DH and health

[pinkytoe]

Anyone here have experience with psoriasis? New diagnosis and wondering where to start. As usual, all the doctor has to offer is prescription drugs.

[lessisbest]

Is this the only health issue he has? How about blood glucose issues (type II diabetes or insulin resistance), arthritis, gout..... The reason I ask is because it's just one of the many issues that have been caused by wheat/gluten in the diet. I have another skin-related issue, rosacea, and over a number of months going gluten-free it has improved greatly. Psoriasis, and a number of other skin manifestations can be linked to Celiac disease or gluten sensitivity (which are two different issues).

Years ago I had a friend use chlorine bleach/water to treat her psoriasis. You might Google more information about that.....

It seems to be one of those things where not all therapies work on all people, so you try different things until you find one that works.

[sweetana3]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psoriasis A huge amount of information. Towards the end were various non RX treatments to try.

[CathyA]

DS has psoriasis. He used to really like Dovenex, but it costs about $400 for a small tube. The generic is about the same.
Sunshine is about the best thing for it.........but DS is embarrassed and wears long sleeves and pants in summer.
I've never looked into the lights for it. And I would never encourage him to use those heavy duty meds. Funny thing is, my rheumatologist and dermatologist said they are much safer than we are led to believe they are.
So who do we believe?? I knew a woman whose father started on that type of medication and got lymphoma.......

I wish I could remember something I read recently.......about how some people start to have psoriasis after a viral illness, which is really strange.
If you can afford the Dovenex-type products, that's what I would start with. It's a Vitamin D ointment. It comes in cream and ointment, but DS thinks ointment works the best.

The plaques seem to arise where DS gets scratched or injured. I wish people could live with this type of thing without feeling stigmatized. The commercials make it look bad.....like the world is grossed out. That's not the case, if you understand it.

How bad does your DH have it?
Good luck

[pinkytoe]

It must be pretty mild as he mostly has itching and a few red spots on his scalp. He has complained a lot the past few years about sore joints so I hope it hasn't already affected that. Sounds like a systemic illness and kind of scary. Don't know about gluten issues but we rarely eat bread, crackers, pasta or sweets. I gather he may have to give up his weekend bottle of wine:( Much to learn...

[Teacher Terry]

My hubby has had it his whole life & has tried rx & homeopathic remedies. Nothing has gotten rid of it & he just lives with it.

[catherine]

Well, there are prescription topicals on the market, specifically topical corticosteroids.

For mild psoriasis on the scalp there's a product called Kenalog Spray which is quite benign, and it's very easy to use, especially for the scalp. Psoriasis usually demands something stronger than this mid-potency steroid, but if you're Rx-averse and don't want to be aggressive, you could ask the doctor for that one. Other prescription topicals are Clobex Spray, Topicort, Halog, Ultravate. All of those are a little stronger than Kenalog.

I wish I knew of a more "natural" remedies, but from my experience talking to derms and patients, it's tough to get rid of even with prescription products. It's an autoimmune disorder, so that's why you would use the same drugs for psoriasis as you would for rheumatoid arthritis.

[Tammy]

Years ago, I knew a young woman
with it all over her body. She went to live in a rural area of Russia for a year. During that time it went into complete remission. A few months after returning to the states it returned. I asked her opinion about that. She believed it was linked to the large amounts of preservatives in the American diet, as she was in a very rural area of Russia and they ate food from their own farms and gardens almost 100% of the time.

[JaneV2.0]

I've read many anecdotal accounts of psoriasis clearing up with the elimination of wheat and/or glutenous grains from the diet. It's worth a try. You can drink wine (many spirits, and some beer) on a GF diet. I would generally try any elimination diet to pinpoint the cause before resorting to pharmaceuticals.

[CathyA]

Pinkytoes, DS has more trouble with it when he drinks alcohol.....so he's cut way back on that.

[JaneV2.0]

Some alcohol is grain-based. He might try sticking to those that aren't.

[Mrs. Hermit]

I control most of my psoriasis without rx meds. I am apparently sensitive to a very common chemical used in skin care products and hair care products. If I use a product containing that chemical, I get spots in my scalp and/or skin. I switch hair products constantly (I can only get through one bottle of product before I start to break out). I did find one series of hand lotions that I can use to keep my skin from getting too dry. I have to avoid sunscreen products, as I react to them. If any spots show up, over the counter cortisone cremes usually clear it up.