“How can I get psoriasis? I never came in contact with someone having psoriasis!” Rahul asked his skin doctor. He was surprised to hear this diagnosis about the skin problem that had been bothering him for months.
Rahul assumed that psoriasis spread by touch. The diagnosis started bothering Rahul. He understood that psoriasis cannot be cured and is connected to a breakdown in his immune system.
Psoriasis may look contagious but it is not. You cannot get psoriasis from touching someone who has it. Psoriasis is a chronic skin and joint disease. It develops when a person’s immune system sends faulty signals that tell the skin cells to grow too quickly. New cells form in just days rather than weeks and the body do not shed these excess skin cells. The extra skin cells pile up on the surface of the skin, causing thick, silvery scaly, red patches of psoriasis to appear. These patches can get itchy and are sometimes painful.
The prevalence and morbidity of psoriasis has been steadily increasing in India due to the modern stressful life style, lack of adequate physical activities.
Psoriasis has a huge impact on quality of life. Up to 30% of patients with Psoriasis develop psoriatic arthritis. Psoriatic Arthritis appears much like Rheumatoid Arthritis. It can involve few or many joints such as knee, hip, ankle, wrist, distal joints of fingers and toes and the spinal column.
Psoriasis can affect people differently. For some it may be seen as a nuisance, but for others it will affect every aspect of their daily life. Psoriasis can have a profound impact on a person’s physical, emotional and psychological wellbeing. Psoriasis can affect feelings of self-worth and self-confidence.
A recent survey shows that nearly 47% of those with psoriasis were affected more by their fear of what others might think about their condition than by the physical challenges that they face with the disease.
A diagnosis of a chronic condition like psoriasis may leave patients dejected and worried. Feeling embarrassed about skin condition and reluctant to seek out or accept the help of family or friends is commonly noticed among psoriasis patients.
On account of being a stubborn disease, cases of psoriasis usually require a long-term treatment and there is no magical cure. It is very important to control the symptoms and manage the complications of psoriasis.
Homeopathy has emerged as a dominant option in psoriasis treatment. Research-based evidences speak about the success of homeopathy in treating psoriasis. A study published in the Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, showed that psoriasis patients experienced significant improvement in their quality of life and reduction in their psoriasis symptoms with Homeopathy.
I have personally monitored and treated over a thousand cases of psoriasis with homeopathy. The treatment yields excellent results without any adverse effects. There are increasingly prolonged remission in the symptoms, which eventually proceed to a good control of the disease. Homeopathy remedies like Kali Ars, Arnica, Petroleum , Phosphorous have shown beneficial results in psoriasis.
Adequate management of psoriasis needs ecosystem of care. To maintain and control psoriasis symptoms, medical review and psoriasis education needs to be done at periodic intervals. The financial burden of treatment and lack of proper education results in suboptimal treatment and suboptimal outcomes.
The fact remains that people with psoriasis can live long and healthy lives with proper psoriasis education and appropriate medical care.
