After reading this, all those who misunderstood psoriasis were silenced!

Now is the transition season between autumn and winter, and the condition of many psoriasis patients has reached the stage of "rampant" aggravation. In fact, psoriasis is just a common name, and psoriasis is the real name. At present, nearly 7 million people in my country are troubled by psoriasis1-2. The typical manifestation of psoriasis is the appearance of red patches on the skin covered with silvery white scales. Some people often see the affected areas of psoriasis patients and show some strange eyes, fearing infection and avoiding them. Some people will also murmur in their hearts, whether this psoriasis will be inherited by the next generation.

In fact, it is precisely because many people do not really understand psoriasis that there are some misunderstandings and concerns. So, what is psoriasis? Is it hereditary? Is it contagious? After reading this article, you will understand~

If parents have it, the children must have it!

People often ask: "Will children born to people with psoriasis also have psoriasis?" "If both husband and wife have psoriasis, will the child definitely have psoriasis?" It is undeniable that psoriasis does have a genetic tendency. But it does not mean that if a parent has psoriasis, the child will inherit it 100%: if one parent has psoriasis, the probability of their children developing the disease is about 14%, in other words, about 1 in 7 children may have the disease; if both parents have the disease, the probability of their children developing the disease will be higher than that of one parent, about 40%3.

Moreover, the onset of psoriasis cannot be explained by a single genetic factor. Environmental and immune factors also play a vital role in the occurrence of psoriasis4. The genetic background is indeed powerless to change, but environmental factors can be well controlled. Trauma, exposure to tobacco and alcohol, and even excessive stress can all trigger psoriasis. Reducing the causes and actively preventing the occurrence of the disease are things we can do, such as cultivating good living habits, not smoking, not drinking; avoiding excessive mental stress, lack of sleep, and excessive fatigue. In fact, problems with certain immune pathways in the human body are the core problem of the onset of psoriasis. With the development of medicine, there are currently many treatment methods centered on abnormal immune pathway mechanisms that are widely used in the treatment of psoriasis patients.

This kind of ringworm is not that kind of ringworm, and it is not contagious!

"Is psoriasis contagious?" This is a question that everyone has been concerned about. From the explanation of the causes of the disease just now, I believe everyone has seen some clues that infection is not one of the factors that cause psoriasis. In fact, the erythema and scales exposed by psoriasis are just the manifestation of inflammatory reactions on the skin caused by problems in the internal immune pathway, and are not skin changes directly caused by infectious bacteria, fungi or parasites. Moreover, psoriasis is not included in the "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases"5. Therefore, psoriasis is not contagious and is not an infectious disease.

Here, we once again call on everyone to have a correct understanding of psoriasis: Psoriasis is affected by genetic factors, but it is not a genetic disease; psoriasis is not contagious, nor is it a contagious disease. Let us take off our tinted glasses, look at psoriasis correctly, and give more understanding and care to psoriasis patients.

If you have relatives or friends who are suffering from psoriasis, please give him/her an encouraging hug and forward this article to him/her!

References:

1. Ding X, et al. Eur J Dermatol, 2012, 22(5): 663⁃667.

2. http://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/ndsj/2022/indexch.htm

3. April W Armstrong, et al. JAMA. 2020 May 19;323(19):1945-1960.

4. Psoriasis Committee of the Chinese Society of Dermatology and Venereology. Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Psoriasis (2023 Edition). Chinese Journal of Dermatology, 2023, 56(7): 573-625.

5.http://www.nhc.gov.cn/fzs/s3576/201808/6d00c158844f42c5bcf94993bffa665a.shtml