Where to begin when searching for a psoriasis remedy
For those suffering from this chronic skin condition, the quest for an effective psoriasis remedy is fraught with mixed messages from many sources including dermatologists and commercial psoriasis treatments. Although psoriasis is an immune disease, many people find relief from simple ointment and cream treatments. Before you embark on a new psoriasis treatment, it is strongly recommended that you follow what is commonly known as the “1-2-3 approach”.
The first step involves topical remedies such as cream and ointment treatments containing corticosteroids, vitamin D, retinoids, coal tar or anthralin. In addition to these powerful topical treatments, many people find relief from soothing essential oil baths. Lavender essential oil has been shown to provide antiseptic and anesthetic effects, as well as increased healing of inflamed skin. Lavender essential oil can even be applied directly to broken skin. The addition of oatmeal to the bath has also been known to produce soothing relief from itching associated with psoriasis.
Although natural psoriasis treatments can effectively alleviate much of the discomfort of psoriasis and even aid in long-term treatment, stronger remedies are usually required. With stronger topical medications doctors usually adopt a trial and error approach, as this chronic skin condition tends to adapt to these treatments if they are not adjusted periodically.
Some doctors are treating psoriasis with light therapy
Step two involves ultraviolet light treatments, or phototherapy. Some dermatologists prefer to treat psoriasis using phototherapy instead of topical remedies. Sunlight contains ultraviolet (UV) light that causes activated T cells in the skin to die. This reduces inflammation and slows the skin shedding process that is responsible for scaling. Daily short intervals of exposure to sunlight effectively clears or improves psoriasis in many people.
When neither of the first set of psoriasis treatments is effective, there is a third option. The third step involves taking oral medication or injections that treat the entire immune system. These types of systemic treatments generally involve broad spectrum antibiotics. A newer class of psoriasis treatment, known as “biologics”, are types of proteins that effect only the aspect of immune function associated with psoriasis. These drugs have only recently begun to receive approval by the FDA, and long-term impact on the immune system is still unknown.