Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition in which one can see inflamed and scaly skin. Under normal circumstances, your body typically creates new skin cells in about a month, contrary to this, people with psoriasis grow new skin cells in a few days. If you have psoriasis, your immune system is overactive and there is a great lapse in time, from the time your body sheds skin cells to produces them, causing skin cells to pile up one behind the other and thus creating a red, itchy, and scaly skin.
Research is still ongoing to find the cause of psoriasis but, around 10 per cent of people inherit one or more of the genes that could lead to it the disease, but of these, only 2 to 3 per cent of people get psoriasis. This opens up the theory that a combination of things must happen for you to develop psoriasis: you have to inherit the gene and then be exposed to certain external aspects.
Risk factors
Some people who are susceptible to psoriasis are practically free of symptoms for years together until the disease is triggered by some factors. Common psoriasis triggers include:
- Weather, especially cold, dry conditions
Cold climatic conditions make psoriatic symptoms worse. The dryness which comes along with the extreme cold weather will pull moisture from your skin, making the inflammatory symptoms worsen.
- Stress
While stress per se doesn’t cause psoriasis, it can cause an outbreak or exacerbate an existing case.
- Injury to the skin
Common skin injuries like on areas of your skin where vaccinations, sunburns, scratches, or other injuries have occurred are risk elements.
- Infections
In the case of patients with a compromised immune system, like that with AIDS, patients undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer, or people with another autoimmune disorder are prone to psoriasis. Patients with recurring infections, especially such as strep throat or upper respiratory infections, are also at an increased risk of worsened psoriasis.
- Smoking and exposure to smoke
Smokers are at increased risk (nearly double) of acquiring psoriasis. This risk increases with the number of cigarettes you smoke in a day and is also higher in women than men.
- Heavy alcohol consumption
Research into the effects of alcohol on psoriasis is a bit topsy-turvy because smoking and drinking often go together. However, alcohol consumption is associated with psoriasis in men. Researchers also believe that alcohol, since it is hepato-toxic can worsen psoriasis symptoms.
Alcohol is a total no for patients who are on certain medications used for treating psoriasis.
- Medications
The use of certain medications is linked to triggering psoriasis. These includes: Lithium, antimalarials, beta-blockers, quinidine and indomethacin. In some cases, these medicines have made psoriasis worse.
- Abrupt withdrawal of oral or injected corticosteroids
Corticosteroids, when used for any treatment should ideally be gradually weaned off, else there are likely chances of psoriasis being triggered.
Anyone can develop psoriasis. One in three psoriases begins in childhood. However, certain factors can multiply your risk of developing the disease and are not modifiable:
Family history. The condition runs in families and sometimes it happens in members of the same family. Though the exact cause of Psoriasis is not known, it is attributed to multiple factors. Since it is seen running in families, genetic predisposition cannot be ruled out.
At Provitale health homoeopathy, the patient’s case history and risk factors are taken in depth to provide you with medicine suiting that particular type of psoriasis which you suffer from.
Conclusion
Causes of psoriasis can be due to multiple factors with immunity-distortion functioning as the primary cause. Psoriasis can be triggered by multiple factors and there are also some risk factors. Once psoriasis is confirmed, homoeopathic treatment is to be initiated as a first choice. At Provitale, you get the best homoeopathy Doctor in Bangalore popular to treat any chronic ailments.
