Monthly Archives: September 2013

By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- Alisha Bridges spent most of her life covering up and hiding. She didn't want the world to see the scaly patches of psoriasis that cover a significant portion of her body.

She's tried almost every treatment that's out there, with varying degrees of success, she said. Topical corticosteroids tend to work best for her, but because they can be used for only limited periods of time, she tries to restrict their use to when she has a special occasion coming up and as warmer weather approaches.

As much as 90 percent of her body is often covered with psoriasis, Bridges said.

She was only 7 years old when she was diagnosed with the autoimmune skin disease after a bout of chickenpox. Bridges said she's spent most of her life worried that people would stare, or that they'd think she had something that was contagious.

"I was hiding and being ashamed -- I was my own worst enemy," admitted Bridges, who just turned 26.

But then she started blogging about what it's like to live with psoriasis, and people took notice. She was invited to the National Psoriasis Foundation meeting in Washington D.C., where she attended a number of workshops, including one on using social media to raise awareness and connect with others.

Since then, she's been busy raising awareness through Facebook and Twitter, and she's continued to blog about living with psoriasis. She's also become a National Psoriasis Foundation community ambassador.

"Finding support is imperative in the battle with psoriasis," Bridges said. "It's so important to know that you're not alone -- that other people are also dealing with this. And, don't be afraid to speak out. When you start talking about it, people are more understanding than you expect them to be. The majority of people don't know what psoriasis is, but many are open to hearing more about it."

Support groups, she said, are great places to learn about what works and what doesn't for psoriasis, and to pick up tips -- like learning to be persistent and patient with your medication.

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Atlanta Women Offers Hope for Those With Psoriasis

By Serena Gordon HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, Sept. 13 (HealthDay News) -- For the legions of Americans living with the red, scaly patches of psoriasis, doctors have good news.

"We are at a point where we can help almost anyone, and we can do it fairly safely," said Dr. Mark Lebwohl, who chairs the National Psoriasis Foundation's medical board. "If you have psoriasis, there's usually a treatment out there that will make you better."

Some 7.5 million people in the United States have the autoimmune disease, yet it's unknown to millions of others.

The telltale scaly patches often occur on the outside of the elbows, knees and scalp, but they can appear anywhere on the skin and may itch, sting or burn. Some people with psoriasis also develop psoriatic arthritis, which causes stiffness, pain, throbbing, swelling and tenderness in one or more joints.

Symptoms vary from person to person, as does severity of the disease. Some people are affected mildly, while others have signs of the disease over most of their body.

But Lebwohl said there are more treatment options available today than ever before, and more are on the way. "We have medicines that are pretty safe and incredibly effective for the large majority of patients," he said.

For most people, the first line of treatment is a topical medication. Topical corticosteroids are probably the most common first treatment, he said, and they often work very well but are prone to such side effects as thinning skin and stretch marks.

Dr. Janet Lin, a dermatologist at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, also noted that people can develop a resistance to topical corticosteroids, which means the medication won't work any longer.

Another topical treatment is a class of medications known as vitamin D analogues, which Lin said "help normalize the growth of the skin cells, and they don't have the side effects of corticosteroids." Examples are calcipotriol, calcitriol and tacalcitol.

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Treatment Options Expand for Psoriasis Patients