Best Ways To Treat Chronic Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a skin disease that produces thick and scaly skin, more like the plaque. It is not contagious. The dry and flaky skin is a result of the speedy production of skin cells.
The fast reproduction of skin cells is due to a chemical produced by white blood cells called lymphocytes. Psoriasis normally affects the scalp, knees, elbows, and back. It is incurable, and the medications help to clear away the symptoms.
This disease ranges from mild with small patches of the skin to severe with thick plaque covering most of the body. The symptoms of the disease vary and depend on whether it has improved or worsened. The symptoms usually get worse during the cold winter days.
If more than 5% of your body is affected by the disease, then it is a chronic case, and you need immediate medical attention. Chronic psoriasis involves hands, feet, face, back, and even genitals. The best chronic psoriasis treatment will be a combination treatment involving two therapies together for a better effect.
Advantages Of Combination Treatment
Psoriasis treatments can work singly too, but for chronic cases normally a combination treatment plan is advised. This is because:
- They have an added advantage of being fruitful and tolerable for the patients.
- When a combination treatment is used, small doses of the medication is administered.
- As a result, the treatment becomes cheap, and the risk of side effects decreases too.
- Combining two therapies relieve the symptoms rapidly and also reduces the risk of skin cancer.
Psoriasis is incurable but when you combine treatments you will notice that there are endless possibilities.
Understanding Therapies For Chronic Psoriasis Treatment
If you are suffering from a moderate to a severe case, that involves more than 5 % of your body, then topical ointments and moisturizers will be of no benefit.
Chronic psoriasis treatment is normally directed towards phototherapy, systemic medications, or biologics. You need to understand that the systemic medications have a greater risk of side effects. But as topical medications don’t work on a plaque or psoriatic arthritis, systemic medications are administered. The internal medications help stop the progress of the disease immediately.
It is vital to understand that in all diseases, medicines have side effects. No medicine is completely safe or effective for everyone. Therefore, the treatment plan for your medical condition requires a thorough investigation by a doctor.
Systemic Medication
The systemic medications include cyclosporine, methotrexate, and acitretin. These are prescription medicines that work for your whole body. These medicines are only administered in moderate to severe cases of psoriatic arthritis.
Systemic medicines are usually administered to those individuals who don’t respond well to phototherapy or topical ointments. Systemic medicines can be found in syrup, pill, or injection forms.
Methotrexate is in use for the chronic psoriasis treatment since the last 50 years. It is administered weekly. Folate therapy is used along with it to minimize the side effects. This medicine is not approved for kids.
Cyclosporine gives instant relief to the symptoms, but there are plenty of side effects attached to it. This is why the drug is not fit for the long-term use. This medication is prescribed to contain the ongoing severity. After that the doctor starts slow-maintenance therapies.
Acitretin is retinoid that you need to take in orally. This medication works slowly and takes a time of three to six months. The medication is extremely effective when used in combination with phototherapy. There are adverse side effects and make sure your doctor closely monitors you.
Biologic Treatment
Biologic medicines are normally administered through injections or intravenous (IV) infusion. This is a protein based medicine which is prepared from the living cells in a laboratory.
Biologics for chronic psoriasis treatment has been there for ages but the modern day techniques make it far more reachable. These medicines have an impact on specific parts of the immunity system of your body. These medicines help in blocking the action of a specific immune cell known as T-cell which plays a major role the development of this disease.
Photo Or Light Therapy
Phototherapy for chronic psoriasis treatment involves the steady use of UV rays on the skin. This can be performed at home but under proper medical supervision.
Phototherapy takes place under the guidance of a dermatologist. Photo or light therapy is used a combination treatment with other medications to have a lasting effect on the skin. It helps in alleviating the symptoms of the disease.
Photo therapy sessions are usually small so that you don’t burn the skin. The indoor tanning beds cannot treat psoriasis, and they usually have a great risk of raising the melanoma in your skin cells. Combining a treatment with photo therapy is usually the best idea to clear the skin. Phototherapy is also possible outside in normal sunlight under the guidance of a dermatologist.
References
http://www.aafp.org/afp/2013/0501/p626.html#afp20130501p626-b1
http://www.healthline.com/health/psoriasis/combination-treatment-severe-psoriasis#2
