What Is Psoriasis?

Psoriasis can be described as a chronic skin condition that troubles many people, with 150,000 new cases being diagnosed annually within the USA alone. What exactly is Psoriasis? Who gets it and for what reason? And what can be done regarding it?

Psoriasis is known as a persistent disorder of the skin characterized by reddish, scaly patches of inflammation. Psoriasis is usually found on the arms, legs, trunk, nails, or scalp, but it might be located on almost any part of the skin. Probably the most commonly affected areas will be the knees and elbows.

Psoriasis is an immune problem that affects both males and females. Estimates vary but somewhere between 4.5 and 7.5 million people inside the U.S. appear to have been diagnosed with psoriasis. 150,000 new cases are diagnosed every year. Psoriasis will not be contagious. It isn't something you can "catch" or that other people might catch from you. Psoriasis lesions will not be infectious.

Thick, scaly, red plaques are the hallmark of psoriasis. In psoriatic skin, the cells in the outer layer (epidermis) multiply too rapidly, which causes skin to thicken. Additionally, they adhere to each other more strongly and for longer than normal skin cells do, leading to scaliness. The skin is infiltrated by white blood cells, causing inflammation, redness, and rarely pustules.

Precisely why this happens is not yet well understood, but genetics are clearly involved. Genealogy and family history can affect who's clinically determined to have psoriasis - if a parent has psoriasis, a child carries a 10 percent possibility of developing it as well. However, the appropriate psoriasis triggers must exist before symptoms start to appear.

Researchers now think that there may be an ethnic link to Psoriasis, because it is most frequent in Caucasians throughout the US and Northern Europe.  A study conducted in the United States found the incidence of psoriasis was 2.5% in Caucasians and 1.3% in African Americans.

Additionally, genetics seemingly plays a role. Researchers have shown that one-third of people identified as having psoriasis have at least one close relative with the condition.

Psoriasis may be mild or severe. When it is intense, it can adversely impact functions of daily lifestyle, for example work and social activities.

So far, there isn't any absolute, final cure for psoriasis. Treating psoriasis will depend on its severity and location. Medical treatment options vary from local (cortisone lotion application, emollients, coal tar, anthralin formulations, and exposure to the sun) to systemic (internal medicinal drugs, which includes methotrexate and cyclosporine).

Additionally, there are several natural and alternative medicine treatments based on psoriasis natural treatment which have proved to be effective. Every psoriasis sufferer is different. That which is the best psoriasis treatment for one person may not work at all for another.