, this is a very bad state. As it also affects the joints, it is called zero negative arthritis.

Diagnosis is clinical, as soon as a person with psoriasis is seen, it can be diagnosed and confirmed. In certain cases, a skin biopsy can be done.

The treatment of psoriasis depends on the site and the percentage of body involved, If its less than ten percent of the body surface, then topical treatment is done. If it is greater than ten percent of the body surface and if joints are involved, then systemic treatment is planned. The treatments involved for less than ten percent surface are topical, steroids, emollients and coal tar derived ointments. For more than ten percent, then disease modifying immunomodulators are given. Retinods and photo therapy are other forms of treatment.

There are different kinds of lights used, ultraviolet A and ultraviolet B chambers. The patient takes tablets called psorolins and then the patient gets exposed to either ultraviolet A or ultraviolet B. Another form of therapy is called Narrow Band UVB. This is cost effective and children can also use this. The complications with phototherapy especially PUVA is known to cause carcinogenesis or cancer in the long term.