Psoriasis

music

Is there some way to control it? I get flare ups every dec. and it goes away in march. I know there is no cure but is there something to control it? Or is it another one of those lessons that I must have no attachment to the body?

RebeccaS

There are plenty of things to control it, yes.

MaryAnne

See a dermatologist, because as far as I know, actual psoriasis doesn't totally disappear on schedule every year. The fact your condition appears during certain months of the year, it could be a skin related allergy or related to the dryness or humidity of the weather at that time of year.
You most likely do have some sort of skin condition - maybe even psoriasis-like, but maybe not psoriasis exactly.

There are a few types of psoriasis, as well, but none have 'scheduled occurrences' according to seasons or weather conditions, etc:

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/psoriasis/DS00193/DSECTION=symptoms

PrairieGhost

Evening primrose cream or hydrocortisone cream work (ish) for me, though the latter may thin the skin. I get psoriasis too on my face.

Actually, to be honest, I've found that virtually any cream is about as effective as what the doctor gives me. Tea Tree etc. I haven't tried Aloe Vera, which is apparently effective.

This is one of those things dermatologists know a lot more about than regular doctors (they gave me an anti-fungal as a child, which stuck to my nose and led to me being teased for having 'a mushroom farm on your face'). So see a dermatologist if you can, but don't expect miracles.

MaryAnne

My mother suffered from moderate to severe psoriasis for about 70 years. And I mean 'suffered'... painful, cracking, bleeding, burning, itching, etc. on all four limbs, her scalp and other (smaller) areas.
She tried it all. Prescription tar-based shampoos, creams, oils, and medications. She tried holistic remedies; herbal creams, oils, teas, full spectrum lighting, etc.

All these things "worked" -- for a short while, to some level of relief or another.
They don't know exactly what causes psoriasis, and they say nothing does or can actually cure psoriasis. Well, from her experience that's not exactly true; About 5 years ago she underwent intensive chemo treatments for her cancer. Harsh, debilitating, knock-an-old-lady-on-her-ass chemo treatments, (her words), every three weeks for 6 months.

About 90% of the psoriasis cleared up completely, and has not returned -so far- except for some on her scalp. Makes me wonder if this kind of rapid (skin) cell growth and deformity isn't another subtle form of 'cancer'. But whatever, chemo is not the 'psoriasis cure' I would recommend to anyone. Psoriasis can be very serious business... I hope that it's not your medical issue, Music.

vinlyn

It is rather amazing how little progress has been made with this condition. When I was in school back in the 1960s, our librarian had horrible psoriasis and tried everything available at the time. I now -- 50+ years later -- know someone with psoriasis, and it's still a major ongoing problem. Seems like we make far more progress improving cancer cure rates than we due solving psoriasis.

music

Thanks, everyone, especially Mary Anne. I did consult a derm (in fact my sister is a doc too), and he said it was psoriasis although not as serious as your mom's. but my problem is seasonal, it only occurs during dec. and goes away during march. The scars are always there, more or less. It's been going on since 2005. My derm recommended aloe Vera and some other ointment to go with it, he says there is no cure. All we can do is just control as much as we can. That's why I wanted some alternative treatment.

Zero

vinlyn said:

Seems like we make far more progress improving cancer cure rates than we due solving psoriasis.

A symptom of profit driven medical research

music

vinlyn said:

It is rather amazing how little progress has been made with this condition. When I was in school back in the 1960s, our librarian had horrible psoriasis and tried everything available at the time. I now -- 50+ years later -- know someone with psoriasis, and it's still a major ongoing problem. Seems like we make far more progress improving cancer cure rates than we due solving psoriasis.

True. Especially for an already pessimistic guy like me, this leads to more dukha. I seem to be attached to my body.

MaryAnne

@Music

Have you tried the full spectrum light treatments? That was always the least invasive but generally effective treatment for my mom. She used to go the dr.s office once a week for light treatments and it helped enough to keep her going for a long time.

Maybe you can look into buying a ' FS light box' for at home use?

music

Yes, my derm says my condition isn't serious enough to merit this specific treatment. He discourages it.

MaryAnne

music said:

Yes, my derm says my condition isn't serious enough to merit this specific treatment. He discourages it.

Ah. Understood.

karasti

Remember that the only way to treat skin, is not to treat the skin on the outside. Skin is an ORGAN and it is very much affected by what you take into your body. It is possible your body reacts to something you eat seasonably, or even something you eat year round but eat more of during winter, or the combination of something in your diet and the extremely dry weather. I know people with really severe eczema who have it act up in the winter and disappear in the summer as well. I don't know what causes psoriasis, but if you live in an area where you have to run heat all winter, you might want to try loading up on water and putting a cool mist vaporizer to go in your room, it might helps even if it doesn't make it go away. Anyhow, just don't think of your skin as needing to put something on it to fix it. Skin issues definitely can result from things going on inside your body.

Citta

Edgar Cayce is very interesting on the subject. Basically if my memory serves he says that the cause is chronic colon inflammation.

PrairieGhost

Hi Citta:

Edgar Cayce is very interesting on the subject. Basically if my memory serves he says that the cause is chronic colon inflammation.

That is interesting, because Chogyam Trungpa apparently (according to a chap on a forum, so it's not particularly citable as quotations go) said something about Buddhist practice leading to a healthy colon, and I can say that both my digestion and my skin have improved through practice. Also, my asthma is now almost non-existent.

That said, I don't get the impression that Trungpa's diet was particularly healthy.

karasti

I re-read what I wrote above, my apologies for my unclear first sentence. I meant treating the outside is not the only way to treat it, and not to forget about taking good care of yourself internally and try an anti-inflammatory diet. There is a lot of information out there about people reporting that it helped.