Psoriasis is a skin condition that is caused by the body’s autoimmune response. The skin forms a buildup of cells creating plaque-like patches that can form anywhere on the body including the scalp, nails, face, legs, arms, and torso. They may be very itchy and red depending on how inflamed the area is. This occurs because the body’s immune response is hyper-active so it starts producing skin cells at a much faster rate than it can shed them.
In a normal immune system, the skin cell life cycle lasts about a month, but for those with psoriasis, this cycle is only a few days. This can cause skin cells to fall off everywhere. If the patches form on your scalp, it can seem like you have severe dandruff. The flakes will get all over your clothes, bedding, and general surroundings. There are 4 different types of psoriasis, but the most common is plaque psoriasis (which I’m referring to here).
As with lupus and other autoimmune disorders, psoriasis activity can come in “flares” where one week your skin is clear with no scales, but during the next, thick plaques build up on your scalp or hands. Other skin conditions have similar symptoms to psoriasis (like eczema and seborrheic dermatitis), so the best way to truly find out of you have psoriasis is to get a skin biopsy done. This is where your doctor will remove a small piece of your affected skin so they can examine this sample in a lab under a microscope.
This condition is not contagious so it cannot be spread by touching someone with it. The best way to treat psoriasis would be through topical or oral medications as recommended by your dermatologist and avoiding specific triggers that would cause a flare-up. Common triggers include stress, alcohol, and interestingly, physical cuts or injuries to the skin. Psoriasis patches tend to form in areas where there was a previous wound or puncture to the skin (like scrapes, cuts, injections, or sunburns).
Psoriasis is much more common than lupus. About 7.4 million people have been diagnosed versus 1.5 million with lupus in the United States. 30% of those with psoriasis may develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes inflammation of the joints and may lead to permanent damage if untreated. At this time, there is no cure for psoriasis, but there is always new research and studies finding more possible treatments and drugs to help people manage it.
For more info, I recommend checking out the links on my “Resources” page to read more facts about psoriasis and lupus. Currently, my psoriasis is more active than my lupus so you may notice more posts related to psoriasis in the near future. I’ll do my best to share helpful tips for both conditions as they come to mind.