Some of the less common forms of psoriasis are:
Around one person in twenty with psoriasis has one of the less common forms of the disease. Some of these forms bear a resemblance to common psoriasis, but some of them are so different that only a doctor with wide experience of treating skin diseases will be able to recognize them as psoriasis. Indeed there is a certain amount of dispute among doctors about whether or not some of the conditions described here actually are types of psoriasis or some other sort of skin disorder.
Scalp psoriasis is often very troublesome, with thick scale and redness that is also evident around the scalp margins. Nevertheless, the hair growth is not usually affected by scalp psoriasis. Even if more hair falls out than normal or it seems to come away with the scale, it all grows back again. The remedies discussed in Psoriasis Free For Life are effective against scalp psoriasis.
Plaque psoriasis is the ‘typical’ form with scaly red, raised patches – the plaques – which vary in size from a few millimeters to many centimeters across. The patches of plaque psoriasis tend to be symmetrical and prefer the ‘extensor’ surfaces such as the backs of the elbows and the fronts of the knees. The lower back and sacral area (top of the buttocks) is another common site for large outbreaks of plaque psoriasis. Although the plaques can be very large and widespread, they generally cover 5% or less of a person’s body surface.
Guttate Psoriasis (small, scattered spots)
This slightly odd name given to guttate psoriasis comes from the Latin word gutta, meaning a drop, and people suffering from it look as though their skin has been sprayed with drops from a paintbrush. Each spot is a mini version of the plaques of ordinary psoriasis. The difference is that the spots of guttate psoriasis are much smaller and there are many more of them. Cases of guttate psoriasis don’t crop up very often. People who have it are mainly youngsters between ages of eight and sixteen, and this again marks it out from ordinary psoriasis which rarely affects children.
Guttate psoriasis usually comes on quite suddenly, about two to four weeks after a sore throat. One particular type of sore throat known as streptococcal tonsillitis seems especially likely to be followed by guttate psoriasis, but it’s not really known why this should be so. Guttate psoriasis spots usually clear up by themselves after a few weeks, but in some cases they may linger on and eventually develop into larger patches of psoriasis.
Generalized Psoriasis (all over the body)
This sort of psoriasis (which is also sometimes known as erythrodermic psoriasis) is luckily very uncommon. As its name suggests it is a condition in which the patches of psoriasis spread all over the whole body. This may happen suddenly out of the blue and for no apparent reason, or it may develop gradually in someone who has had ordinary psoriasis for some time.
Generalized psoriasis looks less scaly than the plaques of common psoriasis, and the most striking feature of the skin may be that it turns very red more or less all over. This inflammation leads to various problems, as it can make you lose a lot of water through the skin, and also make you lose heat very easily. It can be a disagreeable illness and make you feel thoroughly unwell. Because the patches of affected skin are so widespread it is often impractical to try treating it with creams and lotions, so your doctor is more likely to use medicines to control it.
This is something of a general description for several similar conditions. Most of these disorders are uncommon and this is just as well, as in general they are more unpleasant and cause more difficulties than ordinary psoriasis. Pustular psoriasis tends not to look quite like ordinary psoriasis although in some sufferers the ordinary and pustular forms may coexist, or one may follow the other.
The main distinguishing feature of pustular psoriasis is the appearance of pus spots (or pustules). These do not, as one might suppose, mean that any infection is present. They simply show that the skin has been invaded by the same white blood cells that would be seen if there were an infection.
The commonest type of pustular psoriasis occurs on the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet. Instead of the reddish patches you get from common psoriasis, in this condition you get white or yellow pus spots, which turn a darker yellow after a few days and eventually go brown and drop off. There is some dispute as to whether this is really a type of psoriasis or not.
If common psoriasis is treated with drugs known as corticosteroids, pustules will sometimes appear on top of the patch of ordinary psoriasis. The pustules behave in just the same way as those described above and, with treatment, they should eventually disappear. This not only applies to treatment with corticosteroids taken by mouth but also to treatment with some powerful corticosteroids in creams and ointments. There have been no proper surveys to assess the frequency of this complication, but it has undoubtedly become more common with increasing use of these preparations. It may well be that pustular psoriasis is much more frequent in some countries than others because of the extended usage of these drug based treatments.
Another, and even rarer, complaint is generalized pustular psoriasis (also known as von Zumbusch’s disease, after the physician who first described it). Here the pustules occur all over the body, producing an unpleasant illness which is often accompanied by fever and joint pains. This is a more serious disease and usually needs hospital treatment.
I must emphasize again that the forms of psoriasis described in this article are exceptional. They are much rarer than ordinary psoriasis and do, on the whole, cause more trouble. But clearly the most direct effects of psoriasis, of whatever kind, are the changes it makes to the skin. This is the first thing to consider when building up an understanding of the condition and I shall discuss it in the next chapter before going on to the more general problems associated with severe psoriasis.
Flexural Psoriasis (in the creases of the body)
This is the least unusual sort of the uncommon types of psoriasis. The only difference between it and ordinary psoriasis is that the patches, instead of being on the knees, elbows, back and so forth, are found in the folds and creases of the body. It is very rare for someone to have just flexural psoriasis, but people with ordinary psoriasis sometimes get one or two patches in the folded parts of their skin as well. It mainly affects people who are in their mid-forties or older, and particularly if they are overweight as this means they have more folds in their body.
Patches of flexural psoriasis tend to be moist rather than scaly. This is probably just the result of where they are. They can be more uncomfortable than patches of common psoriasis, and people with flexural psoriasis may feel quite sore in the affected areas. Occasionally they may also develop scaly patches round their eyes, ears and nose.
All these types of psoriasis (scalp psoriasis, guttate psoriasis, plaque psoriasis, pustular psoriasis) can be effectively treated using the natural home remedies discussed in the Psoriasis Free For Life report.
{ 0 comments… add one now }