Psoriasis: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes, Types & Treatment

OverviewPsoriasis causes patches of red, scaly skin. It happens because your body has an overactive immune system. What is psoriasis?

Psoriasis is an autoimmune condition that causes inflammation in your skin. Symptoms of psoriasis include thick areas of discolored skin covered with scales. These thick, scaly areas are called plaques.

Psoriasis is a chronic skin condition, which means it can flare up unexpectedly and theres no cure.

There are several types of psoriasis, including:

A psoriasis rash can show up anywhere on your skin. Psoriasis is common on your:

In most people, psoriasis covers a small area of their skin. In severe cases, the plaques connect and cover a large area of your body.

Psoriatic arthritis is a type of arthritis that causes joint pain and swelling. Similar to psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis is an autoimmune condition that causes your immune system to function abnormally and cause symptoms. About 1 in 3 people diagnosed with psoriasis will also develop arthritis due to inflammation. Early treatment of psoriatic arthritis can reduce damage to your joints.

People of any age, sex or race can get psoriasis. Psoriasis affects millions of people. More than 3% of the U.S. population has psoriasis.

Psoriasis and eczema are two different skin conditions. Both conditions cause similar symptoms like discolored skin, a rash and itching. Psoriasis plaques cause areas of thick skin covered in scales. Eczema causes a rash of dry and bumpy skin. Eczema also typically causes more intense itching than psoriasis.

Symptoms of psoriasis on your skin include plaques. Plaques look like:

An early sign of psoriasis is small bumps. The bumps grow, and scales form on top. The surface of the plaque might shed, but the scales beneath them will stick together. If you scratch your rash, the scales may tear away from your skin. This can cause bleeding. As the rash continues to grow, lesions (larger areas of skin damage) can form. Symptoms of psoriasis can range from mild to severe.

In addition to skin plaques or a rash, you might have symptoms that include:

If you scratch your plaque, you could break open your skin, which could lead to an infection. Infections are dangerous. If you experience severe pain, swelling and a fever, you have symptoms of an infection. Contact your healthcare provider if you have these symptoms.

An over-reactive immune system that creates inflammation in your skin causes psoriasis.

If you have psoriasis, your immune system is supposed to destroy foreign invaders, like bacteria, to keep you healthy and prevent you from getting sick. Instead, your immune system can mistake healthy cells for foreign invaders. As a result, your immune system creates inflammation or swelling, which you see on the surface of your skin as skin plaques.

It usually takes up to 30 days for new skin cells to grow and replace old skin cells. Your over-reactive immune system causes the timeline of new skin cell development to change to three to four days. The speed of new cells replacing old cells creates scales and frequent skin shedding on top of skin plaques.

Psoriasis runs in families. There may be a genetic component to psoriasis because biological parents may pass the condition down to their children.

An outbreak of psoriasis, or a flare up, causes symptoms of psoriasis as a result of contact with a trigger, which could be an irritant or an allergen. Psoriasis outbreaks differ from person to person. Common triggers for psoriasis flare ups include:

No, psoriasis isnt contagious. You cant get psoriasis by coming into contact with another persons psoriasis skin rash.

A healthcare provider or a dermatologist will diagnose psoriasis after a physical exam to look at your skin and review your symptoms. Theyll ask you questions that could include:

The appearance of a skin plaque leads to a psoriasis diagnosis, but symptoms can relate to other similar skin conditions, so your provider might offer a skin biopsy test to confirm your diagnosis. During this test, your provider will remove a small sample of skin tissue from your skin plaque and examine it under a microscope.

Several treatment options can relieve psoriasis symptoms. Common psoriasis treatments include:

Creams or ointments may be enough to improve the rash in small areas of your skin. If your rash affects larger areas, or if you also have joint pain, youll need other treatments. Joint pain may be a sign that you have arthritis.

Your provider will decide on a treatment plan based on:

If your symptoms of psoriasis dont improve after treatment, or if you have large areas of involvement (10% of your skin or more), your healthcare provider may recommend the following treatments:

Before starting treatment, talk to your healthcare provider about the side effects and mention any medications or supplements you currently take to avoid drug interaction.

For some people diagnosed with psoriasis, the skin condition causes more than itchiness, scaling skin and skin discoloration. It can lead to swollen joints and arthritis. If you have psoriasis, you may be at higher risk of:

If you have psoriasis, your provider will do regular blood pressure checks and monitor the progress of your treatment to avoid complications. You can take steps to prevent potential complications by:

A flare-up of psoriasis symptoms can last a couple of weeks to a few months. Your healthcare provider can speed up your skins recovery with certain medications. After your symptoms go away, your psoriasis is in remission. This means that you could have another outbreak of symptoms in the future. Your remission timeline could last a few months to a couple of years. If you notice your symptoms flare up when you contact certain triggers, avoiding those triggers leads to a long remission time.

There isnt a way to entirely prevent psoriasis. You can reduce your risk by following your healthcare providers treatment, living a healthy lifestyle, taking good care of your skin and avoiding triggers that can cause an outbreak of symptoms.

If you have psoriasis, its common to see symptoms show up during early adulthood, but the timeline of when symptoms begin is unique to every person. You may notice certain triggers in your environment that can cause a flare up of symptoms. Avoiding these triggers can lead to fewer outbreaks in the future.

Psoriasis can make you uncomfortable, itchy and self-conscious. If these symptoms are causing you physical or emotional distress, contact your healthcare provider for treatment.

There isnt a cure for psoriasis. Psoriasis is a chronic condition, which means that symptoms may come and go throughout your life. Treatment can relieve symptoms so you can look and feel your best.

To feel your best with psoriasis:

Other steps you should take to stay as healthy as possible:

Do regular skin self-exams to notice any changes in your skin. If you have skin changes, a rash thats not going away or a rash that gets worse, contact your healthcare provider.

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Psoriasis, an itchy skin condition, can come and go throughout your life. Its related to an overactive immune response and isnt contagious. If you have skin changes that arent going away, talk to your healthcare provider. There isnt a cure for psoriasis, but psoriasis treatments can improve symptoms. Your provider may prescribe a special cream or moisturizer or medications. Other therapies are available if creams or medicines dont work. Maintaining your overall health will also help improve symptoms.

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Psoriasis: What It Is, Symptoms, Causes, Types & Treatment