What Is Psoriasis
What Is Psoriasis
Before you begin to deal with the symptoms of Psoriasis you need to understand what Psoriasis is and how it affects your skin. Psoriasis is a chronic, non-infectious disease that mainly affects the skin. Unfortunately for many sufferers, no-one really knows what causes Psoriasis, but it is most closely related to a genetic link or autoimmune disease.
Psoriasis affects the very core of the skins life-cycle. The skin has two layers, the top and bottom layers. During the course of a month these layers of skin go through a number of changes. The newest layers of the skin form on the bottom layer and slowly make their way to the top. The top layer stays alive for approximately 28-30 days, before dying and falling away. This process occurs daily with humans not noticing at all.
In fact, in a single days we lose thousands of skin cells during everyday activities such as:
- Showering and drying off with the towel
- When we are at the beach, the sand is rubbing away the older skin – which is why your feet feel so smooth at the end of the day.
For those suffering from Psoriasis, the skin life-cycle moves much faster. Often this process happens in only 3 or 4 days. The new skin cells develop far more quickly than normal and force themselves through the top layer of the skin. These new skin cells cause a buildup of dead skin on the surface.
For a majority of Psoriasis sufferers the skin cells only affect a small area of skin at a time. The most common areas that Psoriasis affects are the scalp, elbows, knees, or knuckles, however it is not limited to just those areas with a small percentage of sufferers having Psoriasis on large areas of their body. The areas of patchy, scaly, red skin are commonly known as plaques. Psoriasis commonly causes red, scaly patches to appear on the skin, although some patients have no dermatological symptoms.
Psoriasis remains a mystery as far as the main causes are concerned. Research has shown about 30% of all causes is based on family history. However, there are a few lifestyle choices that may be a factor as well. Excessive drinking, being overweight, too much stress, anxiety, sunburn, and even some medications can bring about psoriasis or make the symptoms more pronounced.
Psoriasis may look a bit disconcerting, but it is not contagious and if you don’t have it you won’t get it. The symptoms affect each person differently; while one person may have small areas of patchy skin, others will have patches all over the body. In any case, Psoriasis can be a very big emotional scare for sufferers, and while many choose to just cover up you should not give up on finding those little things that can make it much easier to live with Psoriasis.