Psoriasis

[Scorpihoe]

How do you guys find sudocream? Personally I LOVE the smell but it doesn’t do much for me, it’s so thick

 

[Tots]

Thanks, does it stop the itching and flakes? X

Sorry for the delay! Yes I remember it helping! My scalp psoriasis has improved hugely thankfully tho my scalp is so prone to sun burn even though the rest of me is fine.
I also put a good amount of coconut oil on any bad bits overnight before I was due to wash it which helped too. It’s a solid oil that melts on contact, just use a 100% natural one without perfume added x

 

[Snippysnips]

Whoever mentioned the oat bath…omg LIFECHANGER. I am in the bath now

I put some quakers oats in a thin cotton cloth and tied it to the tap and let hot water run through, then I untied it when the bath was full and let it sit around in the water. Omg the water feels amazing and it smells good too! And I’ve just been massaging the oat bag (lol) into my skin, on my eczema patches.

im gonna do this weekly now, it feels so good. Although I think I’m using the wrong oats lol

That's exactly what I used to do lol, I honestly can't remeber the oats I used, pretty sure it was just the cheap ones out the shop but it was a little elderly lady that told my mum about it an it was like one of those old wives tales you hear, we didn't have anything to loose so just decided to go for it, it's amazing right?

 

[MonkeyTennis]

Have a patch on my elbow and when l go through stress it flares up in other areas.
I've been prescribed steroid creams and cold tar treatments but not with great results, as they can irritate the rest of my skin. Was also offered light therapy during a particularly bad flare up.

One thing l have found amazing though is Childs Farm lotion, its recommended by dermatologists and is gentle enough to use even on baby skin*

Its around £5.00 in Boots and is incredible at clearing up my skin, l used it twice a day for a month and was confident enough to wear a bikini on holiday as it had cleared up my skin that much, l always used to cover up as l was so self conscious of my psoriasis.
As far as l know they do shampoo too but haven't tried that so can't really comment.

*Believe me l'm so cynical about anyone professing their love about how amazing various creams are but honestly it worked for me. Hope it helps you too.

 

[Terflife]

I have had psoriasis for years. It has had times of almost complete going, and other being really bad.
I don't use steroid creams anymore.
I prefer the summertime as the bit d does wonders for my skin.
Also Irish sea moss works wonders.
I can also vouch for goats milk soap. It helps with the redness, cracks & itchiness.
Food is a major cause for flare ups to.
Dairy and citrus triggers them. Xx.

 

[OutrageouslyScarlet]

Still undiagnosed! Awaiting scans

It’s a long old process. I remember being 24 and having MRI scans and a much much older specialist telling me I had growing pains and it was very common for young girls to get this. Some days i could barley walk and that was only 4 years ago

 

[Curly Top]

Thank you. I used to have this type of eczema a lot on my feet when I was little. It was awful. Haven’t had it in years and about 3 months ago it cropped up on my finger. I’ve been keeping it moisturised and trying not to scratch. If it gets worse I’ll try and get some of that stuff. I dread it spreading.

At least you've got an option if it gets worse. The doctor told me that this type of eczema is hard to diagnose and to treat. He was quite excited about it and showed me pictures from his text book.

 

[Welsh1]

Oh wow! Would you mind telling me her Instagram please? I’d love to follow the journey

_keepingupwithsteph. Such a lovely girl aswell.

 

[Clickbait]

Hi, new to this, sorry if its been posted, I've had it since a baby, my arms, legs, scalp, nose etc haven't had flare ups recently but as a kid it was crazy bad to the point people would constantly ask if I had fallen an hurt myself, one day a elderly woman approched my mum an told her what would help, it was like one of those old wife tale things, we tried it an mines cleared up super well, didn't 100% go but at least for me it made a super huge difference, it was putting oats in a cloth an tying it round the tap like a little bag an letting the hot water flow through it that did it for me

That is what the original Aveeno was based on. Oatmeal Bath powder - I was prescribed it when I was a baby/young child for my eczema. They still sell it if you’re interested in trying it.

 

[Cupoftea83]

I have had psoriasis for years. It has had times of almost complete going, and other being really bad.
I don't use steroid creams anymore.
I prefer the summertime as the bit d does wonders for my skin.
Also Irish sea moss works wonders.
I can also vouch for goats milk soap. It helps with the redness, cracks & itchiness.
Food is a major cause for flare ups to.
Dairy and citrus triggers them. Xx.

