Psoriasis is a little known disorder that can greatly affect the lives of people suffering from it. Although far from being life threatening, psoriasis can have more of an affect on the quality of life of the person. Effective treatment depends on how affected the person with psoriasis is.
Common Treatment
The main characteristic symptom of psoriasis is the sudden growth of red, scaly and inflamed patches of skin anywhere on the body. Treating this abnormal skin growth is the primary treatment for the disease. But there are other features of the disease that may also affect a person psychologically.
The most common treatment for psoriasis is the application of topical ointments and creams that can help minimize the spread of the unsightly scaly skin patches associated with the disease. Topical applications usually become effective during the initial phases of psoriasis. The skin growth usually reacts positively to ointments and creams and may disappear after some time.
Secondary Treatment
There are times when recurring psoriasis starts to build a specific resistance to previous treatments after a while. When the topical treatment no longer provides the desired results, doctors venture into secondary forms of treatment. This type of treatment usually involves exposing the skin to ultraviolet radiation. This form of treatment is more commonly known as phototherapy.
After awhile, even phototherapy fails to provide the desired effect. This is when doctors resort to using the systemic treatment approach. This type of treatment involves the use of certain medications usually taken internally by pill or by injections. There are times when antibiotics are employed as treatment for psoriasis growths. But this is only used when the psoriasis outbreak is a direct cause of a bacterial infection, such as when a person is suffering from a strep throat infection. Some infections caused by the Streptococcus bacteria can also lead to an outbreak of psoriasis in some people.
Rotation Treatment
Because psoriasis can become resistant to treatments over time, many doctors usually offer the various treatment options in rotation. This is done in order to avoid certain people from developing a resistance to the treatments that will make the disease harder to treat over time. Most doctors do not rely mainly on a single treatment but rather make use of a combination of different treatments for psoriasis.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
People who suffer from psoriasis not only suffer from the physical effects of the disease. Some people may also be greatly affected by the disease psychologically. Some of the scaly skin patches associated with psoriasis can grow to become unsightly. It can easily make some people feel embarrassed about their condition and may start to feel insecure about themselves. Cognitive behavior therapy is usually employed along with the traditional treatments of the disease as a means to help people cope up with the psychological stress as well as the disability usually brought about by psoriasis.
Effective treatments for psoriasis usually depend on the diagnosis of the doctors. There is no single treatment that can work effectively for all people suffering from psoriasis. As there can be different triggers and causes of the disorder, doctors might need to evaluate and assess each case before providing the best means of treatment.
