Thursday, December 23, 2004

Treating Psoriasis Today

Today, treatment of psoriasis can be divided into three basic categories:

-- Topical treatment (treatments applied to the skin)

-- Phototherapy or a combination of phototherapy and medications

-- Systemic treatment (medications taken by tablet or injection)

A number of factors will determine which treatment will best suit a person with psoriasis.
These include:
-- The type of psoriasis
-- Its location on the body
-- Its severity
-- The person's age and medical history
-- The person's response to previous therapy

Wednesday, December 08, 2004

Five Types of Psoriasis

There are five different types of psoriasis.

The most common form of psoriasis is called "plaque psoriasis," which is characterized by well-defined patches of red, raised skin. About 80 percent of people with psoriasis have this type. Plaque psoriasis can appear on any skin surface, although the knees, elbows, scalp, trunk and nails are the most common locations.

The other types of psoriasis are: Guttate described as small, red, individual drops on the skin.

Inverse psoriasis is smooth, dry areas of skin, often in folds or creases, that are red and inflamed but do not have scaling.

Erythrodermic psoriasis is characterized as periodic, widespread, fiery redness of the skin.

Pustular psoriasis which involves either generalized, widespread areas of reddened skin, or localized areas, particularly the hands and feet (palmo-plantar pustular psoriasis).

Typically, people have only one form of psoriasis at a time. Sometimes two different types can occur together, one type may change to another type, or one type may become more severe. For example, a trigger may convert plaque psoriasis to pustular.