Here we are again with another Psoriasis post! It turns out that the last time I wrote a blog post about my Psoriasis was at least two years ago, which is crazy! How has the time gone by so far already?
Anyway, getting into the post..
As some of you may know, I have suffered with Psoriasis since I was around the age of 7 or 8. I first noticed this when I was in school, it was raining outdoors and in class, I realised that my skin was really sore. I went to the bathroom and being a 7 year old child, what do you do? Throw some hand wash over your face, wash your face and hope for the best!
Obviously, I did not know that I had Psoriasis and putting soap on my face was probably the last thing I would ever do now. So, I had a VERY red forehead and hairline when I went home and that’s when I went to the doctors and HOORAH, it’s Psoriasis..
What is Psoriasis some of you might ask?
Well, Psoriasis is a skin condition that you cannot cure. Your skin tends to become really red, inflamed, it can flake, become very itchy, weep and just look pretty gross to other people.
It is not contagious, so do not worry!
What are the causes of Psoriasis?
Nobody knows, but basically your body is producing skin cells much quicker than it usually would. So think of it, you are getting an extra layer of skin, on top of your regular skin (technically it gradually moves up through the layers of skin) and hence why it flakes.
What can cause a flare up of Psoriasis?
It is said that a number of things can trigger Psoriasis such as stress, smoking, drinking excessive amounts of alcohol, throat infections, other immune disorders and even hormonal changes.
Some people even think that certain foods can really trigger their Psoriasis, but that’s another boat to go into, so maybe another time I’ll write up about that!
What do I do to my Psoriasis to keep it at bay?
I am quite lucky with my Psoriasis, it is mainly in my scalp, behind my ears, can flare up around my T-Zone, neck and eyebrows.
Luckily, mine can be quite unnoticeable until it flares up. When this happens, I will usually use a Cortizone cream which is a steroid cream (I believe this is called Hydrocortizone in the UK, you cannot get this over-the-counter). I don’t particularly like using these especially as you shouldn’t use them on your facial skin (there is a reason for it) but I find that this works for my skin when it’s a mini-emergency to really calm it down.
On a day-to-day basis, I will leave my skin alone pretty much. I do not put any ointment on it, I just try to go about my day with a normal moisturiser and in the night, I will cleanse my skin with pure Coconut Oil (comes hard, so needs to be left to melt in your hand into an oil) and then I will apply some more onto the flakier parts of my face. This has been a recent discovery of mine and so far it is going really well, it has left my skin really soft, no flakes and so far, I am not worrying about ‘When am I going to flare up?’.
I do not wear foundation or moisturisers that have a huge amount of chemicals in them. I like to keep my skincare quite simple as I don’t really see the point in putting all stuff that I don’t know about into my skin. Surely it’s not great for the skin, right?
What can help Psoriasis?
Some people believe that the sun can really clear up cases of Psoriasis, but from my personal point of view for me it doesn’t really work. If anything, it aggravates my skin and causes it to flare up. I have known many people that really benefits from the sun though, so it’s just down to the each individual.
Other people resort to Steroid Creams or Ointments to nourish the skin daily.
I also know a few people that go for Phototherapy, this is when your skin is exposed to a special type of UV light and it can really clear up the Psoriasis.
I have also heard that people can take tablets and injected medication for Psoriasis, but I personally don’t have any experience with this at all. It’s all really trial and error for your own personal needs and it can take some time, but when you’ve found a routine that your skin likes stick to it!
I have also heard that some tea’s can help with Psoriasis too such as Rooibos Tea, Ginger Tea.. Here is a link to Beautymunsta’s Blog where I found this article on the Best Tea’s for Psoriassis!
So I won’t bore you all too much with all of the little details as I could talk about this all day! But I will leave some links to helpful websites below:
NHS – Introduction to Psoriasis
Psoriasis Association
National Psoriasis Foundation
National Psoriasis Foundation’s Twitter Page
Ointment Creams
E45
Diprobase
Natural Oils
Superdrug Coconut Oil (125ml) – £2.49
Steroid Creams
Cortisone
*Disclaimer: I am not under any Medical Profession at all. My words are purely from my experience, for further information contact your local GP.