Patients with psoriasis should be treated in three parts and nurtured in seven parts. Reasonable care is more important than active treatment. Most patients with reasonable care can have their skin lesions fade on their own in about 3 months to 6 months. This patient’s lesions are light red, dry, with obvious scratch marks and inconspicuous infiltration, and with reasonable use of moisturizing skin care products, the rash can subside on its own. Yin Lihua, Department of Integrative Medicine, Taixing Dermatological Defense Hospital
The following measures can help patients reduce the discomfort caused by psoriasis, while making the treatment produce the maximum therapeutic effect.
(i) Follow the basic principles of human health
1.Adopting a balanced diet.
2.Drinking sufficient amount of water.
3.Ensure sufficient sleep to avoid fatigue and relieve tension.
(2) Understand and try to avoid the triggering factors of psoriasis
1.Infection
2.Some drugs
3.Skin damage
4.Mental tension
5.Cold climate
6.Smoking
7.Drinking a lot of alcohol
8.Although you can’t avoid every triggering factor, knowing them can help you decide how to take them in certain situations.
(III) Track and record the factors of your psoriasis recurrence or aggravation
1.This is a very helpful and important skill for psoriasis patients to self-manage.
2.When each relapse occurs, write down the time of the relapse and carefully look for all the information that may have led to the relapse of the disease and record it.
3, Is there any stress or emergency in your life?
4.Is there any summer camping outside suffering from mosquito bites?
5.Keep in mind: psoriasis lesions occur 10 to 14 days after skin damage.
6.This information will reflect some facts about how psoriasis affects you, which will be very helpful for you and your doctor to better manage psoriasis.
(iv) Quit smoking
1. If you have psoriasis or have a family history of psoriasis, do not smoke.
2. If you already have a smoking habit, psoriasis is a very good reason to quit.
3.A large number of studies constantly confirm that smoking can induce psoriasis.
4, Smoking can aggravate pustular psoriasis in the palmoplantar area, and the rash can subside after some patients quit smoking.
5.Research shows that severe psoriasis is closely related to smoking.
(E) Limit the intake of alcohol
1.Studies have confirmed that heavy alcohol consumption can induce psoriasis and make treatment ineffective.
2. Patients treated with methotrexate should be strictly prohibited from drinking alcohol, because methotrexate and alcohol together can have serious side effects.
(F) Reduce mental tension
1, many patients have the experience that psoriasis will relapse or worsen when they are nervous.
Since stress is sometimes unavoidable, there are many helpful ways to reduce it.
You can seek help from a dermatologist and, if necessary, communicate with a psychiatrist.
4.As the saying goes, “we all share the same disease”, communication with fellow psoriasis patients is also a good way to relieve tension.
5, sports, tai chi, yoga, etc. are also effective ways to relieve tension. Active and effective treatment of psoriasis can obviously relieve the patient’s tension.
(VII) Pay attention to the care of skin
1.Use emollients and moisturizers
2. Emollients can make the skin soft.
3.Moisturizers can keep the skin moist and prevent the skin from becoming dry and cracked.
4.One of the most effective ways to keep the skin moist is to use moisturizer promptly after bathing.
5.Regular and frequent use of moisturizer can prevent itching and pain caused by dry skin, reduce scaling and reduce inflammation.
6.According to the situation, you can use emollient moisturizing lotion or water-in-oil lotion during the day and oil-in-water cream or ointment at night, the latter has a longer lasting moisturizing effect.
(H) Avoid scratching the skin
1.There is no doubt that psoriasis will itch.
2.But scratching the skin can break the skin and lead to bacterial infection; it can lead to bleeding of the skin; it can aggravate the psoriasis.
3.After scratching, a new rash can appear on the part where the lesion has faded.
4, in order to relieve itching, it is recommended to actively treat psoriasis: the most effective treatment for itching is to treat psoriasis. When the lesions subside, the itching will usually stop naturally.
5. When the lesions have not subsided, the following methods can control the itching.
6.Local cooling: cold compresses of cool water or ice compression on the itchy area can constrict capillaries and reduce the itchiness.
7.Use anti-itch ointment
8, moisturizing and emollient: especially after the bath timely application of emollient moisturizer can significantly ease the itching caused by dry skin.
9, warm water oatmeal bath: can make some patients relieve itching.
10, Chinese medicine bath: can relieve itching and promote the lesions to subside. However, it should be prescribed by an experienced doctor according to the condition.
11.After the psoriasis lesions subside, it is very important to continue to use emollient moisturizer, which can keep the skin soft and prevent the itching caused by dry skin.
(ix) Pay attention to the details in life
1.Bathing with lukewarm water instead of hot water.
2.It is recommended to use unscented cleaning products when bathing.
3.Never rub, scratch the skin and uncover the skin: rubbing, scratching the skin and uncovering the skin can cause bleeding, infection and aggravation of psoriasis.
4.It is recommended to frequently use emollients and moisturizers to moisturize the skin and prevent it from drying out.
5.Pat or dip the skin dry after bathing instead of rubbing it dry: always pay attention to patting the skin dry gently or dipping it dry with a towel after bathing. Rubbing the skin with a towel or any form of stimulation to the skin may cause a new rash. Get into the habit of patting or dipping the skin dry after bathing can avoid this problem.
6, take care not to sunburn the skin: although sun exposure can treat psoriasis, many treatments can make the skin sensitive to sunlight. Patients who apply topical or systemic retinoic acid or undergo PUVA treatment must avoid sun exposure. In addition, sunlight exposure may cause sunburn, leading to relapse or aggravation of the disease.
7, intimate clothing must wear cotton: cotton clothing compared with other textures of clothing, the possibility of skin irritation or cause local heat concentration is small.