Question:
My father has P and I just wondering how does it work? He got it when he was in his 30’s. Hes now in his 40’s. Can anybody explain how it starts, what it is, what it does? We live in Australia so most of the medicines you describe arent available here. He has tried many things to make it go, daivonex, betnovate, aromatherapy, oils, concoctions, salt water, soaking in oils, EVERYTHING! My mum told me his P went into remission about 3 years ago now, when he retired from his job as a loco – driver. But once he went back to working with my mum it flared up again… Can anyone shed light on the situation for me. Thanks. Robert.
Response:
Basically when his psoriasis is active his skin cells are growing too fast. Normal skin gets a replacement set of cells every month or so, with psoriasis it’s every 4-7 days, which is the rate the autoimmune system uses to grow new cells at to heal a skin wound. Why does this happen? Well, they’re still working out some of the mechanisms, but it takes a mixture of genetic and environmental factors. People with psoriasis have a genetic fault leaving them suspectible to having their immune system erroneously kicked into gear to grow new skin at the wound healing rate. That’s where the environmental factors come in – you can have the genetic fault but not show symptoms until something triggers the problem into activity. These triggers can vary wildly and include things like infections, stress, contact irritations, a skin wound, dietary reactions. Not everybody responds to the same triggers, and there are also certain ‘peak’ ages of onset separate from any particular trigger. When psoriasis is activated, the new cells are growing too fast and aren’t properly developed, so they build up, causing the flaking and redness (inflammation). I can give you a lot more techical stuff, but that’s the basic overview. There are some places listed in the FAQ in my .sig that also expand a bit on this. Actually even though you are in Australia, you probably do have most of the same treatments available, maybe just under different names. The exceptions would be things that are still being tested, such as Amevive. And I know it must seem like he’s tried everything, but the odds are that he probably hasn’t. If he doesn’t already see one, he should try to see a derm *with a specialty in psoriasis* (not all derms are P experts) to see what else is available or maybe find more effective ways to use what he’s already tried, such as in combination therapy. It sounds as if he’s someone for whom stress might be a big trigger, given what you say about how it acted when he was working vs retired. Part of the way to alleviate psoriasis includes trying to eliminate or mimimize things that trigger it. Hope this helps. Yell if more questions. Kim – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->My father has P and I just wondering how does it work? >He got it when he was in his 30’s. Hes now in his 40’s. >Can anybody explain how it starts, what it is, what it does? >We live in Australia so most of the medicines you describe arent available >here. >He has tried many things to make it go, daivonex, betnovate, aromatherapy, >oils, concoctions, salt water, soaking in oils, EVERYTHING! >My mum told me his P went into remission about 3 years ago now, when he >retired from his job as a loco – driver. But once he went back to working >with my mum it flared up again… >Can anyone shed light on the situation for me. >Thanks. >Robert.
The Psoriasis Newsgroup Resource FAQ can be found at http://pfaq.cjb.net but will also be coming soon (twice a month) to a newsgroup near you…
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