Psoriasis: What are its types and symptoms?

 Psoriasis: What it is?

Psoriasis is a disease in which a formation of a dry itchy patch of skin cells takes place. It causes cells to build up rapidly on the surface, resulting in such patches. It is a very common disease in India with more than 10 million people suffering from it per year. This is an autoimmune disease and does not transmit to others. Treatment can improve the condition but it is incurable. Therefore, it is important to detect this chronic disease as early as possible. It helps in not allowing it to spread to other parts of the body. Some common psoriasis symptoms are:

                                                

                                                        

                                          

1. Skin problems

The most common symptom and the easiest way to detect is the anomalies in your skin. Skin can undergo rashes, dryness, flakiness, fissures, etc. If this starts to happen rapidly and repeatedly, it is a clear case of psoriasis. It can occur on different body parts such as scalps, shins, soles, elbows, and palms. It can occur on soft tissues as well, inside your mouth or near your genitals. There may be just a few patches or can be many in number. The dry skin can crack and bleed as well. Skin starts to itch and burn in some cases. The symptoms depend on the type of psoriasis you have:-

1. Guttate psoriasis- This type mainly affects children and young adults. It usually starts with thin scales on your arms, legs or scalp. It is water-drop shaped and is not thick.
                                                           

2. Nail psoriasis-it affects fingernails and toenails, causing dents in them or discoloration. An abnormal growth of nails is also a symptom and in some rare cases, nails can crumble.
                                                           

3. Plaque psoriasis- it is the most common psoriasis that causes red skin lesions laced with silvery scales. They can occur anywhere in your body.

4. Inverse psoriasis- Smooth patches of red, inflamed skin in the armpits, groin area, under the breasts or around your genitals are symptoms of inverse psoriasis. This worsens because of friction or sweat.

5. Pustular psoriasis- Quickly developed pus-filled blisters spread at different parts of the body.

2. Pain

This is another symptom where you experience pain in your joints. It starts with stiffness in joints and leads to the sensation of pain. This leads to psoriatic arthritis. The skin at joints such as knees, elbows or ankles is affected. This restricts your movement as well.

Psoriatic arthritis- Apart from joint pains, when inflamed, red and scaly skin occurs you should identify it as a case of psoriatic arthritis. It is not as problematic as other types of arthritis but does cause stiffness. 

How can you treat it?

Each different type will require different treatment modalities. You can consult a skin specialist that specializes in diagnosing the disease and understand that each different type will require different treatment modalities.