Psoriasis : Symptoms, Causes, Complications and More

Quick Information

1. Introduction
2. Symptoms
3. Causes
4. Risk Factors
5. Complications
6. Treatment

Introduction –

Psoriasis is one of the long-lasting noncontagious autoimmune diseases that is characterized by raising areas of abnormal skin with no treatment. It is a skin disease, which causes itchy, red, scaly patches are generally on the elbows, scalp, trunk, and knees. Psoriasis occurs through cycles and broadening for several weeks or months.

There are five main types of this disease such as guttate, pustular, plaque, erythrodermic, and inverse in which plaque psoriasis is also called as psoriasis vulgaris that makes up around 90 percent of cases and naturally presents as red patches with white scales on the skin of the body. Another type of psoriasis, Guttate psoriasis occurs as drop-shaped lesions on the skin whereas pustular psoriasis presents as small non-infectious with pus-filled blisters. Inverse psoriasis occurs as a red patch in skin folds and erythrodermic psoriasis occurs if the rash becomes very extensive that can develop from any of the other types. Generally, psoriasis is a genetic disease, which is caused by several environmental factors. There is no treatment for this disease but several treatments may help in controlling the symptoms.

Symptoms –

The symptoms of psoriasis may vary from person to person. There are several symptoms of psoriasis are given below –

• Burning, soreness, or itching
• Stiff joints
• Swollen
• Small scaling spots that commonly occur in children
• Dry or cracked skin, which can bleed or itch
• Pitted, thickened, or ridged nails

Psoriasis patches may arrange from several spots of dandruff such as scaling to major eruptions, which cover a large area. In this skin disease, the most commonly affected areas are the knees, soles of the feet, lower back, elbows, legs, palms, and face.

Causes –

This disease may be an immune system problem, which causes the skin for regenerating faster than normal rates. Plaque is one of the most common types of psoriasis that rapid turnover of cells and may result in red patches on the skin. According to scientists, they believe that both environmental and genetic factors cause this skin disease.

There is about one-third of people are suffering from psoriasis due to a family history of this skin disease. As per researches, it suggests that a 70 percent chance of a twin developing this skin disease when the other twin has the disorder. These researches proved that both genetic and environmental factors are responsible for developing psoriasis.

There are other causes that trigger psoriasis are given below –

• Stress
• Infections including skin infections or strep throat
• Take a large amount of alcohol
• Weather especially dry conditions or cold
• Smoking
• Several medicines including such as antimalarial and high blood pressure medications
• Any injury to the skin including a severe sunburn, a cut, and a big bite.

Risk Factors –

There are some of the risk factors that increase the risk of psoriasis are discussed below –

• Stress

  – Stress may affect your immune system so a high level of stress can enhance the risk of psoriasis.

• Smoking

  –Regular smoking of tobacco can also increase the risk of this skin disease. It also enhances the severity of this disease so avoid smoking. It is important to note that smoking may is also main cause in the initial development of psoriasis.

• Family history

  – When any family member is suffered from this disease then it may increase the risk of psoriasis in other family members. If two members of the family are affected by this disease then it may be more risk for another person in that family.

Complications –

There are some other complications that enhance the risk of developing psoriasis are discussed below –

• Obesity
• High blood pressure
• Psoriatic arthritis triggers swelling around the joints and pain stiffness
• Heart disease
• Several mental health conditions including depression or low self-esteem.
• Some eye problems including uveitis, conjunctivitis, and blepharitis.
• Type 2 diabetes
• Some other autoimmune diseases including inflammatory bowel disease known as Crohn’s disease and celiac disease.

Treatment –

There is no treatment of psoriasis but several treatments may help in controlling the symptoms such as immunosuppressive drugs, steroid creams, vitamin D3, and ultraviolet light.