A recent study in Ireland has found that people treat psoriasis as a serious problem that they take time to consult a specialist and wait for up to three years to curtail and treat the skin condition. Experts assert that the study conducted bi Irish advocacy group Behavior and Attitudes also reflect the sentiment and perception of people from other parts of the world about psoriasis.

According to the United States’ National Institutes of Health, there are about 5.8 million to 7.5 million US citizens who are suffering from psoriasis. About 20% of those have already developed psoriatic arthritis, an acute form of psoriasis that leads to stiffness, inflammation and pain in the joint areas of the body like the elbows and knees. Observations and studies also indicate that such problems initially appear during the ages of 15 years to 35 years. There are also evidences that state that psoriasis can be mainly due to hereditary or genetic factors.

Awareness and attention about psoriasis was revived when America’s Top Model Season 7 winner CariDee English admitted on national television that she has been suffering from psoriasis. The admission made so many people curious about the skin disorder. The result: more Americans talked about the skin problem, the causes and possible treatments. A proof of that is the increasing number of search engine searches across the Internet for the subject. Psoriasis is immune-system-related and is manifested by scaly, red patches in the scalp, knees, elbows, nails and all other skin areas of the body. Ms. English helped bring these facts to the American television.

Experts assert that it would only take between three and four days before a skin cell infected with psoriasis matures and moves out to the surface of the skin. Normally, skin cells take maturity and fall off in about a month’s time. In psoriasis-infected skin, instead of shedding, the skin cells accumulate and form not very likely red patches that are also feeling uncomfortably and annoyingly itchy.

Recent research efforts have found that smoking cigarettes can very much likely increase the risk of development of the skin problem. In simple explanation, experts say there might be substances found in each cigarette stick that could trigger the body’s immune system to accelerate skin cells’ growth cycles. Such substances weaken the immune system, and the skin as a reaction produces the scaly patches known as psoriasis. The study is published by the American Journal of Medicine.