Monday, November 16, 2009

Psoriasis Symptoms And Treatment

Psoriasis is a chronic condition characterized by reddening and thickening of the skin. It has effects on 1 percent to 3% of the entire population. Here we’re going to look at the 5 differing kinds of psoriasis. Plaque Psoriasis This is the commonest form of psoriasis. It is usually indicated by thickening and flaking of the skin on several areas of the body. In some instances, the patches cover a massive portion of the body. Although they can wax or decline, they have the bent to be prolonged. This condition can take place in any area of the body. The most prone areas include the elbows, knees, knuckles, scalp, trunk, arms, legs, and external sex organs.

Psoriasis is more than dry skin. There are different types including pustular, nail and guttate. Psoriasis remedies that may work for some people don’t work for others so give yourself time to refine your treatment applications and don’t give up. The abnormal cell growth can appear in various parts of the body such as arm pits, trunk, scalp and nails, elbows and knees.

Thickening and flaking of the skin may protrude to the forehead just below the hairline. Scaling can become prevalent in the outer ear. Psoriasis can also have an effect on the connecting tissues of the nails. Pitting is an early manifestation of nail psoriasis, which can also take place in other diseases. Palmoplantar psoriasis occurs in the palms of the hands as well as soles of the feet.

Probably the type that most people think about when they hear the phrase psoriasis is plaque psoriasis. Symptoms include red patches and spots that have scales which are silver. For guttate psoriasis, a bacterial infection is often cited as the underlying cause.
The Natural Method

There are a number of ways to deal with the condition including both traditional medical as well as all-natural alternatives. Fortunately, the majority of cases can benefit from natural treatments and bypass the need for medications that often produce unwanted side effects.
As with many chronic conditions, it is advisable to approach treatment naturally, and from a number of angles. Start by dealing with psoriasis in a holistic manner by making changes that affect your entire body and lifestyle. In other words address the problem from the ‘inside’.
But since your immediate concern is the external outbreak of skin lesions, you should also deal with the condition topically to reduce the severity of the symptoms you are experiencing.

Some of the best-known natural psoriasis treatments are remarkably effective. In fact, natural treatments are increasingly recognized as suitable solutions with more and more commercial psoriasis treatments incorporating natural ingredients in the formulations.
Because the treatment remedies may not work instantly and require modifications, it is easy to get impatient. Many people first will work with the drug store products that don’t require prescriptions. For some this will be an effective remedy. Remember to use moisturizer on your skin and not to let it dehydrate. Keep a sense of humor and don’t give in to discouragement.

Read About Irregular Menstruation and Menstrual Disorder and also Uterine Bleeding

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

A Look at Why Medical Care Costs So Much

The issues raised in the This American Life program on health care reform resonated with me as they are common issues in my practice. As a dermatologist, one of the most common problems my patients have is psoriasis, a red, scaly rash that can affect different parts of the skin. These spots on the skin are caused by inflammation; in other words, they are caused by an overactive immune system. When psoriasis is particularly severe, the inflammation causes internal problems. Psoriasis is associated with arthritis, heart disease and depression.

Psoriasis can help us better understand the costs in our health care system. A patient with relatively mild psoriasis (a few red, scaly spots on the elbows and knees) has several options for treatment, the first being a high-potency topical cortisone medication, which typically clears up the spots if the patient uses it regularly. The topical cortisone medicines are reasonably safe; however, with persistent long-term use, cortisone medicines can cause some thinning of the skin. 

  • The high potency topical corticosteroids have been around a long time. Generic versions are available in creams and ointments and can be purchased for only a few dollars a tube; however, they can be messy.
  • If patients prefer less mess, they can choose newer formulations of topical corticosteroids, including a spray or foam. These are easier to use but significantly more expensive, costing $100 to $200 per container.
  • Patients also have the option of a vitamin D cream or ointment. These drugs are considerably more expensive than generic topical cortisones, but have fewer long-term side effects. One company developed a combination cortisone/vitamin D ointment that contains both products. While this is a convenient way to get the benefit of both drugs at once, a large tube of the medication can cost $800 or more.

The newer options may perform better on a patient’s psoriasis than the first, but patients tend to choose the drug based on the type of insurance they have: 

  • If patients are uninsured, have no prescription benefit or have a high co-payment for medications, they will often choose one of the low cost, generic topical cortisone medications.
  • If patients have good prescription coverage as part of their insurance, they may choose a branded cortisone medication. I had one patient who had terrific drug coverage in their insurance plan. When offered the choice of a low-cost generic cortisone, the less messy/more costly high strength cortisone in the spray, and the highest cost combination cortisone/vitamin D medication, the patient said, “Doc, give me the spray and the combination drug. I’ll try them both and see which I like better. My insurance covers the cost of my medications.”

The cost of medical care doesn’t follow the rules of cost that apply to most consumer goods because the people who consume the medical care aren’t the ones directly paying for it. If well insured patients are given a choice between a $10 drug that may work reasonably well and a $10,000 drug that might work 10 percent better, the patient is quite likely to choose the $10,000 drug. That kind of thing doesn’t happen at a place like Best Buy. People won’t pay a 100 times higher price for a computer that offers just 10 percent more RAM or a camera that has 10 percent more pixels.

If people were paying for care out of their own pockets, they wouldn’t buy $50 aspirin pills in the hospital —they would pay for less expensive products that met their needs. They would search for the best deals on medical care. Providers of services would be forced to compete on price, and the price of health care services would drop, making care more affordable for everyone.

There are people who argue that medical care is inherently different from other services we purchase, that we need health insurance companies to make decisions for us and to pay for things that we can’t afford. Certainly the growth in the cost of health care is different from other goods, but much of the high cost is caused by health insurance, not solved by health insurance.

Yes, there are emergencies and complexities that make purchasing health care somewhat different from purchasing other products. But it isn’t completely different — there are non-health care emergencies and other incredibly complex products and services that we purchase regularly.

The difference is that when we buy those products with our money, our tendency to search out low prices and only pay for those things that are worth the price. 

Monday, November 9, 2009

Psoriasis - it’s not as bad as you think

If, like me, you suffer from psoriasis, then I bet, just like me, you went through a period when you just wanted to hide away. For me, this was in my teenage years when the symptoms of psoriasis, dry, white skin patches and itching broke out with a vengeance on my face.

I can still remember sitting at home, feeling sorry for myself and wondering why I had to suffer from psoriasis and if there was a cure for the symptoms of psoriasis.

Well, as I am sure you know, there is no total cure for psoriasis. But there is a treatment that provides relief from the symptoms, clears-up the skin leaving behind skin unmarked by psoriasis. What’s more, the effects don’t last for a week, or a month like many treatments – they last for almost a year!

I can hear your next question – where can I buy it? This isn’t another cream or lotion claiming to repair the damage caused by psoriasis. It’s not available at your local pharmacy or health store and it’s a 100% natural psoriasis treatment with no side effects.

Time to put you out of your misery; I’m talking about a course of treatments at the Dead Sea in Israel. My uncle took me there when I was 17, and since then, my life has changed,

We went for a two week stay, and after just one week of using the mineral mud packs and bathing in the salty water of the lake, the signs of psoriasis were remarkably less. The dry air and the low UV levels in the sun’s rays, made sunbathing a pleasure and one that also made my skin healthier and cleared up the signs of psoriasis. By the end of two weeks, you had to look really closely to know that I had psoriasis – my skin was clean, fresh and PINK!.

When we got home, my parents were amazed, and I went straight to a club for a night of celebration.

I’ll tell you more about it in another article.