How Psoriasis Cream Can Ease Symptoms

Psoriasis cream treatments can be a valuable addition to any program of care for this debilitating skin condition, but it is important to realize that for optimum results the condition needs to be treated both internally and externally. To understand the reasons for this, you will need to be able to see how the human immune system can cause skin problems.

The exact cause of the condition is unknown, because no-one can determine exactly why the immune system should suddenly regard the skin as a threat. The phenomenon is fundamentally similar to the way the body reacts when there is a food allergy, but that is easier to understand as it is a reaction to a foreign body. What is known is that the immune system reacts to something, and causes the skin to be renewed at a far faster rate. This, in turn, leads to flaking and pink skin coming loose. The red skin underneath can also be extremely sore and painful, and this can often mean that you will need to modify your lifestyle and work habits. There is also a known hereditary factor, in that people from the same family as a psoriasis sufferer are far more likely to develop the condition.

Although creams can be used to soothe the skin, and lessen the effect of an attack when it happens, they can only play a small part in the overall management of psoriasis. There is much more which will need to be done if the incidence of attack is to be reduced to the minimum. You will need to start by making sure that the body is not exposed to any more risk factors than it needs to be. The most obvious risk factor is anything which can injure the skin, even if the potential injury is a long way from the area where the psoriasis typically flares up.

Sunlight can also affect the skin dramatically, if it is strong enough and sustained for a long time. If you are someone who needs to work outside, make sure that you use as much skin protection as you can, and cover up any sensitive areas. This is even more important if you have a psoriasis of the scalp, where it will be directly in the glare of the sun. The head will need to be protected, even if that means wearing a cap which stops air getting to the scalp.

While psoriasis cream can help greatly to lessen the effects of sunburn on the affected areas, it will have far more effect in combating the actual condition if there is no sunburn to deal with. Cream will also be far more effective if it is used in conjunction with sound dietary and lifestyle practices. It is never a good idea to rely on a cream to be a cure all, and especially not to cope with any bad habits you may need to eradicate. Smoking, heavy drinking, late nights mind overworking, and poor diet are all risk factors which need to be eliminated.

If you have managed to eliminate the risk factors from your diet, and started to base your food consumption on fresh food, you will already be taking large quantities of the essential vitamins and minerals into your body. It can never do any harm, though, to supplement this with dietary supplements. Interestingly, many of the creams which are used in the treatment of psoriasis are also based on the same vitamins, especially vitamins A and D. These creams will never cure the condition, and they can only do so much, but if the body is fundamentally healthy their effect will be enhanced.

These psoriasis cream treatments can be especially effective in situations where the psoriasis is mild. Where it is severe, it will need to be controlled with drugs or with ultraviolet lighting. Your physician will usually prescribe drugs which are milder than steroids in the first instance, and then only switch to steroids when these don't prove strong enough to handle the symptoms. Steroids are not to be used any more often than is absolutely necessary. This is because extended use can cause the condition to actually worsen. If you suspect this is happening, switch to another treatment immediately.

You can still apply a psoriasis cream no matter how many drug treatments you are using, as these will attempt to operate from the inside. If you are having ultraviolet light treatments, though, you will need to leave out any treatments which may aggravate the skin. Hopefully, the skin condition can be improved enough to allow you to manage it with safer methods in the future. If this happens, you can always resume your treatments with cream, whether you are using drugs internally or not. The new biologic drugs can be used in conjunction with any psoriasis cream.