What is psoriasis?

Hello friends, today we are going to learn about a common skin disease - psoriasis. Why is it common? It is not because there are small advertisements for the treatment of psoriasis posted everywhere on telephone poles and toilet walls, but because psoriasis really exists around us. Many friends are also troubled by it.

"Is psoriasis a common skin disease? Am I ignorant?" Perhaps the three words "psoriasis" are too unfamiliar to everyone, but I believe everyone has heard of the name "psoriasis" to some extent. Yes, psoriasis is psoriasis.

Psoriasis is commonly known as psoriasis, but because in medical theory, "ringworms" mainly refers to a type of disease caused by fungal infection of the skin, and does not reflect the characteristics of psoriasis, the name "psoriasis" has gradually been replaced.

So what exactly is psoriasis? And what does it have to do with "silver psoriasis"?

Psoriasis is actually a common chronic skin disease with unknown causes and unique characteristics of skin damage. Its characteristic damage is "silver psoriasis". The damaged parts of the skin of patients with psoriasis appear as red papules or plaques, covered with multiple layers of silvery white scales. After scraping off the scales, translucent films and punctate bleeding can be seen. Because white scales often fall off after scratching, it is called "psoriasis". Although it is not as obvious as acne and hair loss, it is not an empty talk to say that it is common. As early as 1984, the national epidemiological survey of psoriasis showed that there were more than 2.5 million psoriasis patients in my country. Although it is included in the category of skin diseases, its power is far more than what we see with the naked eye. It not only seriously damages the patient's skin, but also attacks the patient's various organs, resulting in systemic damage. Because of its lingering course, easy to relapse, and incurable, it has been listed as one of the key diseases studied in the field of dermatology.

How does psoriasis come about? Is it the same thing as dandruff?

To understand this problem, we must first understand the composition of the skin. The skin can be roughly divided into three parts, from the outside to the inside, namely the epidermis, dermis and subcutaneous tissue. You can imagine it as an orange. Peel a small orange directly from the middle. From the outside to the inside, there are the sour orange peel, the white orange pith and the sweet and juicy orange flesh. The epidermis is equivalent to the orange peel, which plays a protective and defensive role; the dermis is like the orange pith, which contains some tiny structures such as sebaceous glands, tactile bodies and arrector pili muscles; and the subcutaneous tissue is our orange flesh, where structures such as muscles, small blood vessels and nerve bundles are located.

"Silver psoriasis" mainly involves the part represented by orange peel. Our epidermis has the outermost stratum corneum and the innermost basal layer. If you observe the orange peel carefully, you will find that if you clean the white orange peel on the orange peel, you will see round beads with full particles. Carefully peel off the small round beads, and only the outermost hard orange peel shell will be left. The round beads and orange peel represent the basal layer and stratum corneum of the skin. Under normal circumstances, the round beads provide various nutrients to the orange peel to keep the orange peel in a normal state. Even if the orange peel is damaged or falls off due to normal metabolism, the cells in the round beads will gradually grow, which is called keratinization, and supplement to the orange peel part, thus reaching a state of balance. However, for some reasons, this state of balance is broken in patients with psoriasis, and a large area of ​​orange peel is anxious to fall off. At this time, the round beads have not yet fully grown, that is, keratinization is completed to become the appearance of orange peel. There is no way to supplement the missing part. The fallen orange peel becomes "white flakes", and the round beads that have not grown well are "translucent films" and "spot bleeding". However, the production of dandruff is mainly related to Pityrosporum, which only exists in the dead cells of the scalp. Under normal circumstances, the dandruff produced by natural metabolism is not easy to detect, but Pityrosporum causes the orange peels that should normally fall off to accumulate on the surface of the oranges. The more they accumulate, the more snowflake-like dandruff is produced. This shows that there is an essential difference between "scaly psoriasis" and "dandruff".

In fact, up to now, the pathogenesis of psoriasis is unclear, and scientists have only provided concentrated speculation theories, such as: genetic inheritance, infection of microbial metabolites, low cellular immune function, mental and psychological stress events, negative emotions disrupting the body's metabolic balance, changes in hormone levels, trauma or surgery, and low blood selenium levels. Although the cause is not very clear, if the factors that induce and aggravate psoriasis are controlled, it can be regarded as an effective preventive measure. The first is climate. The incidence rate is high in areas with low average temperatures, and low in areas with high average temperatures.

