The stage of development of psoriasis

Psoriasis is one of the most well -known and widespread skin diseases. It has been known to man for centuries. Previously, when medical developments were at a very low level, no one could determine what type of disease it was and from where it originated. Many confuse it with leprosy, because the external symptoms coincide to some degree. Recent data shows that about 3% of the world’s population suffers from psoriasis. The disease mainly affects young people under the age of 25, but there are also many cases when people over the age of 50 fall ill. Although there have been significant advances in medical development, there is still no uniform information on the causes of this disease.

In this article, we will clearly consider the causes and description of the symptoms of this disease. We will also analyze in detail how this chronic disease occurs and what stage of psoriasis can be distinguished.

Causes of psoriasis

Physicians and scientists continue to search for the cause of chronic psoriasis. However, they were never able to know for sure why the disease developed.

The only thing that is known for sure is how psoriatic eruptions occur. This is due to the fact that the immune system functions abnormally, resulting in autoimmune reactions. The cells of the body begin to affect their tissues aggressively, an inflammatory process occurs, which is reflected on the skin in the form of seals, rashes, and flaking.

Today, the following reasons for the development of psoriasis are known:

1. Genetic predisposition. If your parents or close relatives have psoriasis, you are more likely to get the disease.
2. Depressed situations and neuropsychic tension. A very popular reason for other diseases as well. Given how many stressful situations there are in the lives of modern people, it is not surprising that more and more people are suffering from psoriasis.
3. Disorders of the endocrine system. They cause a violation of the hormonal background of the body, which is caused by various diseases.
4. Metabolism, vitamins, minerals and trace elements are disturbed. Particular attention should be paid to silicone deficiency. Its deficiency leads to the fact that the structure of the skin is disrupted, the vessels become weaker, and the connective tissue is at risk of getting various diseases. The main cause of silicon deficiency can be an unbalanced diet or intestinal parasites that suck all the silicon from the body.
5. Intestinal parasites. Microorganisms such as pig and cow tapeworms, ringworms, whip worms, and even lamblia, as a result of their active life, release many toxic substances into the body. They cause inflammation and allergic reactions and weaken the immune system. As a result, the risk of developing psoriasis increases.

6. Virus infection. Some viruses weaken the body’s defenses significantly, eventually leading to a variety of diseases, including psoriasis.

How psoriasis develops and the symptoms of the disease

Although psoriasis looks very unesthetic and causes a lot of inconvenience to patients, it is not spread through contact. That is, you will not get psoriasis if you hug or shake hands with your friend who suffers from the disease. You can continue to use the same household items and personal care products, such as towels.

If you remember school courses in biology, most of us know that the skin is a very complex organ of the human body. Any disruption in the work of the body will cause it to function with disruption as well. With a certain frequency, all skin cells gradually die, and new cells appear to replace the old ones. Old cells are secretly removed from the surface of the body. The average replacement cycle for all skin cells lasts about a month.

Whatever the cause of psoriasis in each particular case, any disruption of the body's function causes its protective function to weaken. As a result, the life cycle of skin cells is significantly reduced, up to several days. Dead cells do not have time to be completely removed, and certain seals appear on the surface of the body - called psoriatic plaques. They are quite painful, the surrounding skin is slightly inflamed, and exfoliation is also observed.

Early psoriasis occurs mainly in the wrists, elbows, knees and popliteal space. Gradually, the rash appears on other parts of the body and in most cases covers most of its surface.

In addition to the accumulation of psoriatic plaques, the following symptoms of the disease are observed:

1. Bleeding wounds occur at the site of greatest damage to the skin. Can occur due to cracks and scratches on the skin.
2. Nail violations. They become brittle, peeling, discoloration, and various holes appear on its surface.
3. Itching, which often becomes unbearable, especially at night.
4. Inflammation of the skin and damaged joints. By the way, if chronic psoriasis affects the joints, its shape is considered severe, regardless of what percentage of the body is affected.

Stages of psoriasis

The course of the disease is divided into three main stages - progressive, stationary and regressive. The first stage is characterized by the fact that the disease begins to worsen, the second is a period of persistent bodily conditions, during which symptoms do not become more or less. The third stage is the debilitating stage of the disease, when it is at rest. In some patients, external symptoms may disappear completely. In addition, some experts identify the so -called early stages, when new disease symptoms begin to appear, and a number of patients are able to fully recover from the disease. In many cases, the line between levels is somewhat blurred. Now let’s look at the stages of psoriasis separately.

Initial rating

In the early stages of development, the disease has just begun to attack the skin. A pinhead -sized rash starts to appear, but it can get bigger over time. The first symptom is a rash on the elbow and in the popliteal opening. It should be noted that plaques may not be long enough for long periods of time. They are pink in color, but over time they are covered with a gray-white layer. This indicates that the skin cell dies too quickly, its life cycle is reduced, because the new epithelium does not have time to grow. At this stage, you need to start sounding the alarm and immediately contact a dermatologist who will help you choose a treatment.

Level of progress

The progressive stage is the period of disease exacerbation. The progressive stage is characterized by the following symptoms:

1. New psoriatic plaques can appear at the site of mechanical damage to the skin - burns, scratches, injections, wounds, abrasions and so on. In addition, they can also occur because in some places the skin is rubbed with clothes, and even if you actively use wipes for bathing. This process is called the Koebner phenomenon and can last from 3 to 21 days.

