7 key information about psoriasis relapse that you must know!

"Why do symptoms always recur? The skin lesions are ugly and affect my image. My mood is like a roller coaster. Is there any way to prevent the recurrence of psoriasis?" This question troubles countless psoriasis patients. Today, let us unveil the mystery of psoriasis recurrence and learn more about the key information about psoriasis recurrence. Only by knowing yourself and the enemy can you win every battle.

3 major triggers for psoriasis relapse

1) Disease factors

At present, psoriasis is still an incurable disease, and recurrence is one of its typical disease characteristics. Psoriasis relapses usually occur preferentially at the original skin lesions. This is because there is "immune memory" at the original skin lesions, and a group of bad molecules that control inflammatory responses (i.e., tissue-resident memory T cells) lurk in the skin tissue. Even if the skin lesions have been alleviated, once certain external triggers (environmental factors) appear, these bad molecules will act on the spot without being dispatched from other places, inducing inflammatory responses and causing psoriasis relapse.

2) Treatment factors

Standardized treatment of psoriasis can control inflammatory factors and restore the diseased skin to normal. Inappropriate drug treatment may lead to recurrence of psoriasis, such as blindly pursuing a cure by following folk prescriptions, reducing or stopping medication on their own, and insufficient maintenance treatment. The poor treatment prognosis of psoriasis patients is also closely related to their poor drug compliance. In addition, some beta-blockers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antimalarial drugs, interferons, lithium preparations and other drugs may also induce aggravation of psoriasis.

3) Adverse environmental factors

Environmental factors play an important role in the induction, recurrence or aggravation of psoriasis, including infection, mental stress, smoking, alcoholism, trauma, etc. For example, microbial infections such as bacteria (streptococci, Staphylococcus aureus), fungi (Malassezia, Candida albicans), and viruses (human immunodeficiency virus) may cause recurrence of psoriasis; secondly, mental stress, sleep disorders, and overwork are also "little helpers" of psoriasis recurrence; finally, trauma such as surgery, burns, or abrasions can cause the damaged area to have a "copycat" isomorphic reaction and lead to recurrence of psoriasis.

Master the 4 key points to effectively reduce the risk of recurrence of psoriasis

1) Adhere to actively accept regular treatment and use medication rationally

To reduce the recurrence of psoriasis, the key is to adhere to long-term standardized treatment. When using drugs, first of all, be careful to avoid the irregular use of glucocorticoids, do not abuse folk prescriptions, and avoid using drugs that are highly irritating to the skin. Do not abuse drugs for the pursuit of temporary efficacy; secondly, follow the doctor's advice on medication, and pay attention to the continuity and standardization of medication. Do not stop medication or change the dosage at will, so as not to affect the treatment effect and cause recurrence of the disease; finally, try to avoid using drugs that may induce aggravation of psoriasis, so as not to cause repeated attacks of psoriasis, long-term failure to heal, rebound or aggravation of the disease.

2) Maintain "exquisite" skin care

Skin care is an important part of preventing the recurrence of psoriasis. Psoriasis patients should keep their skin clean, use mild cleaning products, avoid using irritating cosmetics and skin care products, and use moisturizers and emollients to relieve symptoms when the skin is dry and itchy. Try to choose emollients containing active ingredients such as ceramide/ceramide-like, glycerin, hyaluronic acid, allantoin, vitamin E, urea, etc., which can promote skin barrier repair, help skin lesions recover, and reduce the recurrence rate of psoriasis. The effect is better after bathing! In addition, avoiding skin trauma and excessive exposure to the sun is also the key to preventing the recurrence of psoriasis. Psoriasis patients should also be careful to avoid excessive scratching of the skin to avoid skin damage and infection.

3) Maintain a healthy lifestyle

Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is essential to prevent the recurrence of psoriasis. Psoriasis patients should maintain good eating habits, consume more vitamin-rich foods, and avoid excessive drinking and smoking. At the same time, they should maintain a regular work and rest schedule and ensure adequate sleep and rest time. Proper exercise can also help enhance the body's immunity and prevent the onset of psoriasis.

4) Maintain an optimistic mood and a positive attitude

Psoriasis patients often need to deal with a lot of psychological pressure and emotional fluctuations. When facing pressure and negative emotions, everyone needs to actively adopt appropriate coping strategies, such as relieving pressure through relaxation training, meditation, yoga, etc., or communicating with relatives and friends to confide in their hearts. Psoriasis patients should learn to avoid negative emotions from accumulating in their hearts, reasonably vent psychological pressure in the right way, relieve emotional fluctuations, maintain a good attitude, and avoid excessive anxiety and tension, so as to reduce the risk of recurrence of psoriasis.

The recurrence of psoriasis is often closely related to disease factors, treatment factors and various environmental factors. In order to prevent the recurrence of psoriasis, psoriasis patients should adopt standardized and reasonable medication methods, pay attention to skin care, maintain a healthy lifestyle and actively deal with psychological stress. Kindly remind that each patient's condition is "unique", so the above suggestions are for reference only, and the specific treatment plan still needs to be guided by a professional doctor.

References:

1. Psoriasis Committee of the Chinese Society of Dermatology and Venereology. Chinese Journal of Dermatology, 2023, 56(7): 573-625.

2. Liu Xiaohan, et al. Journal of Peking Union Medical College, 2022, 13 (02): 308-314.