In February 2009, Christine and her two daughters, Katelyn and Carly travelled to Washington, D.C., for Capitol Hill Day. Both her girls have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis.
When the girls began showing signs of psoriasis, Christine and her husband had no idea what to think. Not only did they not know anyone with the disease, but their symptoms were severe. Doctors were hesitant to treat them with anything more than over-the-counter treatments. At the ages of 4 and 7, both girls began showing signs of psoriatic arthritis.
Like any mother, Christine wants her daughters to have the best quality of life possible and worries about the co-morbidities associated with psoriasis.
WHAT EXACTLY IS PSORIASIS?
According to my dermatologists (I saw 3 - two in Singapore and one in Europe!), Psoriasis affects 3 in 10 Singaporeans. Psoriasis is an auto-immune system - the human body is not able to recognize its own cells...in this case - skin. A scratch, a bite, or a bruise can trigger it into something like a huge flaky dandruff patch. These patches are known as "plaques" or "lesions". [
Explaination of psoriasis in Spanish ::
Psoriasis in Animation ]
When flaky skin falls out (or is scratched away), the underlying skin tends to be pink. It is not as itchy as eczema but the affected skin areas can look sore and red.
Eczema and psoriasis are not infectious..not contagious!
Above: Psoriasis of left leg
"Normally the Immune System can tell the difference between the body proteins itself and the foreign proteins of bacteria or viruses. But sometimes the body's own proteins are recognized as foreign. In this case the Immune System starts attacking and tries to kill the body's own cells. This is known as an Autoimmune Agression, Autoimmune Response or an Autoimmune Disorder.
In a person with psoriasis the skin cells divide 5-10 times more rapidly. Not yet completely ripen cells are pushed out into the epidermis. When these cells contact oxygen, there starts a process of the cell death. Cells die, without having ripened and formed the protective layer on the skin. This endless process is responsible for the appearance of the psoriatic lesions. Psoriasis-aid.com
The above description is absolutely right with what I have! While a normal person's skin may take a few days to heal from a cut, mine heals within a day because "not yet completely ripen cells are pushed out into the epidermis". That is why when the top layer of "dandruff" or dry skin comes off, it reveals PINK skin.
Rapid skin cell growth and shedding deplete stores of protein, iron and folate because skin seems to take precedence over other parts of the body.
Psoriasis is made worse by /body's low immunity system, mental trauma, stress, infectious diseases and even by some prescription drugs.
In extreme cases, the body of a psoriasis sufferer does not 'recognize' bone joints - mistakens bone joints as foreign objects/organisms and starts to "attack" the joints. This is how psoriasis arthritis comes about.
Little girls and teenagers can suddenly be walking like grandma. Joint mobility which many many healthy people take for granted (by not looking after one's health), can be painful for sufferers of psoriatic arthritis.
What do doctors say? Many doctors will say it's a defect of a gene. In my family, only females seem to have it (including me).
Mine started with a...believe it or not....bite of a vampire beetle.
My elder brother was shocked because he said beetles don't eat flesh. I reckoned its legs and jaws could have accidentally sliced off my skin near the elbow, when I brushed it away.
Then we had lots of mosquitoes behind where we live - an area where we can play games, fly kites and probably have a BBQ party. I consoled myself that if female mosquitoes wanted my blood, I am healthy.
I suffer from Scalp Psoriasis (not associated with hair loss), Nail Psoriasis and Face Psoriasis (a little on the left and middle of my nose), which is why using natural ingredients for my skin and scalp is so important to me! Unlike dandruff which usually affects almost the entire scalp, psoriasis on the scalp forms very distinct patches and leaves some other areas clear. An injured toe, for example, will 'find me' growing extra-thick toe nail in a few days. My left knee hurts after just 2 hours of walking. So, my condition is chronic, to say the least. [ Type 1 and Type 2 Psoriasis ]
To make matters worse, ligaments in my right hand was partially torn during my course of work. To this day, I can not hold heavy oil paintings. My ex-employer never compensated me for my injury. 4 months after the injury, Singapore passed the law to make employers responsible for "industrial mishaps" in the workplace (for executives and managers).