2. The number of plaques becomes larger, the size of plaques increases and merges with each other. These papules are quite easily peeled from the surface of the skin, and blood will stand out. Dry scales can be seen on its surface, but not flaking at its edges. It should be noted that a very clear line can be seen between healthy skin and diseased skin.
3. Severe and prolonged itching Usually intensifies at night, as well as in the summer. It is very unpleasant, annoying, and also very painful. As a result, the normal rhythm of life is disrupted, and the patient loses composure. Also, if you scratch the skin, then new psoriatic plaques will appear.
4. Gradual increase in the affected area. Psoriasis begins to damage the surfaces of the back, chest, limbs, head, and other parts of the body.
5. Damage to nails. They become brittle, brittle, lose their natural color, and even peel off from the base of the nail.

6. Damage to joints. This type of disease is called psoriatic arthritis. Pain in the joints gradually increases when they are deformed. Due to the lack of treatment, the condition only got worse.

Stationary level

At this stage, stability is observed: new lesions do not appear, the psoriatic plaque is completely covered with a scaly layer, and some unpleasant sensations disappear.

The following symptoms may also be observed:

1. Increased exfoliation. With a progressive stage of the disease, the scales do not completely cover the damaged lesion; a reddish border can be seen along its edges, separating psoriatic plaques from healthy skin. Now all the damaged areas are completely covered with unstable scales.
2. Lack of growth on plaque size. They remain at the same level.
3. Absence of the Koebner phenomenon, i. e. when the skin is damaged, new psoriatic plaques do not appear.
4. About half of the patients may have what is called a pseudo-atrophic Voronov corolla. This is a brightly colored rim around the plaque, no more than 2 mm wide.

Regressive Stage

The most pleasant and long-awaited level after long-term treatment. We can say the last level. The deterioration of the disease and some stages of treatment were outdated, and his state of health improved. Now its main task is to prevent the onset of psoriasis. In some patients, plaque disappears to almost zero. The regressive stage of psoriasis has a number of other features. Which one?

1. Semi-atrophic corolla. The scales are almost gone, and light folds of light appear around the spot where the psoriatic plaque is. Because of the fact that these symptoms are also characteristic of the previous stage, the regressive stage cannot be determined solely by it.
2. Almost complete loss of exfoliation.
3. Light age spots appear in place of psoriatic plaques.

Disease Treatment

It is impossible to completely get rid of psoriasis with modern medicine. The only thing that has just been achieved is long-term forgiveness. In some successful cases, it can last almost a lifetime. But if you are still far from such an improvement, be prepared for the fact that periods of deterioration can occur almost every month, or more frequently. But what if your psoriasis is just starting to develop? What steps should be taken if you suspect the first stage of the disease?

The most important rule is not to self -medicate. The pharmaceutical market has a large number of drugs designed to fight this dermatological disease. Without the necessary knowledge, it is very easy to cause the opposite effect of self-medication, when, instead of the expected improvement, your condition worsens.

The biggest mistake in psoriasis is to start taking hormone medication on your own. They usually come in the form of ointments. Without consulting a specialist and with improper treatment, very serious side effects can occur: hormonal imbalance, addiction, skin atrophy, and if the drug is canceled suddenly, then the so-called withdrawal syndrome can occur. While it is possible to achieve some positive changes, the disease will soon return, but will be more difficult to continue. So, the first thing you need to do is see a dermatologist.

Once you contact the specialist, he will provide a series of examinations for you, after which, depending on the indications and severity of the disease, he will prescribe individual treatment. It can be influenced by many factors: age, area where you live, working conditions, gender, and even individual characteristics of the organism. In addition, you should take into account the possibility of allergic reactions to drugs, as well as the presence of bad habits. At the level of backwardness, the main thing is not to harm.

All treatment methods can be divided into three main groups:

1. Local treatment - used in all cases of the disease, regardless of the severity and degree of psoriasis. Various creams and ointments, moisturizers, hormonal ointments based on glucocorticoids, herbal preparations are used.
2. Therapeutic procedures are prescribed for severe forms of psoriasis. These include ultraviolet irradiation, laser therapy, photochemotherapy, as well as various hardware blood purification methods.

3. Systemic therapy - more serious drugs belonging to the group of monoclonal antibodies, cytostatics, hepatoprotectors, enterosorbents, and antihistamines are used.

In addition, spa treatments are highly recommended. Equally important is the prevention of psoriasis.

Psoriasis prevention

If you have been diagnosed with psoriasis, first of all, do not treat yourself. This is very dangerous and can have very serious consequences.

The second thing to keep in mind is to monitor your skin condition on a regular basis. Try not to scratch your itchy skin. Especially during the regression period.

Protect yourself from the flu by all means. The common cold is a weakness of the immune system, which negatively affects the course of psoriasis.

Your diet should be balanced. You should exclude sweets, spicy foods, as well as foods that contain large amounts of preservatives and other harmful substances from the diet. If you do not drink alcohol.

Follow a healthy lifestyle and exercise regularly. Try to stay in the sun as little as possible, as sunburn only exacerbates an already difficult illness.

Remember that it is easiest to cure the first stage of the disease. It's even harder.

Conclusion

We hope the material can help you identify the symptoms of psoriasis in a timely manner. In addition, you will know what to look for to alleviate your suffering.