You have just discovered that you have the skin condition known as psoriasis – but how do you handle how your skin changes? Do you think people will notice the changes in your skin? Will you be able to make eye contact with other people without hoping that they are not just staring at you? Whatever you might think you need to stay positive and to know that there is a lot of help available

Why must the skin change?

Whilst there is no specific answer as to why psoriasis develops it can happen it any stage in life and affects approximately 2% of the population. It arises because the cells within the body are maturing quicker than normal for the body to deal with.

Normally there is a 28 day period for the skin to mature and make it way to the surface as new skin. The old skin has then shed and everything is normal. In the case of psoriasis the skin rate of growth has a cycle of 3 days and so this is much quicker than the body can actually handle and this is what is visible to people.

But why it happens is just a guess really – it can be from a cough to experiencing emotional stress.

Just what are the skin changes that you can experience?

As the skins cells grow and gather to the surface, there appears to be raised patches covered in what looks like silver scales on the surface of the skin. It can affect the entire body including the scalp. Areas such as the genitals and a woman’s breasts simply look more shiny than actually scaly.

It is not possible to catch this condition like you can with the common cold. It is certainly not contagious, if it was psoriasis would be a lot more common than it is today. It cannot move or spread from body area to body area. Essentially wherever psoriasis develops on the body that is where it will generally stay. But how it will appear will vary greatly from person to person. It could be just a small patch to a very large and painful eruption.

Psoriasis treatments that are available

If you do you have psoriasis then as well as the condition affecting your skin your mental attitude is also affected. You may feel isolated or that people will not want to approach you. However there are numerous treatments that are available on the market today.

Many patients just have the small patch on their skin and most creams will be more than suitable for this. There are no side effects, provided the creams are organic and natural based, but you should try to avoid steroid based products. More serious cases will need to be seen be a doctor who then make the suggestion to see a specialist such as a dermatologist, and who will then help you to treat the condition. But whatever you should also remember to moisturise daily and to keep the skin hydrated as much as possible.