From the perspective of the course of individual psoriasis patients, if there is no interference from treatment drugs, most of them have dry and itchy skin in winter, aggravated skin lesions, and new rashes are prone to occur; in summer, the skin sweats and moisturizes, the rash becomes thinner and lighter, or even disappears completely. Therefore, friends in the dry weather in the north should strengthen moisturizing. Another is light. In winter, the days are short and the nights are long, and the sunlight exposure time is short, which is not conducive to the disappearance of skin lesions. The stimulation of cold and dryness can easily cause upper respiratory tract infections and induce or aggravate psoriasis. Another thing we often do is also an important factor that aggravates psoriasis, that is, staying up late, because staying up late breaks the normal biological clock and has multiple harms to the human body. From 11 pm to 3 am the next day is the rest time of the body's immune function. Chinese medicine believes that this is the time when the body's meridians run to the gallbladder and liver. If these two organs do not get enough rest, it will affect the health of the skin. Patients with psoriasis need to ensure adequate sleep and try not to stay up late. There is also drinking and smoking, which is also a commonplace topic. How many times do I have to say it before everyone can put out the cigarette in their hands? Smoking is very detrimental to psoriasis. People who are healthy or already suffering from the disease should quit smoking and avoid passive smoking. Alcoholism, especially strong alcohol, can directly dilate blood vessels and increase vascular permeability, which, through a series of reactions, leads to the proliferation of epidermal cells. Therefore, it is recommended that patients with psoriasis do not drink alcohol, and people with normal skin should not drink alcohol excessively.

The treatment of psoriasis mainly depends on developing a comprehensive joint treatment plan under the guidance of professional medical staff, so as to control the progression of the disease, delay the progression of skin lesions to the whole body, alleviate symptoms such as erythema, scaling and local plaque thickening, stabilize the condition, avoid recurrence, try to avoid side effects, and improve the quality of life. Therefore, once diagnosed, friends should not take medicine or trust folk prescriptions without authorization, let alone those small advertisements, and go to a regular hospital for treatment in time.

While fully cooperating with the treatment, we also need to not relax our vigilance. There are also some precautions in daily life. The first is diet. Friends with psoriasis should avoid alcohol, seafood, spicy food, and mainly eat light food. Do not eat foods that cause allergic reactions, such as lamb and seafood. Choose a high-protein, low-fat diet, and eat more beans, whole grains, and foods rich in vitamins such as fresh vegetables and fruits. Some friends have their condition aggravated after eating certain foods. This is mostly related to allergic reactions caused by differences in the body, so they should avoid eating them accordingly. Some people advocate that general foods can be eaten, but they should avoid foods that they are allergic to. This cannot be generalized, but food hygiene must be ensured to prevent diseases such as enteritis.

It is worth noting that hemolytic streptococcal infection is a triggering factor for psoriasis. Avoid colds, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis as much as possible. Once they occur, symptomatic treatment should be actively given to avoid aggravating psoriasis. In daily medication, antimalarial drugs and beta-blockers can induce or aggravate the condition. At the same time, endocrine changes and pregnancy can also induce psoriasis and aggravate it.

When we have psoriasis, we should also ensure that the living environment is dry and ventilated, and it is convenient for bathing. It is advisable to bathe with warm water, and it is forbidden to use strong alkaline soaps and shampoos for bathing. When washing the affected area, the action should be gentle, and do not forcibly peel off the skin lesions to avoid local infection, affecting treatment and prolonging the course of the disease. Take good care of the skin and scalp. Apply moisturizing cream frequently to keep the skin moisturized. Thick, oily moisturizers can lock in subcutaneous moisture and are the best choice. Moisturizing water can also be used to remove scales. You can use soothing shower gels regularly, such as tar shower gels. And wear clean and soft clothes, and change underwear and bed sheets regularly to prevent skin infection. Patients with pustular psoriasis should not rub the lesions to prevent erosion and secondary infection.

In summer, you can expose the skin lesions to sunlight more often, but not too strongly to avoid burning the skin. In dry and cold seasons, it is best to use a humidifier to increase the humidity in the house to avoid trauma and infection, and to avoid scratching and strong stimulation to avoid new skin lesions. Try to avoid mosquito bites. Do not use acupuncture treatment or tattoos.

After the temporary clinical recovery of psoriasis, its immune function, microcirculation, and metabolism have not yet fully returned to normal, and generally need 2 to 3 months to recover. Therefore, after clinical recovery, that is, after the surface skin lesions have completely subsided, you should continue to take 2 to 3 courses of medication for consolidation, so that the toxins can be cleared more thoroughly and recurrence can be reduced. It is necessary to eliminate mental stress factors, avoid excessive fatigue, and pay attention to rest. People and diseases are like people and beasts. If you are not afraid of it, it may not hurt you; the more you are afraid of it, the more it will attack you. Adjust your mentality. Even cancer may be cured without treatment, and psoriasis will also have hope of being cured!

References:

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[2] Chen Kai. Psoriasis: [M]. Beijing: China Traditional Chinese Medicine Press, 2005.01:5-7.

[3] Lu Yongtian. Modern diagnosis and treatment of psoriasis combining traditional Chinese and western medicine [M]. Xi'an: Shaanxi Science and Technology Press, 2006.01:1-4.

[4] LRA D. PAPEL. Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery: [M]. Jinan: Shandong Science and Technology Press, 2019.02:1-5.

[5] Huo Yi, Huo Xiaowei. Huo Lie Wuxiaoyan Prescriptions:[M]. Beijing: China Medical Science and Technology Press, 2018.09:136.

[6] Zhang Jianzhong. Skin diseases and sexually transmitted diseases[M]. Beijing: China Medical Science and Technology Press, 2004.05:90-92.