What are the four rules of bathing for psoriasis patients?

  When taking a bath in psoriasis, besides the fact that it is not advisable to take a bath immediately after meals, when you are overly tired and hungry, when you are weak, and when you have high blood pressure and heart disease, you should also pay attention to the following issues: 1) Pay attention to the water temperature and the temperature of the environment to adapt to: the water temperature is too high (above 40℃) will stimulate the skin lesions, resulting in adverse effects; the water temperature is too low (below 34℃) is not better to soften the scales and promote the blood circulation of the skin, which is not conducive to the regression of the skin lesions. The water temperature should be slightly warm or hot for the patient, about 35–39℃. The water temperature can also be selected according to the type of lesions, such as common progressive and erythrodermic, pustular, exudative lesions, should not receive too strong stimulation, the water temperature should be lower; while the resting lesions, especially the obvious hypertrophic plaque type lesions, the water temperature can be higher. In addition, attention should also be paid to improving the environmental temperature when bathing, in order to prevent the aggravation of psoriasis caused by cold and flu.  2) Pay attention to the number of baths and the duration of each bath: in the season of lower temperatures, normal people can take a bath 1 to 2 times a week. And psoriasis patients should take a bath every day if they have conditions, and it is better if they can take some medicinal baths or mineral baths. According to clinical experience, if patients can insist on bathing 1-2 times a day for 20-40 minutes each time, compared with patients who use the same medication without bathing, the time of healing can usually be significantly shortened. The duration of each bath varies depending on the temperature of the water chosen by the patient and the tolerance of the individual, and 20 – 50 minutes is generally appropriate. If the water temperature is low and the patient’s tolerance is high, the bathing time can be longer, while the water temperature is high and the patient’s tolerance is poor, the bathing time should be shorter. In short, the maximum degree of bathing should not irritate the lesion patients do not feel fatigue, no discomfort as degree.  3) The way of bathing: it should be appropriate to take a dip. And do not scratch the lesions excessively, and do not use bath towels and other hard rubbing. Experience has shown that any excessive scratching or rubbing the skin lesions suffer from irritation, often affect the fading of the lesions.  4) Bathing under special circumstances: In addition to the water temperature should not be too high to avoid stimulating the lesions, it is also advisable to take a bath of permanganate or starch when bathing patients with generalized pustular, erythrodermic and exudative psoriasis. For those who are old and frail and have some internal diseases (such as heart disease and hypertension), it is safer to take a seated shower in addition to the water temperature should not be too high when bathing. When bathing, someone should be on the side to guard or help bathing.