Well...my left knee still hurts when I walk a lot, but not as often as before I became a 85% vegetarian (I still drink goats' milk and take Omega-3 supplements). I have a bad left leg and a bad right hand (made better with a vegetarian diet!) What a combo! haha
How does Psoriasis Impact individuals Over Time? How to Best Treat it?
Like gardens need fertilizers, we need the nutrients to nourish our bodies and perhaps room for "natural self-repair". I believe the best doctor is our own bodies.
What should Psoriasis Sufferers like me Know?
1. Firstly avoid any shampoos, skin gels or creams with any of the following chemicals (listed in alphabetical order):
1) 1,4-dioxane
2) 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol (Bronopol)
3) Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40)
4) Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES)
5) Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
6) Anionic Surfactants
7) Benzalkonium Chloride
8) Butylated Hudroxyanisole (BHA)
9) Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
10) Cationic surfactants
11) Cetalkonium chloride
12) Cetrimonium chloride
13) Chloromethylisothiazolinone
14) Isothiazolinone
15) Cocoamidopropyl Betaine
16) Cocoyl Sarcosine
17) Cyclomethicone
18) DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (Monoethanolamine), & TEA (triethanolamine)
19) Diazolidinyl urea
20) Dimethicone
21) Dimethicone Copolyol
22) Disodium Dioctyl Sulfosuccinate
23) Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate
24) Disodium Oleamide Sulfosuccinate
25) DMDM Hydantoin
26) Ethoxylated surfactants
27) FD & C Colour Pigments
28) Formaldehyde
29) Fragrance
30) Hydrolysed Animal Protein
31) Imidazolidinyl urea
32) Lanolin
33) Lauryl dimonium hydrolysed collagen
34) Lauryl or Cocoyl Sarcosine
35) Lauryl Sarcosine
36) Liquidum Paraffinum
37) MEA compounds
38) Methylisothiazolinone and Methylchloroisothiazolinone
39) Mineral Oil
40) Nitrosating Agents
41) Paraben preservatives (methyl, propyl, butyl, and ethyl)
42) Paraffin wax/oil
43) Polyethylene Glycol (PEG) compounds
44) Potassium Coco Hydrolysed Collagen
45) Propylene/Butylene Glycol
46) PVP/VA Copolymer
47) Quaternium-7, 15, 31, 60, etc
48) Rancid Natural Emollients
49) Silicone derived emollients
50) Sodium Cocoyl Sarcosinate
51) Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) Ammonium Laureth Sulfate (ALES)
52) Sodium Lauroyl Sarcosinate
53) Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (ALS)
54) Sodium Methyl Cocoyl Taurate
55) Stearalkonium Chloride
56) Talc
57) TEA (Triethanolamine) Laureth Sulfate
58) TEA compounds
59) Toluene
Reference: Alkalizeforhealth.net
That's just Tip #1! Visit Natural Alternative Treatments for Psoriasis Part 2 for a Continuation of 9 other Psoriasis Tips!
Related Info:
- Dr. Mercola explains external irritants etc that could worsen psoriasis.
- Merck's Psoriasis Drug Raptiva Too Dangerous to Use on Humans - European Health Authorities
- Medwire-news (2004) reports that UVB Combs as beneficial for treatment of scalp psoriasis.
- Light Therapy at Home helps Psoriasis - CBC.ca
- LeeAnn Rimes encourages psoriasis sufferers to speak out (video)
- Controversial; Worms for Probiotic Health??
About this blogger: Kelly blogs at MyQute and tweets at Twitter. She writes about Risks and Deaths due to Food Toxicity, Pollution, Environmental and Health Issues, Animal Cruelty, Vegetarian Recipes, Wordpress blogging, sources of Design inspiration, Twitter tools and tips, Art and Framing, etc. Getting more aware of National (and International) Laws & Justice. Beside keeping track of crime non-fiction and swearing at real-world news, Kelly loves kawaii (cute aka qute) things, and exploring other countries' nature and cultural museums.