Goats milk is so good isn't it! Glad it helps you too. I finally found a seller who makes it completely natural. If anyone is interested I can share. Agree with dairy too and seems to be gluten as well god I'm awkward x

 

[Sozhun]

I had a GP who saw a full blown Psoriasis flare covering my entire body and argued with the Rheumatology department when they suggested it might be fibromyalgia rather than the joint issues I'd had since childhood. PsA often affects fingers and toes making them look like little sausages.

I'd definitely try to see a new GP and ask about referral, though. Thing is that your knee pain could be biomechanical, a cartilage issue, wear and tear, weakened leg muscles, iliotibital band problems, a need for orthotics to prevent pronation of your foot putting pressure on the knee or any number of things other than PsA - but a blood test with CRP/ESR could identify if there's any inflammation that might/should trigger a referral to dermatology/rheumatology.


If you have the funds, I'd think that it would be a good use of money to see a sports physio privately, as they'd be able to see mechanical issues and be able to say whether they think it's an inflammatory issue and therefore out of their remit - and that could give more weight to a request for referral.

Just be warned that ESR/CRP aren't always reliable when diagnosing PsA as you can be sero-negative. A good rheumatology doctor will do a PsARC exam and take background info. Its a multifactorial diagnosis

 

[Captainmouse]

Please don't ever ditch moisturizers and basic skin self-care when you have severely dry and atopic skin. It's lunacy.

There is a whole evidence-based knowledge base about how to treat and maintain the health of atopic skin and not one part of it involves the kind of utterly magical thinking that involves withholding all treatments and believing the disease will resolve itself. Imagine applying this thinking to any other disease and you'll see how insane it is. Oh, you have kidney disease? Withhold dialysis and the body will just revolve it on its own. Type 1 Diabetes? Withhold insulin, sure your body will decide to produce insulin again. This is NOT how any organ in your body actually works.

This NMT is based on a total misunderstanding about how skin works, about atopic skin and trans-epidermal water loss, how moisture is held to or lost from the skin, and how moisturizers work. Your skin isn't refusing to produce the elements to hold water in the skin because you use occlusives or moisturizers, it simply cannot do so, so withholding them won't do anything except put you in agony and further inflame your already fragile skin. Corticosteroid creams are anti-inflammatory medicines btw which reduce the inflammation in skin; their job is not moisturizing, it is decreasing inflammation. They are merely used in conjunction with moisturizing creams, washes and so on.

Some people have eczema that is made worse because of a reaction to environmental factors such as very hard water, or dry weather, which promote trans-epidermal water loss. It's vital in those cases to lessen the water loss by using occlusive creams and lotions and avoiding drying things like overwashing, hot water and so on. Eczema sufferers need to keep their skin protected from transepidermal water loss as much as possible, in conjunction with finding their personal inflammtory triggers if possible, and avoiding them. Stopping all medicines and basic protective practices in the hope the disease will suddenly cure itself is medieval.

People do sometimes have rebound and skin thinning issues with very long term or incorrect use of corticosteroids and should work with a proper dermatologist and look into non-steroid treatments such as Protopic cream and related drugs that work differently and often very effectively along with all the other elements of an atopic skin regime. But the issue with the natural dryness of the skin, even when the eczema is not flaring, if often there in some form for life, because it's a genetic issue.

People with naturally dry and atopic skin usually lack the ability to make certain biological elements the way people with normally functioning skin do. Your body won't suddenly develop the ability to make these factors because you decide to stop putting stuff on the upper epidermis, the dead layer.

I had very severe eczema in my teens and 20s (started in early childhood and then exploded when older) and am now 50 and haven't had a real problem beyond sometimes, my hands (from severely cold and dry weather, overwashing or irritants, and I use a corticosteroid, DiproSone Ointment and Urea-based creams to sort that) for decades now. Urea is amazing for preventing trans=eidermal water loss. Eucerin and Altruist do great creams and lotions with high percentages of urea. My skin looks utterly normal now generally. This is because I know and practice good self-care. I by default use body lotion after every single shower, hand cream after every time I wash my hands, face cream every time I wash my face. If I stopped moisturizing, I'd likely be like am elderly aunt of mine, who grew up in a time with barely any real treatments or drugstore options available to her and she told me in the 1960s, she used nothing because nothing was available to her and her skin would just fall off her in giant flakes and sometimes, sheetsva under her clothes. She still has massively dry skin to this very day.

