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Skin Disorders and Treatment
Acrochordons
Acanthosis Nigricans
Actinic keratosis
Allergic Contact Dermatitis
Alopecia Areata
Anal Warts
Angioma
Amoebiasis
Aphthous Ulcer
Athlete's Foot
Atopic Dermatitis
Baldness
Blackheads
Blue Nevi
Browen's Disease
Bullous Pemphigoid
Candidiasis
Cavernous Hemangioma
Cellulite
Chilblains
Chapped Lips
Cracked Heels
Cysts
Dandruff
Dark Circles
Dermatitis Herpetiformis
Dermatitis
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Dry Lips
Dyshidrotic Eczema
Eczema
Enlarged Pores
Epidermolysis Bullosa
Erythroderma
Eye Stye
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Fibroadenoma
Flexural Psoriasis
Fordyce's Condition
Folliculitis
Freckles
Furunculosis
Genital Herpes
Granuloma Annulare
Grovers Disease
Hand Dermatitis
Heat Rash
Herpes Simplex
Herpes Zooster
Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Hirsutism
Hot Tub Folliculitis
Ichthyosis
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Ingrown Toe Nail
Intertrigo
Keloid
Keratoacanthoma
Keratosis Pilaris
Leucoderma
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Lichen Sclerosus
Lichen Simplex Chronicus
Lichen Straitus
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Lymes Disease
Lymphomatoid Papulosis
Mastocytosis
Melasma
Morton's Neuroma
Mucocutaneous Candidiasis
Necrobiosis Lipoidica Diabeticorum
Paget's Disease
Pemphigus Vulgaris
Pityriasis Versicolor
Pityriasis Rosea
Pruritis Ani
Shingles
Tinea Versicolor
Tinea Cruris
Venous Angioma
Vulvodynia
Xerosis
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Flexural Psoriasis
Psoriasis is one of the most stubborn skin diseases. It is a chronic disease characterized by thick, red, silvery, scaled patches of skin. This disease affects both sexes equally and usually first appears at the age ranging from 15 to 30 years, although it may appear at any age. It is however, rare in infancy and old age. Psoriasis is not contagious. Flexural psoriasis is more frequent and severe in people who are overweight because it is in the skin folds where it is particularly prone to irritation from rubbing and sweating. It is also called inverse psoriasis.
In the United Kingdom, it is believed that around 1.2 million people suffer from this depressive and resistant disease. This figure is similarly affected in many countries around the world.
Inverse psoriasis occurs in the armpits and groin, under the breasts, and in other areas where skin flexes or folds. This disease is characterized by smooth, inflamed lesions and can be debilitating.
Flexural Psoriasis Causes
The inflamed and flaked skin associated with Psoriasis is often accompanied by a severe itching sensation that may cause sufferers to scratch so vigorously that they draw blood. One cause of flexural psoriasis may be yeast overgrowth, as well as high sensitivity to friction or sweating. The skin lesions are further intensified by the sweat and skin rubbing together in the skin folds.
Certain factors may lead to outbreaks of Flexural Psoriasis:
- Immune System: Psoriasis is driven by the immune system, especially involving a type of white blood cell called a T cell. Normally, T cells help protect the body against infection and disease. In the case of psoriasis, T cells are put into action by mistake and become so active that they trigger other immune responses, which lead to inflammation and to rapid turnover of skin cells.
- Genetics: Psoriasis is influenced by inherited characteristics. Up to 50% of people with psoriasis will know of another affected family member. Patients with a family history of psoriasis tend to develop psoriasis earlier in life than those without a family history.
- Injury: Psoriasis localises around the site of physical, chemical, electrical, infective and inflammatory injury as it heals (the Koebner phenomenon). Less often, psoriasis may localise to old scars.>
- Drinking & smoking: There is an association between increased alcohol intake and smoking and the development of severe psoriasis. However, whether a cause or effect is not known.
Flexural Psoriasis Symptoms
- Bright red areas of raised patches (plaques) on the skin often covered with loose, silvery scales. Plaques can occur anywhere, but commonly they occur on the knees, elbows, scalp, hands, feet, or lower back.
- Mild scaling to thick, crusted plaques on the scalp.
- Tiny pits in the nails, Yellowish discoloration of the toenails and possibly the fingernails, Separation of the end of the nail from the nail bed.
- Patches may join together to form large affected areas on the back and chest.
Flexural Psoriasis Treatment
- Calcipotriol cream is an effective and safe treatment for psoriasis in the flexures and should be applied twice daily. If it irritates, it can be applied once daily and hydrocortisone cream 12 hours later.
- A cleansing fast that consists of seven days of fruit juice and water is sometimes recommended as the first step in the treatment process since Flexural Psoriasis is a metabolic illness. Citrus fruit and juices should be avoided, but carrots, cucumbers, and grapes can be used during this time.
- Sunshine may help to clear psoriasis. It is found that in many people it improves dramatically during sunny holidays. Take care, as psoriasis may develop in areas of sunburn, and fair skin exposed to ultraviolet radiation becomes prematurely aged and may develop skin cancer.
- Stronger topical steroids need to be used with care, only for a few days, thinly and very accurately applied to the psoriasis. If the psoriasis has cleared, stop the steroid cream. The steroid cream may be used again when the condition recurs. Calcipotriol cream is an effective and safe treatment for psoriasis in the flexures and should be applied twice daily.
- Two of the therapies currently being used, etanercept and remicade, are already available for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's disease. Both therapies are tumor necrosis factor (TNF) blockers, which work by interfering with specific immune responses that are responsible for psoriasis.
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Skin Treatments