Why don't we know more about this common skin disease?
Psoriasis is more than a topical problem
The problem of psoriasis may be that it isn’t topical enough. What is really heartbreaking about psoriasis, is the lack of awareness about this common skin condition. It can affect anyone at almost any age. Its ravages have no preference, affecting men, women, children, and even babies. It can affect any part of the body from head to toe.
Psoriasis symptoms can be managed but the unpredictable and often embarrassing course of this skin condition can carry on for years ultimately causing sufferers emotional distress. Psoriasis can often result in restricted joint motion, and after eczema, it’s the second most common skin disease.
Still searching for treatment after all these years.
Psoriasis is one of the oldest skin conditions known to man and has affected sufferers since Biblical times. Yet its exact cause remains unknown and a completely successful treatment is still elusive.
Is there a common cause?
A genetic link - It may all be in the family
Today, the results of ongoing research have identified a strong genetic basis that points to heredity as the single most important factor. It is more than likely that a person with psoriasis has a parent or grandparent who may have also suffered from this condition. If one parent is affected, the offspring has a 10% chance of also being afflicted with psoriasis. Two parents with the disease, increase the chances of being affected to 30%.
What characterizes psoriasis?
Patching together the symtoms
Psoriasis is a chronic or long-lasting, recurrent skin disease characterized by scaling and inflammation. Psoriasis develops when patches of skin thicken, redden and become covered with silvery scales called plaque that can itch or burn. Scales appearing on the joints can easily crack. Other than large parts of the body, it can also affect nails, and soft tissue inside the mouth and genitalia. About 10 percent of sufferers develop a more severe condition with joint inflammation that produces symptoms of arthritis.
Who does it affect?
An equal opportunity disease
Psoriasis affects approximately 9 million North Americans. While slightly more prevalent in women, sufferers include men and children of all ages, with an average onset of 28 years.
How does it occur?
Skin production on fast forward
It is believed psoriasis is based on the production of new skin cells that has somehow sped up. Simply described, scaling occurs when cells in the outer layer of skin reproduce faster than normal and pile up on the skin’s surface. A common, chronic, relapsing inflammatory disorder, psoriasis causes skin cells to multiply and fall off in scales 10 times more quickly than normal.
Normally, the epidermis is constantly manufacturing new cells and shedding old ones. Skin cells follow two production programs: normal growth or wound healing. The whole process takes about 28 days. Psoriatic skin reflects accelerated production of normal skin cells. While there is no wound, skin cells act as if there is one, reddening the psoriatic lesion. Cells are created and pushed to the surface in as little as 2 to 4 days. Skin cannot shed the cells fast enough, so excessive cells build up to form raised, scaly lesions or “plaque”.