There was an episode of the bad skin clinic where a sufferer had ditched all treatment and she definitely got much worse. Not sure if the program is still available to watch, but treatment made a huge difference

 

[OutrageouslyScarlet]

Methotrexate is what has been mentioned. I’ll hopefully have a diagnosis today! I’ll update later

How did it go?

 

[1001 others]

It is an awful thing to experience . I hadn't had a flare-up in years but just in the past few months have had an outbreak over one of my breasts which is just so uncomfortable (itchy, sore, hot ... all the feels). I typically use a couple of different products, which both help in different ways -'Bio Oil' and 'Palmers Skin Repair Oil', but it's still there ... and annoying me. I can't really pinpoint what's caused it ... probably stress, as I haven't changed my washing machine liquid, and I wear cotton bras.

 

[Blairr]

Haven’t drank for 68 days now and quit smoking 22 days ago, the difference is nice but I feel a bit disappointed that it hasn’t completely cleared up :/ it hasn’t improved as much as I hoped it would tbh!
Going to the dermatologist next month, I’ve used steroid creams years ago but never taken tablets. Gonna see if I’ll start methotrexate, cyclosporine or something like that. Anyone have any recommendations for tablets?

They will possibly want you to try all the lotions and potions first unless your GP has prescribed those already but there is a few that only the dermatologist have. If you’re lucky and they allow you to skip that I’d recommend cyclosporine over methotrexate. I had no results on MTX and I was on it for 6 month. Cyclosporine worked in days! But I stopped due to side effects (heartburn, joint pain, chest pain etc) so now I’m on the biologics waiting list.

 

[Blairr]

Thank you for responding! I’ll have a look at ciclosporin now xx


Yes I do, I really struggle with wearing short sleeves or shorts. I recommend spending a lot of time at home idk if you have a garden in your shorts or skin out tanning, and if you don’t go to a local park with just your arms out and try and combat feeling uncomfortable. When you’re somewhere less busy it becomes easier to feel less insecure. Sometimes I feel like getting outside somewhere not busy and having my arms out prepares me for feeling less self conscious in busier places if that makes sense?As for when I go out, like into town i love wearing trousers that are like linen material and really breezy and shirts on top or a cropped top with long sleeves. Not really about how to get sunshine on skin and kinda unrelated but that’s how I feel like most confident if I was going to a a really busy place in summer good luck babe x

Dont be put off by the side effects. I was so scared to take it but I was fine! Just a bit more tired than usual but it’s honestly worth it! X

 

[Snippysnips]

Yeah aren’t as close , most people prefer to use the stand ups, it tends to reach harder places. But yeah you don’t feel the heat so much, worth ago!

Thanks am sure there's plenty places around here has them so can check it out an see how I get on with it an if I like it

 

[Sozhun]

I have psoriatic arthritis. Started when I was 22 and took 2 years to be diagnosed. Do you know what meds?

I have PsA too! On mtx and etoricoxib which work well for me although there's talk of switching to simponi injections.
I use Enstillar foam for my skin when its bad and its amazing but does contain steroids

 

[Scorpihoe]

Apart from no change in my skin it’s been fine. I’ve been very lucky to not have any side effects. Which I’m gutted about because it would’ve been perfect had it of made any changes to my skin! I’m due a review in the next week or two so I’ll see what the next step is hopefully.

thank you, good luck with your review! I know how annoying it is to get your hopes up on something and it doesn’t work

 

[Bae56]

I’ve tried eumovate via my Gp it does seem to help, I have to be really careful using it eg using gloves I got some on my face last year and it caused some kind of allergic reaction.

Wow really? Just shows you how unique everyone's skin is. I always found it to be gentle. That's the only thing that doesn't make me more itchy.
I have eczema and psoriasis. It makes you feel horrible doesn't it. I have chunks of hair missing & can't wear my wedding ring because my hands are too sore. I don't know if anyone else feels like this but now I just think what's the point in doing anything to make myself look or feel nice when I'm so itchy, red, swollen & flaking