How do I choose among these? When comparing many different formations of a specific medication, the ointment formulation is often the most potent. The oil-based ointment formulation creates a barrier over the skin, allowing more...
Fortunately, many different topical treatments are available to treat psoriasis. Your initial choices may depend on recommendations from your doctor, and different therapies are usually used over time. Topical Steroids Topical steroids are the mainstay...
Treatments for psoriasis can generally be classified as “topical” or “systemic” based on how the medication reaches psoriatic skin. Topical treatments include creams, lotions, ointments, solutions, or foam directly applied to skin affected by psoriasis....
The decision to change doctors is a personal one based on your experiences and further questions you may have. You might wish to change physicians when a physician cannot suggest further treatment options or if...
Because psoriasis is usually a clinical diagnosis, you might wonder if the diagnosis is accurate. For the majority of people with the most common or classic signs of psoriasis, the diagnosis is straightforward, and a...
If you have recently been diagnosed with psoriasis, you probably have many questions about the disease and its treatment. When meeting a dermatologist for the first time, it can be helpful to write down specific...
Ask around; more people have psoriasis than you think. If that doesn’t work, go online and do some research. Consider some or all of the following factors when choosing a dermatologist: Insurance coverage: Does a...
Although each insurance plan is different, medical insurance, including Medicare, normally covers the cost of physician visits to treat psoriasis. Prescription drugs, depending on the details of a particular plan, are covered by most commercial...
Because all types of psoriasis have the same underlying cause, all psoriasis treatments will work to some extent for most types of psoriasis. There are, how-ever, a few treatment approaches that can maximize the effectiveness...
Work with your doctor and start with the mildest treatment—one that’s easy to adhere to and that you will follow religiously. Keep adjusting the treatment until you see positive results. Treatment of psoriasis is always...
And do I need to treat it to keep it from getting worse? There are many different treatments for psoriasis. Some may work better than others for a particular person, and their effectiveness may change...
Yes, children can get psoriasis. Although psoriasis is less common in children, and may appear differently than in adults, children can get psoriasis. Among adults with psoriasis, 30% to 45% had the onset of their...
It is very unusual for a baby to get psoriasis, but it does occur. Most often, the condition starts as a red rash in the diaper area that doesn’t clear up with typical diaper rash...
Although the word “pustular” conjures the image of an infection or abscess, pustular psoriasis is not an infection. The pustular name describes the skin’s appearance, where yellow pus is seen scattered in blister-like areas beneath...
Is this common? Why is this? Psoriasis very often appears where skin has previously been injured. This phenomenon is called the Koebner phenomenon. It is named after its discoverer, Dr. Heinrich Koebner, a dermatologist in...
There is not one universal diet that has been shown to make psoriasis predictably better or worse. However, many individuals report that a link exists for them between psoriasis severity and diet. Many people will...
For some people, their psoriasis may disappear for a period of time. For others, this may never occur. Generally, people with mild psoriasis—less than 5% of their body surface area (BSA) affected, or “just a...
It’s not known why one person has a mild form of psoriasis and another a severe form or why one person has nail changes while another does not. Over time, psoriasis severity and location may...
Psoriasis does not have a predictable course, so it is impossible to predict whether a particular person will improve or worsen over time. For people with known triggers that exacerbate their disease, exposure to these...
Will I give it to my children, or will I get it if a relative has the disease? Psoriasis is thought to be caused by a combination of genetics and environment. Although several genes have...
Several types of psoriasis can occur on people’s skin; by far the most common is plaque psoriasis, also called psoriasis vulgaris (vulgar being Latin for common). The majority of psoriasis studies focus on patients with...
Although there is no clear-cut set of criteria or tests for psoriatic arthritis, several distinct types have been described. The characteristic symptoms of all types of psoriatic arthritis are red hot, swollen, and tender joints....
For people who get arthritis, specific arthritis treatment may be needed to stop the disease from getting worse. For joint disease, systemic therapy is often needed. Some treatments for psoriasis, such as methotrexate and some...
Is there any way to tell whether I will get psoriatic arthritis in the future? No. At this time there is no signal that indicates whether an individual will get psoriatic arthritis in the future....
Psoriatic arthritis is caused by the same inflammatory process that causes psoriasis of the skin. Because of joint pain, joint swelling, and a warm feeling to the touch, it may resemble other types of arthritis,particularly...