Introduction Psoriasis is a condition that is suffered by many millions of people all over the world, with various developed countries reporting incidence rates that are remarkably similar. For instance, in the USA, the reported rate of severe psoriasis is somewhere between 2% and 3% of the population, whilst in Australia, the condition affects around 2% of the population as well. Furthermore, it is suggested in some quarters that up to 20% of the population of the USA may have some form of psoriasis ranging from the very mild to severe, and that perhaps as many as 4.5 million people could be serious psoriasis sufferers. On top of this, it is reported that there are 150,000 new cases of psoriasis reported every year in the USA alone, so if it is assumed that psoriasis is as prevalent in other countries as it is in the States, it clearly represents a significant problem on a global scale. For psoriasis sufferers, there is something of a ‘good news, bad news’ paradox with which most of these people have undoubtedly already learned to live. The good news is that, on the one hand, psoriasis is not a condition that is life threatening (although it has been suggested that the condition increases the risk of heart attack). Balanced against this however is the fact that psoriasis can bring a great deal of misery to both sufferers and their families, so it is not a condition that can be ignored. Furthermore, because it can develop into something far more unpleasant and painful, psoriasis is a condition that sufferers have to treat. As with any medical condition or complaint, there are many different ways of treating or dealing with psoriasis, some of which are dependent on pharmaceutical drugs whilst others are completely natural. And of course, it almost always follows that treating any medical condition naturally is the best way of doing things if such treatments are going to be appropriate and effective. The purpose of this book is to examine what psoriasis is and what causes it in greater detail, before looking at the various different ways of treating the condition. Armed with this information, you should be in a position to consider and decide whether using pharmaceutical drugs is a good idea for treating your own psoriasis condition or whether using 100% natural methods of treating your condition is a better idea. 4 What is psoriasis? Psoriasis is an inflammatory skin condition which is not contagious. There are five different types of psoriasis, of which by far the most common is plaque psoriasis which is a form that is suffered by approximately 80% of psoriasis sufferers. This particular form of psoriasis (also known as ‘psoriasis vulgaris’, with the latter word meaning common) usually appears as reddish patches of raised skin which are often covered in a silvery-white scale. These skin patches, otherwise known as plaques (hence the condition name) or lesions are most commonly found on the elbows and knees, the scalp or sometimes in the lower back area of the sufferer. Having said this, they are not restricted to these particular areas of the body and can appear anywhere on the head, torso or limbs. The other less common types of psoriasis are: • Guttate psoriasis which is characterized by small red spots on the skin. This particular form of psoriasis most commonly develops in children or teenagers who have a history of streptococcal infections; • Erythrodermic psoriasis where the patient suffers widespread redness, severe itching and often pain. This is the least common type of psoriasis which is suffered by only 1% to 2% of people who have psoriasis, which is fortunate, because this particular type of psoriasis can in the most extreme cases be life-threatening. This is because in the most severe cases, large sections of skin are shed, meaning that there are areas of exposed, unprotected flesh which could be prone to infections (it is often compared to those who have suffered very bad burns); • Inverse psoriasis is where the sufferer is likely to find small, smooth red lesions forming in bodily skin folds where warm, moist conditions (such as in the armpits, genital area etc) encourage smooth, non-scaly but nevertheless painful to the touch plaques and • Pustular psoriasis which is characterized by patches of red skin at the centre of which there are likely to be white pustules. This type of psoriasis occurs in less than 5% of sufferers, and is usually seen only in adults. Irrespective of the particular type of psoriasis that an individual is suffering from, it usually causes at least a degree discomfort which in some cases can become mild to severe pain. For psoriasis sufferers, it is 5 a fact of their life that their skin is almost always itchy, and that it can often crack and bleed as well. In the most severe cases, the pain suffered by someone who has psoriasis can be significant enough to prevent them handling every day tasks whilst also making settled sleep extremely difficult as well. In medical terms, the treatment that medical professionals and other doctors would recommend for psoriasis will to a very large extent depend upon the severity of the condition being suffered by the individual seeking advice. Some dermatologists would classify psoriasis in three different categories, being mild, moderate and severe with the definition of each of these categories depending on the percentage of the patient’s body that is covered with psoriasis lesions. By these standards, anyone who has lesions cover between 5% and 10% of their body would fall into the mild category, 10% to 20% would be moderate and anyone who has more than 20% of their body covered in psoriasis lesions would fall into the severe category. It has already been suggested that up to 20% of the population of the USA (and by extension of the rest of the Western world) may suffer psoriasis, with the vast majority falling into the mild or even very mild category. For many of these people, their condition is nothing more than a mild annoyance with moderate skin lesions and minor itching, often on a temporary basis. At the other end of the scale, there are some unfortunates whose condition is so severe that they develop lesions all over their body and have to be hospitalized so that the condition can be treated. For these people, their psoriasis is likely to be extremely painful and in addition, it can also be disfiguring and even potentially disabling. And unfortunately, because psoriasis is a chronic condition, meaning that it is one that is a lifelong thing, there can be no total relief for any sufferer. Psoriasis is a condition that can apparently clear up and then return (often with a vengeance) many times throughout life, and because there is no recognized cure for the condition, this is a fact that every psoriasis sufferer has to get used to and live with.

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