Learning All About The Tips To Manage Common Triggers

What Are The Triggers In Psoriasis?

Certain things called triggers can make the condition flare up and your symptoms worse when you have psoriasis. If you find and manage your triggers, you can get a better handle on staying well. Whereas it is found that not everyone has the same triggers though some are common. 

Stress

The exact cause of psoriasis is not known by scientists. As they think the immune system plays a role whereas a mental strain is also known to affect the immune system. Hereafter it doesn’t come as a surprise that stress can make psoriasis worse. 

To help manage stress, here are some things:

• Meditation
• Focusing on something like your breathing to calm your mind, this comes as a mental exercise. 
• Exercise
• Releasing endorphins is physical activity so boosting your mood and energy are these brain chemicals. 
• Help from others
• A stress management course can help you as you join a support group with people who have psoriasis. 

Skin Injuries

In places you haven’t had them before, these can lead to psoriasis lesions. This is popularly known as the Koebner phenomenon. Causing a flare, examples of injuries include:

• Sunburn
• Cuts
• Bug bites
• Acupuncture
• Tattoos

To protect the skin, follow these things:

• Using sunscreen
• It is important to not get too much sunlight as short periods in the sun can help psoriasis. 
• Right away treat any skin
• Important to note that don’t scratch or pick at your skin. 

Medications

In some people, several drugs can cause psoriasis including:

Commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, Lithium

In the case of medicines for malaria, usually, it happens 2 to 3 weeks after your intake. 

Used to control high blood pressure is the medicine called Inderal. 

A heart medication called Quinidine. 

A non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug used for arthritis is called Indomethacin. 

Make sure your doctor knows you have psoriasis and ask if the medicine is safe for you when you get a new prescription. Including over-the-counter medicines tell your primary doctor about everything you take. 

Infections

It can trigger your psoriasis if something affects your immune system. 

For instance, strep throat is linked to the condition. Making it worse is bronchitis, tonsillitis, or an ear infection. 

Winter

Drying out your skin and making your psoriasis worse is the cold weather. You might follow the following to help protect your skin. 

• When you go out wear a hat, scarf, and gloves.
• Moisturize your skin more often.
• At night use a cool-mist humidifier.
• Have a soak in the tub instead of a hot shower. 

Your Lifestyle

Smoking and drinking alcohol can make psoriasis worse according to studies. If you take certain drugs for the condition, alcohol can be dangerous. 

If you smoke, stop.

Do so only in moderation if you drink alcohol.

When mixing your medicine with alcohol follow the warnings. 

Topical Treatments For Psoriasis

The doctor may suggest creams, lotions, foams, spray, solutions, and ointments called topical treatments as they are put directly on your skin or scalp. 

The Types Of Topicals

Helping control flare-ups are moisturisers and emollients you buy without a prescription. Thick, greasy lotions, creams, and ointments that trap moisture in your skin work best in general. 

To get rid of scales that show up on patches of psoriasis salicylic acid helps. You can find it in the form of lotions, creams, ointments, foams, gels, soaps, shampoos, liquids, cloth pads, as well as patches. When it is used with other skin treatments, it is especially helpful. Letting other medications work better is by removing flakes of dead skin 

Making your skin look better is coal tar helping slow the growth of skin cells. Including shampoo to treat scalp psoriasis, it also comes in many different forms. Available OTC is the weaker product. 

It can irritate your skin and stain clothes as coal tar doesn’t smell good. 

You need to surely follow the directions carefully. Chemicals in coal tar can lead to cancer according to some studies but only at very high doses. If you follow your doctor’s instructions, it's safe to use these products.  

Helping with inflammation and slowing the growth of skin cells so they don’t build up are steroids. Coming in different strengths, the weaker formulas may work for sensitive areas like the face or neck or skin-folds areas like your groin or armpit. For tough-to-treat places like your elbows and knees, you may need stronger ones. When they are used along with other medications, steroids sometimes work better. 

Recommending to use these twice a day, the doctor may suggest that you wrap the area with tape or plastic after you treat it. Called occlusion can help some treatments work better whereas it may also make side effects stronger. 

Here we include the side effects that are:

• Thin skin
• Changes in skin color
• Bruising
• Stretch marks
• Broken blood vessels

Follow your doctor’s direction as using steroids for too long has been linked to serious health problems like those including certain kinds of cancer. 

Having man-made vitamin D in them are vitamin D analog topicals.

Making your skin cells grow more slowly are these ointments, gels, creams, lotions, foams, and solutions. They may be safer for you than steroids, over the long term but it can also irritate the skin. 

Keep them away from children and pets as some of these medications can make you sick if you sallow them. About what other medicines you take, make sure the doctor knows as some can stop vitamin D products from working: 

Here come the vitamin D analogs 

• Calcipotriene as Calcitrene, Dovonex, Sorilux
• Calcitriol including Rocaltrol and Vectical
• Tacalcitol in the form of Bonalfa and Curatoderm

Using vitamin D along with a steroid is recommended by doctors. The two combination medications come to be Taclonex and Enstilar as each contains both calcipotriene which is vitamin D and betamethasone dipropionate which is a steroid.

Helping speed up the growth and shedding of skin cells, are retinoids like tazarotene or Tazorac. Coming in different strengths, these foams, gels, or creams are made with vitamin A. You put a small dab on the inflamed area and rub it in before bed typically. 

For women who are pregnant or might get pregnant doctors usually don’t recommend these.

Slowing the growth of skin cells and easing inflammation is Anthralin. It can irritate your skin and stain clothes, sheets, and skin even though it doesn’t have any serious side effects. Often used with other medications is this. 

Helping with inflammation are Pimecrolimus (Elidel) and tacrolimus (Protopic). These drugs may be called by doctors as calcineurin inhibitors. When other medications don’t work, they are sometimes used to treat psoriasis. 

Make sure you read the FDA warning on the label as it may happen to have a link between calcineurin inhibitors as well as lymphoma and skin cancer. 

To Conclude When To Change Things Up

Bothering your skin is many topical treatments and the doctor's overtime suggests you switch to different types of creams. Along with other kinds of treatments like phototherapy or medications you take by mouth or with shots, you can also use them. 

If something that was working stops or something that’s never helped before starts to do some good, don’t be surprised. Your doctor is sure to know what makes difference and what doesn’t. You can find the treatment that’s right for you together. 

Make sure you understand the directions and the side effects they can cause before using topical treatments. Once you start stick with your treatment plans. Your psoriasis could get worse if you don’t use your medication regularly. If your psoriasis treatment is working, find out how to tell.