Almost a third of people with severe psoriasis, more than a third of people with moderate, and almost half of people with mild psoriasis haven’t received treatment.
Of those with psoriasis that did receive treatment, about half were dissatisfied.
Granted, psoriasis is a chronic condition, and treatment is tricky (at best), but shouldn’t people with severe symptoms, who often experience a related lower quality life, at least be given treatment?
Psoriasis is sort of like a rash. It’s a poorly studied immune reaction—a combination of cells gathering on the skin (causing the appearance), inflammation, and itching.
There are various suspected causes of psoriasis (all of which can potentially cause the disease to worsen or flare): genes, stress, infection, skin injury, or withdrawal from steroids, which are commonly given for treatment… Because it’s a poorly studied disease, doctors don’t really know what causes it to get worse, or better (which it seemingly randomly will for some people).
But random, when it comes to science (and good health is a science) isn’t really random, it’s just unknown causes. But take a look at the things strongly associated with psoriasis—stress, infection, injury, inflammation—those are things you have a small measure of control over!
You already know about controlling stress. But if you have psoriasis, it could potentially improve your symptoms to be very proactive about it. (And if it doesn’t work, are you really going to complain about being less stressed out?) While there are lots of little things that can help your stress levels (eat right, get enough sleep, good task management…) try these two big things: meditate, and exercise. Meditation can give you a steady mind to take all of life’s bumps, many of which you have no control over. Exercise will help your body, and your brain chemicals, function optimally. (And hey, most traditional meditators spent lots of hours being active).
Then, take a look at the physical side of psoriasis: infection, injury, and inflammation. Managing psoriasis then means a very proactive approach to these three things as well:
Infection/Injury. Support your immune system. I’ll say this again because it’s the root of all good health: eat right, rest, and exercise. But in addition to that, you can support your immune system with supplements like colloidal silver. If you have an autoimmune disease (which psoriasis kind of is), you don’t want your immune system working harder than it absolutely has to, because while it fights an infection (or whatever) it will also be fighting your body. Take time off work to rest when you get sick/rest injuries, get treatment immediately, and don’t forget to eat right! Your body will use those nutrients to rebuild.
Inflammation. Add more antioxidants to your diet to fight inflammation. Bright fruits and veggies, and even antioxidant supplements will supply your body with the tools to counterbalance inflammation.
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