Palmo-Plantar Psoriasis

20years old Anita thought that her skin on the palms and soles had cracked due to winter. She applied the best of moisturizer but it did not help much. Slowly the cracks got deeper and it had started to bleed. She visited her local doctor and was diagnosed with palmo-plantar psoriasis. Life had become tough for her as she could not walk much because of the pain due to the cracks on the palms and soles. Finding the correct footwear to help relieve pain had become a big task for her. She started taking conventional treatment for psoriasis and continued it for almost a year. The symptoms would return with more severity as soon as the effect of the medicine would wear off. She then resorted to homeopathic treatment. After a detailed case history she was prescribed homeopathic medicines. Gradually her cracks healed and she was off her conventional medicine. Now it’s almost 6 years and she has had no symptoms of palmo-plantar psoriasis.

Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disorder of the skin. Generally the skin repairs and renews every 28days. In case of psoriasis the new skin is formed on every 3^rd or 4^th day. This causes the skin to heap and the scale. Symptoms of psoriasis include redness, itching, scaling, cracking and at times bleeding of the skin. Psoriasis patches can appear anywhere on the body. Depending on the areas affected, psoriasis is classified as following:

1. Psoriasis Vulgaris: Patches appear anywhere on the body.
2. Erythrodermic Psoriasis: Patches are present all over the body. No corner spared.
3. Palmoplantar Psoriasis: Psoriasis affecting the skin of the palms and soles.
4. Psoriatic Arthritis: When psoriasis affects the joints. This could lead to permanent damage of the joint affected.
5. Inverse psoriasis: Psoriasis affecting the fold of groins or armpits is termed as inverse psoriasis.

Causes of Psoriasis:

The actual cause of psoriasis is yet not established. Hereditary is considered as one of the causes of psoriasis. There are a few triggering factors which could make psoriasis worse:

• Cold dry weather.
• Infections like strep-throat.
• Injury to the skin can trigger psoriasis.
• Use of some conventional medicines like non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs or drugs prescribed for anxiety disorders or anti-hypertensive could aggravate psoriasis.
• Stress, depression or anxiety can also aggravate psoriasis.

Treatment for Psoriasis:

Firstly, it is important to understand that psoriasis is not a disease. Psoriasis is a skin disorder. Psoriasis does not spread if an affected person touches someone who is not suffering from psoriasis. The abnormal renewing process of the skin cycle has to be corrected in a gentle way. Homeopathy is the best way to treat psoriasis. Modern medicine has introduced biologics (medicines made from living organisms to help prevent or treat a disease) for the treatment of psoriasis which comes with its own side-effects. Homeopathic medicine for psoriasis is prescribed on the basis of individual case history. This prescription helps in long term relief from psoriasis and a longer disease free period. Treating the maintaining cause is of utmost importance to prevent the recurrence of the disease. Homeopathic treatment for psoriasis helps to prevent the recurrence. If homeopathy is considered as the first choice of treatment for psoriasis then the overall control of the disorder is much better.