Psoriasis is a skin disease marked by red, itchy, and scaly patches. It is an immune-mediated, genetic disease manifesting in the skin or joints or both and provides many challenges including high prevalence, chronicity, disfiguration, and disability. Its presence is there in most of the western countries, especially America and Australia.
Psoriasis first appears during two peak age ranges: The first peak occurs in persons aged 16-22 years, and the second occurs in persons aged 57-60 years. The incidence is highest at the age of 20–39 years in males and 40–59 years in females, with an equal male to female ratio.
It has a very high negative impact on the quality of life, requires long-term treatment, which usually has a high social and economic impact. Psoriasis is also associated with a decreased life span. The study found that 25% of people with Psoriasis can be classified as having moderate to severe Psoriasis. Around one-third of people with psoriasis report a family history of the disease, and researchers have identified genetic changes associated with the condition.
So how a person would know that they have Psoriasis?
Let us give you an insight into what are the signs of Psoriasis which you should be aware of
1. Scaling
Scaling skin is the loss of the outer layer of the epidermis in large, scale-like flakes. The skin appears dry and cracked, though skin dryness isn’t always to blame. In this disease, the skin keeps scaling as flakes called psoriatic plaques due to rapid and excessive multiplication of epidermis cells which look like fish skin & finally peels off as exfoliation and it can be painful once it fully appears on the skin. Majorly 70% of the patients have seen scaling as a major sign of Psoriasis.
2. Itching
Itching is an uncomfortable feeling on the skin that makes the person want to rub over it. It is very common in the initial phase of Psoriasis. Psoriasis develops when the immune system becomes too active, causing the body to build new skin cells much faster than normal. The result is patchy skin, skin lesions, and rashes, which are often accompanied by pain and itching. In people with Psoriasis, however, inflammation does not heal a wound. Instead, it just causes intense itching. Scratching the itchy patches sometimes makes things worse. Frequent scratching can irritate the skin, causing sores and slowing healing time. The body then increases inflammation to heal these wounds, making the itch worse. If you tend to itch more on a certain body part, don’t take it lightly.
3. Skin Redness
Redness occurs from sunburn to an allergic reaction, and many things can cause the skin to become red or irritated. Psoriasis can be one of the reasons behind it. After excessive itching on the wound, it becomes red, and one might feel irritated. The reason behind the redness is the skin cells getting gathered on the wound. These are the possible causes of skin redness such as bites, contact dermatitis, eczema, Psoriasis, ringworm, and sunburn. A person shouldn’t ignore these signs of redness as it could be the starting symptoms of a bigger disease.
4. Bleeding
When a person has Psoriasis, they tend to have patches of thick red skin which can later split into cracks and fissures. These crack results in bleeding and a person lose the blood from the body. One shouldn’t miss these hints.
5. Soreness around patches
Due to Psoriasis, a person can have pain around the specific body part, which can be a problem in the later stage. Mostly, Psoriasis occurs at different body parts such as hands, feet, scalp, face, and neck depending upon the type of Psoriasis.
6. Thick and pitted nail arrival
The Psoriasis can produce a variety of changes in the appearance of finger and toenails. These changes include discolouring under the nail plate, pitting of the nails, lines going across the nails, thickening of the skin under the nail, and the loosening and crumbling of the nail. Better be careful if you observe your nail with such effects. Consult the doctor as soon as possible.
Inflammation and redness around the patch are fairly common. Typical psoriatic scales are whitish-silver and develop in thick, red patches. Sometimes, these patches will crack and bleed. Psoriasis is the result of a sped-up skin production process. Typically, skin cells grow deep in the skin and slowly rise to the surface. Eventually, they fall off.
We hope that you understood some of the basic signs of Psoriasis, and even if you don’t, there is never too late to have the right patient counselling session.
