Psoriasis
What It Is:
Psoriasis is a chronic, autoimmune condition that speeds up the growth of skin cells and causes skin to be dry, itchy, or to form sometimes painful lesions or bumps on the body. Psoriasis vulgarism, or plaque psoriasis, is the most common form of the disease (accounting for up to 90 percent of cases), and causes symmetrical, well-defined, bright red, itchy raised patches of skin, or plaques, which are covered in silvery scales. Most often, these plaques appear on the elbows, knees, shins, lower back, and crease of the buttocks. Other, less common forms of psoriasis include:
● Inverse psoriasis is similar to plaque psoriasis, but typically occurs in the armpits, groin, under breasts, and in skin folds.
● Guttate psoriasis appears suddenly, with small, red spots that look like drops forming on the body. This form of psoriasis is often linked to a step or other bacterial infection.
● Pustular psoriasis features pus-filled bumps on the skin and is typically triggered by medications, topical agents, exposure to UV light, infections, pregnancy or stress.
● Erythrodermic psoriasis causes large areas of skin to form a bright red sheen, similar to the shell of a cooked lobster, which are typically very itchy and painful.
How It’s Treated:
Systemic and biologic drugs are often used in the treatment of psoriasis to minimize lesions. Phototherapy, or exposing the skin to UV light in a doctor’s office or with a home unit, can also minimize the lesions associated with psoriasis.
Eczema
What It Is:
Atopic dermatitis, or eczema, affects more than four times as many Americans as psoriasis, and typically appears on the back of the knee or front of the elbow, in a much more limited area of skin. Unlike psoriasis, eczema can be triggered by irritants, including dust, food allergies, or pollen. Skin lesions from eczema can be infected with bacteria, unlike psoriasis lesions, which are typically not susceptible to bacterial infections.
How It’s Treated:
Eczema sufferers are encouraged to take regular, warm baths and moisturize immediately after to keep skin soft and lock in moisture. If you have eczema, you should wear soft fabrics, like cotton, and invest in a humidifier, especially when living in an arid climate or during colder times of year when dry heat can aggravate your condition. If your eczema is triggered by allergies, monitor your onsets and try to eliminate those foods, allergens, or irritants from your life.
Shingles
What It Is:
Shingles is a viral infection caused by the varicella-zoster virus - the same virus that causes chicken pox. For patients who had chicken pox as children, the virus, which lies inactive in the nerve tissue near the spinal cord and brain, can reactivate as shingles. Shingles typically appears as a stripe of blisters following a line called a dermatome that wraps around the left or right side of your torso, and may appear on the face and extremities. Dermatomes follow the paths of individual nerves and will typically span the chest and abdomen.
How It’s Treated:
There is no cure for shingles, which may last anywhere from two to six weeks. Patients are typically treated with anti-viral drugs. Because shingles is incredibly painful, doctors will also often prescribe some form of pain treatment, ranging from topical creams to anticonvulsants and tricyclic antidepressants and narcotic pain killers.
Seborrheic dermatitis (seborrhea)
What It Is:
Seborrheic dermatitis typically presents with plaque-type lesions, similar to plaque psoriasis, but seborrhea lesions are far less clearly defined and pinkish in color, with yellow-brown scales. This condition affects only the oil-producing areas of the skin, typically appearing around the scalp, face, chest, and sometimes on the groin and upper back.
How It’s Treated:
Seborrhea is most often treated with over-the-counter medicated shampoos, creams or lotions. If these remedies aren’t effective, your physician can recommend prescription treatments, including stronger topical creams, oral pills, and light therapy with medication.
Dandruff
What it is:
Seborrhea that occurs on the scalp, known as dandruff, produces fine, greasy scales that are most often distributed around the head.
How It’s Treated:
Dandruff is usually treated with over-the-counter medicated shampoos, but severe cases may require prescription treatments.
Mycosis fungoides
What it is:
Mycosis fungoides is a rare form of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma that can appear similar to psoriasis or eczema. The disease goes through several phases, starting with a scaly, red rash on areas of the body that are not usually exposed to the sun. The rash may last for months or years, before developing into a thin, reddened, eczema-like rash. As the disease continues to progress, it develops small, raised bumps (papules) or hard lesions on the skin, which may or may not appear reddened. Finally, tumors form on the skin, which may develop ulcers or become infected.
How It’s Treated:
Depending on what phase the cancer is in when diagnosed, doctors may recommend medications, photodynamic therapy, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or other drug or targeted therapies. If you suspect that you may have this disease, you should speak with your doctor right away. Early stage Mycosis fungicides patients have a survival rate similar to healthy adults similar in age and gender, while late-stage patients have an average survival time of less than 18 months.
Pityriasis rubra pilaris
What It Is:
This rare skin disorder, also called Devergie’s disease, is characterized by reddish or orange scaling plaques on the skin. Patients have severe flaking, uncomfortable itching, and thickening of the skin on the feet and hands, as well as thick bumps around hair follicles. For some sufferers, symptoms may include swelling of the legs, feet, and other extremities.
How It’s Treated:
There is no known cause or cure for PRP. Treatments can include topical creams that contain lactic acid, oral vitamin A, oral retinoids (medications that slow the growth and shedding of skin cells), and phototherapy.
Because these skin disorders are so varied in duration, severity, and prognosis, it’s important to speak to your doctor or make an appointment with a dermatologist if you develop any of the symptoms outlined above. Your doctor can make an accurate diagnosis and help you develop a treatment plan that will ease your discomfort.