Harold’s comment: Bring a family history, general health history and info on current conditions, a good sense of humor, and a clean pair of underwear! At a first visit with a dermatologist, the doctor will...
A skin biopsy is a small sample of skin that is examined under the microscope to help diagnose a disease. Reasons to take a biopsy include evaluating a puzzling skin problem, removing or sampling a...
People with psoriasis have a substantially increased risk for a particular type of joint disease called psoriatic arthritis. This type of arthritis, specific to psoriasis sufferers, causes pain, swelling, and joint destruction in a distinct...
Psoriasis is usually diagnosed by a general practitioner or dermatologist. It is most often a clinical diagnosis, meaning that the physical examination findings alone make the diagnosis clear. In different people, psoriasis tends to show...
“Do you suffer from the heartbreak of psoriasis?” An advertising campaign in the early 1970s used that question in TV commercials to advertise a commonly used over-the-counter (OTC) topical steroid. For those who know little...
When first diagnosed with psoriasis, different people have different reactions. Anxiety, anger, and fear are not uncommon. Some people may find relief at being able to name and understand their particular skin disease. Most people...
John’s comment: Bad enough that I had severe pain when I walked due to psoriasis on the bottom of my feet, bad enough that I had severe pain when water ran against my fingers that...
The course of psoriasis is different in each person. Some people find that their psoriasis is cyclical (following seasons of the year or other events), and others find the disease unremitting and constant over time....
For most people, the skin is the only manifestation of their psoriasis. However, it is useful to be aware of less common manifestations of psoriasis that occur else-where in the body. Aside from the more...
At this time, no cure exists for psoriasis. Like many immune-mediated diseases, it is treated with therapies that decrease immune activity. Unfortunately, no current treatment decreases the activity of the immune cells permanently. Current therapies...
One of the most common misconceptions about psoriasis is that it is a contagious disease. Much of the uncertainty and fear people experience when seeing psoriasis for the first time comes from a fear of...
Psoriasis is often diagnosed by a dermatologist or primary care physician by its characteristic appearance and locations on the body. If a person has the skin changes typical of psoriasis, a diagnosis can be made...
Aside from an association with some immune system genes, the reason an individual gets psoriasis is not known. Studies to date have investigated the role of bacteria, viruses, and environmental triggers without conclusive answers. Although...
Any person can develop psoriasis. This common skin condition does not spare any gender, ethnicity, or those with other skin diseases. For most people, psoriasis is diagnosed in their teens or 20s. Men and women...
Statistics vary, but current estimates indicate that 2% to 3% of the U.S. population, or around 5 to 7 million adults, have some psoriasis on their skin. Approximately 200,000 people are newly diagnosed with psoriasis...
The exact cause of psoriasis is still unknown. Two processes—rapid skin growth and inflammation—com-bine to cause the skin changes that lead to psoriasis. The initiating trigger for these processes—what makes the process begin in a...
Psoriasis is a chronic, lifelong skin disease characterized by skin with white scale, redness, swelling, and itching or pain. It appears without a trigger or warning in the teens to 30s (for most people) and...
The immune system works to protect the body from infection. It monitors the body constantly and springs into action when it senses a foreign presence such as bacteria, a virus, or a fungus. In some...
The skin is the largest organ in the body, covering 1.8 square meters of surface area. Over that area the skin senses temperature, pressure, and pain; conserves water; sweats to cool the body; and heals...