Psoriasis

Pardon the spelling! I just got diagnosed with psoriasis on my leg/knees. Is there a good way to control it? ie stuff I shouldn't eat/stay away from/homeopathic remedies etc? Thanks everyone.

MicraBoy

Personnally I find mine is triggered by stress. And avoiding being run down is important. I haven't noticed any foods that I react to particularly.

I have found coal tar is an effective treatment. Been through all sorts of stuff like evening primrose oil and cortisone, but at the end of the day the coal tar usually does the trick. Smells though!

I suspect you will have to find what works best for you. It seems fairly individual to me.

Good luck with it!

neuro-praxis

I have two small patches of psoriasis on my scalp. Nothing I have ever used before has helped.

I got this shampoo which is in the form of a bar of soap just for my hair, but miraculously it has cleared up my scalp completely. You can buy it in Lush on Westmooreland St. for about €5.50 or so.

I know it is designed for hair, but as it is made of completely natural ingredients, I can't see it causing any problems using it on your knees.

It is worth a try anyway.

Edited to say: actually that link only takes you to the lush site. If you want to see the bar, it is under hair care, and is called "Soak and Float" I think.

azezil

Hmmm might try that shampoo thingy myself, had patches on my knee's and arms but they cleared up years ago, but one little patch on my head persists, little fecker

Getting plenty of sun at it helps a lot, moisturise, as far as I know that's all I done, and don't scratch

Gordon

Papa Smut wrote:

Pardon the spelling! I just got diagnosed with psoriasis on my leg/knees. Is there a good way to control it? ie stuff I shouldn't eat/stay away from/homeopathic remedies etc? Thanks everyone.

Who diagnosed you and why did you not ask them?

Do you know that this is not a medical forum?

Sorry for my late reply Gordon. I was diagnosed by my Doctor who gave me a cream, that he has admitted will not get rid of it indefinitely and it also cost €50! He is an old-fashioned family GP that doesn't put much worth in alternative remedies. So, I was asking for some herbal/homeopathic remedies or some dietry changes that might be of use.
I felt that I may have gotten sound advice from other sufferers of this condition.

HappyDude

Hi there -

You really should get a referral to a dermatologist, as they have a greater knowledge of the condition. Depending on the severtiy of the condition, there are options available to you. I have tried a lot of the topical treatments - but found that the remission periods were short. It is largely trial and error - but I definitely agree with the stress trigger.

I found UVB therapy to be excellent, and has resulted in a long remission period for me - almost a year now, without a flare-up.

There have been some other threads on boards about this topic.

Good luck.

Emmo

I know its not the same but you could have a look at this stuff

http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/medicines/100002673.html

Unguentum M is available from Boots, I find it amazing. Im 25 and have eczema all my life quite bad at times and since I started using this stuff about 6-7 years ago it has helped quite a bit.

No I only have one bad patch on my right wrist which flares up every so often from stress.

I also try washing with very very hot water, allowing it to run from luke warm till I cant stand it any more. No soap.

Shower using neutrogena and kiddies shampoo and by not using deoderant like Lynx etc etc.

I can say that with age sometimes skin problems like this go away aswell as diet but if you do all the little things right then it does help loads.

Best of luck and remember there is always some one to take about stuff here,

Emmo

[InsertHandle]

got it on my elbow and hand ... although my scalp has been very itchy lately so maybe it's there too ... anywho i find it's stress that brings it on. I've been trying Hydrocortisyl Skin Ointment, it's cleared it up a little but not fully.

I've heard that some doctors think it's caused by the amount of yeast in the blood but personally i think it's stress and lack of sunshine.

Last time i had it a few years ago it disappeared after a holiday in spain so i put it down to either the sun or saltwater, or not being stressed out anymore... time for a holiday me thinks:)

billy the squid

hi pappa smut

at present i hav psoriasis on my knees, left ankle, elbows hands nose and ears.

in my case i think it is hereditory cobined with a serius chest infection i had in 2002 that caused it.

once you have it you have it for life, you can clear it up but it iwill flare up if you neglect it medically.

speak to your doctor about a cream called dobovet, it is quite good for clearing up psoriasis, your doctor will know if it is the right treatment for it.

i cannot stress it enough though, follow your doctors instructions to the lette. leaving it go for one day is not good enough if he says apply a certain cream twice a day then you make sure, come hell or high water, that you apply it twice a day.

it can be very damaging to your self esteem having psoriasis, but if treated properly you shouldnt have to worry about it.

Scruff

I get it on my scalp, chest, elbows, bit around the nose and the occasional patchs smaller than a 1cent piece just about anywhere from time to time.
Being of the hairy vareity i found dobovet wasnt very good for me, too messy, so my doctor perscribed a liquid application called betnovate which is a scalp application but works well on me hairy chest when needed.
Find stress and getting run down is the major triggers but havent had a all over outbreak since i first broke out in it 8 years ago. thank god. coal tar..*shudder*

alb

I suffered with psoriasis for many years, and tried a number of expensive prescription treatments, none of which really got rid of it, just treated it, and stopped it getting worse. Then one morning I heard this crazy story about this guy who'd been a big scottish rock star in the 80's (can't rememebr the name of the band). After getting accidently electricuted on stage, he developed severe psoriasis all over his body and from that point on put loads of his own money into developing a new treatment.

I tried these and after initally my scalp psoriasis got worse and flakier it soon cleared up completely. They have a few products ( http://www.dermalogics.co.uk/ ) but I foun the spray to be the most useful. All their products are non prescription and relatively cheap, so it's well worth a try.

billy the squid

[offtipic]the band was middle of the road of chirpy chirpy cheap cheap fame.
[/ontopic]

I found betnovate to be verysloppy tbh and it didnt work for me

its a funny condition where some treatments work for some people and others work for others. I guess its because there are so many different things that can cause it, hereditory, stress, impropper diet, strepthroat, chest infection.

personally I only get flareups when it is freezing weather out.

I havent tried the dermasinz yet, my flexible friend has been giving me dirty looks lately, but it looks like better value than the prescription stuff, and would be less messy I think.

Scruff

heard about that dermasinz stuff before but thought it was called dermazinc and hence couldnt find it!
I remember early last year sometime they had about a half hour slot of the Gerry Ryan show talking about it and to yer man, the "pop star" who came up with it.
Must give it a go now that i know the right product cheers for the link alb!

alb

Scruff wrote:

heard about that dermasinz stuff before but thought it was called dermazinc and hence couldnt find it!
I remember early last year sometime they had about a half hour slot of the Gerry Ryan show talking about it and to yer man, the "pop star" who came up with it.
Must give it a go now that i know the right product cheers for the link alb!

Yeh it was that Gerry Ryan show where I heard about it too.

Alun

I have it on the edges of my scalp and as others say it is made worse by stress. Also I find that it tends to decrease in intensity during the summer months, probably because it gets more natural UV during that period. Maybe wear shorts wherever and whenever practical, if it's on your knees where you get it most?

I use Betnovate only when it gets really bad, and a coal tar shampoo (Capasol?) all the time. Tried something from Lush but that was total disaster .. turned me into a raving itching, scratching lunatic!

dearg_doom

SUNSHINE!! really it seems to be linked to a deficiency in vitaminD, so sunshine is a natural cure.

I get it too, over a lot of my body sometimes, and sunshine always helps.

The only problem is ye feel so self-concious having this red ****e on your body even if ye're sunbathing alone!