Introduction

psoriasis is a skin condition, it is a disease, but it is not contagious. The name comes from the Greek word for "itch." It can be hereditary, caused by external influences (allergic reaction to foods or the environment) and sometimes stress. 4-5% of the population are known to be affected, and this number is growing. However, it is suspected that 1 in 5 people have some form of psoriasis either descript or non descript. Once you have psoriasis, it is very likely you will have it for ever. It may go away, and come back. It might respond to various treatments, and it may not. Basically psoriasis is your body over producing skin cells. You have too many skin cells in one location which is why it often swells up, becomes dry and even flaky. It can often be very itchy, red, sore, cracked and very tender. Psoriasis usually effects the scalp, hands, stomach, knees, feet and elbows. It is linked to dandruff and unfortunately to some forms of arthritis. A leading psoriasis foundation has this to say about Phototherapy treatment for psoriasis. "This type of treatment (phototherapy) involves exposing the skin to a particular wavelength of ultraviolet light called UVB. Phototherapy is a common, safe and very effective treatment for psoriasis."

What causes psoriasis?

The simple answer is that nobody really knows. So many people claim to know what causes psoriasis, but nobody has any proof or evidence. Any person or web page that claims to have a "cure" for psoriasis should be treated with caution. You will also find that you can "trigger" your psoriasis. Your trigger may be stress, it might also be a food or the environment.

What can I do for free to reduce my psoriasis?

The first step is reducing the severity of your psoriasis, is DRINK LOTS OF WATER. Drink at least 2 litres a day. The second step is to IMPROVE YOUR DIET and eat lots of green leafy vegetables. This will not cure your psoriasis, but it may dramatically reduce it. You will find each doctor or dermatologist will give different advice. That is because they have probably found something that works for a variety of their patients. It is not uncommon for dermatologists to try a combination of treatments until they find one that works particularly well for you-its basically trial and error! The following foods are popular triggers (worsen psoriasis;) Coke-a-Cola, red wine, red meat, MSG, chilli, hot spices, junk foods, oily foods, berries (such as strawberries) tomato, most acidic foods and vitamin-c. People with poor diets will likely have much worse psoriasis.

Do psoriasis diets alone really work?

The short answer is no, not generally. It has been proven that a good diet (less of the foods mentioned above,) lots of water and lots of vegetables, a good multi vitamin tablet and also zinc tablets daily can help reduce psoriasis, it is not a recognised treatment, nor a cure. Any results from a diet are probably due to increased general health, and the REMOVAL of unhealthy foods - not the inclusion of magic foods. Acidic foods in particular have been proven to worsen psoriasis, so simply eliminating these from your existing diet will improve your psoriasis as much as any "wonder diet" could. Seen the magic psoriasis cure in the local news paper that "worked for me?" They are often flooded with testimonials like" thanks for saving me, I've tried everything, but your product is fantastic." Don't be mislead by advertisements asking for "$7.95" for a magical detoxification diet booklet that will "cure your psoriasis for ever." The magical diet will probably just be "drink lots of water, and improve your diet." The national psoriasis foundation states "Special diets have not been successful in completely treating psoriasis, except in isolated cases." If a complete cure was that simple, no body would have psoriasis and your doctor would have the answer. If only it were that simple. Psoriasis has been known about for at least five thousand years and if any particular nutrient had been proved to be beneficial surely we would all have heard about it by now!

Magic psoriasis cures, do they really work?

The drug industry is a multi billion dollar industry. Drugs exist for almost every purpose imaginable. Drug companies WANT to sell you drugs. Drug company's want to sell YOU - THEIR drugs. If there was a drug that "cured" psoriasis, then every drug company in the world would manufacture and sell that drug. They would also advertise the drug. It would be the same drug available from everyday doctor and pharmacist in the world. Therefore, if a real psoriasis "cure" existed, it would be extremely widely know and advertised. Since every magic cure is a "secret formula" and not manufactured by a main stream drug company, we can safely and easily assume that there is no real benefit from using the products (and paying for them.) It is illogical and unethical not to list all ingredients in a medical or homeopathic product, in the case of an allergy, allergic reaction or poisoning there is little that can be done. Basically most of these "wonder products" are either just a plagiarized diet book (i.e. all the same) or an expensive moisturizing cream. We investigated hundreds of different "wonder products" and the common ingredient is always the same- Coal Tar. Check the ingredients yourself in the psoriasis products at your pharmacist. The benefits of Coal Tar have been know for many years (hundreds actually!!) So why not purchase a quality coal tar product from your pharmacist? They come in lotions, bath additives, soap blocks and moisturizers. If you want a moisturizer for dry and itchy psoriasis we have found Sorbaline to be very good . It's a glycerol based product that is very gentle, particularly on painful psoriasis. DO NOT JUST USE ANY OLD MOISTURIZER, OR SKIN OIL. They will often cause more problems than they solve. Be very careful what you actually put on your psoriasis. Often oil based products will INFLAME your psoriasis and make it worse. Coal Tar ONLY treats the inflammation, not the cause, and will do nothing to prevent your psoriasis occurring. We recommend using Coal Tar products in conjunction with our UVB treatment for best results. Coal Tar should relieve the itchiness, swelling and some flaking, but it only offers temporary relief. There is a common misbelief that Coal Tar causes cancer, which is simply not true. The FDA says a coal tar solution of between 1-5% has been proven as a safe product.

Why is UV treatment for psoriasis so popular?

UV phototherapy or PUVA therapy is the simplest and easiest treatment with the best general results for clearing psoriasis. There is also no real direct side effects (but be careful of sunburn which can increase the risk of skin cancer.) UVB light is NOT the light found in tanning salons and solariums. That is UVA light. Sitting in a tanning salon for hours will do little or nothing for your psoriasis. What about skin cancer? There is not a single case of documented skin cancer caused by narrow band UVB phototherapy treatment. It is safer than the old style wide band light, and significantly safer than normal sun exposure UVA or PUVA phototherapy. Several studies have been unable to find any link between narrow band UVB treatment and skin cancer. People who are predisposed to skin cancer can have skin cancer on parts of their body that have never been exposed to UV light, such as in the arm pits and soles of the feet. Psoriasis is a chronic (long-lasting) skin disease characterized by scaling and inflammation. Scaling occurs when cells in the outer layer of the skin reproduce faster than normal and pile up on the skin's surface.