Here is a summary of the important facts and information related to psoriasis.
- Psoriasis is a
chronic skin disorder that affects both men and women. - Psoriasis is not an infection and it is not contagious-you cannot "catch" it from anyone.
- The severity of psoriasis varies widely. The most common pattern is for the disease to be limited to certain parts of the body but to recur frequently.
- Treatment can often control the disease for long periods. However, none of the available treatments is a cure. The disease can come back when treatment stops.
- In about one-third of cases, psoriasis is inherited. If both of a child's parents have psoriasis, the child's chances of getting the disease are about 50-50.
- Skin injury, climate change, infection, drug reactions, and stress can all cause psoriasis to flare up or worsen.
- Treatment for psoriasis varies depending on
- the type of psoriasis
- the extent and severity of the disease (how much of the skin is affected and how badly)
- the age, sex, and lifestyle of the affected person
- how the affected person has responded to treatment in the past.
- In general, doctors treat psoriasis in three ways.
- medications applied to the skin (topical therapy)
- treatments that use
ultraviolet light (phototherapy) - medications given as a pill or injection (systemic therapy)
- Biologic agents, administered through injection, are being introduced for the treatment of psoriasis and have substantial advantages over previously used
systemic therapies because they have fewer risks and side effects. - Treatments can be combined in various ways to try to get the best outcome. Finding the most effective treatment for an affected individual can involve a lot of trial and error.
