Statistics show a large percentage of patients with psoriasis worldwide - 3-5%. The disease mainly affects the skin, which manifests itself as a red rash with a characteristic inflammatory reaction. In this case, the plate is covered with a silver scale from above. The main difficulty in the treatment of the disease is the lack of drugs for a complete cure. It is believed that the main factors influencing the spread of psoriasis are: metabolic abnormalities, external factors, stress, as well as heredity.
Most scholars agree that heredity plays a vital role. In the presence of genetic abnormalities, any external stimulation can lead to the manifestation of psoriasis. These include nervous, depressive, psycho-emotional abnormalities, poor quality clothing, mechanical damage to the skin, chemical poisoning, infectious diseases, etc. Treatment of psoriasis is reduced to the transition from acute symptoms to asymptomatic manifestations. The greatest importance is not only the behavior of a person during relapse, but also the prevention of psoriasis, which is responsible for its prevention.
Basic methods of preventing psoriasis
Prevention of psoriasis consists of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and eliminating the negative factors. At the same time, prevention has a fairly general form, ie it prevents the development of other diseases, as immunity increases and the body works on a regular basis, increasing the likelihood of qualitative resistance to environmental stimuli.
Prevention is a set of measures aimed at protecting the health of the body. There are several areas of impact that can help prevent relapse:
- High quality skin care;
- Follow a diet;
- A relaxing massage is recommended;
- Give up bad habits;
- Avoid stress and depression;
- Prevent corrosive chemicals from entering the skin and respiratory tract;
- Maintaining adequate levels of micronutrients and vitamins in the body.
Skin care
Requires high quality and thorough skin care:
- In the cold season, perform such water procedures from time to time. Cool showers for hot weather, pouring, and soda, salt, herbs, etc. in cold weather. you can use the added hot baths;
- It is important to take good care of your skin to avoid irritation and cuts. Use soft sponges and it is better to give up hard sponges completely, otherwise relapse is possible;
- Discard hard soaps. Also prevent the ingress of solvents such as gasoline, kerosene; It is better to wash the hair on the head with special shampoos that contain the spread of the disease and can act as a treatment for psoriasis. These include shampoos, balms, and lotions;
- Avoid cracking the skin to rule out the possibility of symptoms. It is important to moisturize the skin after taking a bath or shower, for which masks, creams, ointments, etc. This accelerates the regeneration of the hydrolipid membrane and prevents increased water loss. It is necessary to use such means once a day;
- Internal humidity should be at an optimal level (50-55%). If the air is too dry, the skin begins to dry out, then cracks. Moisturizers can be used;
- Increased air circulation increases dryness of the skin in conditioners and drafts. Time spent in such buildings should be limited;
- Mechanical damage must be excluded. Cuts, bruises, abrasions, skin tears often cause relapses;
- Chemicals, such as bathroom care, should be used with minimal and only personal protective equipment, even if prolonged exposure to the respiratory tract is harmful;
- Cut the nails short to prevent accidental damage to the skin;
- Some cosmetics contain aggressive substances that have a negative effect on the skin. You may need to switch to medical cosmetics.
Application of wellness massage
If massage is applied, the prevention of psoriasis is even more effective. Massage techniques that stimulate blood circulation are especially useful. Thanks to the active blood circulation, the excretion of metabolites and toxins is accelerated, the process of skin regeneration is accelerated, which prevents the aggravation of the disease. The massage involves using your fingers to gradually stretch the skin around the plate. It is necessary to cover an area of 2-4 cm around the affected area. The plaques themselves should not be touched, which is fraught with aggravation of the disease. A full body massage can be done to prevent the formation of new plaques. It is mainly necessary to process the back, then proceed to massage the limbs and the end of the abdomen. It responds well to squeezing and rubbing the ribs. The duration of the procedure is 10-15 minutes.
Proper nutrition and diet
Nutrition plays an important role in preventing the development of almost all chronic diseases, and psoriasis and its prevention is no exception. There are some diet plans that can give positive results, such as the Pegano diet, but the essence is the same and is to eliminate harmful substances. Relapses occur due to the negative effects of food. This is due to the fact that liver damage in psoriasis is a characteristic course of the disease.
- Never eat fried, spicy, salty or sour foods. Exclude canned food, semi-finished products can be consumed in small quantities, but made at home. Eat perishable foods with caution. All this disrupts the process of food processing in the digestive system;
- Do not eat citrus fruits, because they are considered highly allergenic fruits. Citrus fruits also contain colchicine, which destroys folic acid, which in turn is one of the important components of skin regeneration;
- Eating corn is not recommended;
- Relapses are possible due to bananas, mangoes and strawberries;
- It is forbidden to eat sweets, as well as flour products;
- Eating potatoes is acceptable, but should be greatly reduced. This is due to the high potassium content. They antagonize calcium by reacting with sodium. Calcium is essential to counteract the inflammatory reaction;
- Fatty meats should be minimized, especially pork and lamb. Replace it with more diet meats;
- Highly allergenic foods include: eggs, tomatoes, coffee, chocolate, honey and mushrooms;
- Dairy products are healthy because they contain a lot of protein and fat. It is recommended to include cottage cheese, milk, fermented baked milk and cheese in the diet. Thanks to the most important amino acids, the course of biochemical reactions throughout the body is normalized. At the same time, the high calcium content helps to eliminate inflammation, as well as allergic manifestations;
- Treatment and prevention of psoriasis works well with plant-based foods such as vegetables, fruits and herbs. However, they should be eaten raw. Carrots have beneficial properties due to vitamin A. This component leads to the normalization of metabolism in the skin and helps to achieve faster regeneration;
- Porridge should be in the diet every day. The most useful cereals are: wheat, oats and buckwheat;
- For the fastest treatment of psoriasis, you need to drink plenty of fluids, including juices, water, including mineral water, teas, etc. ;
- If you have an intolerance, avoid the use of allergens. This nuance is determined with the help of the attending physician.
Abstinence from alcohol and smoking
There is no reliable information on whether alcohol causes the disease, but it is known that in patients with advanced psoriasis, the course of the disease is aggravated by drinking. It is also possible to generalize the usual, vulgar form of the disease to a more severe form, such as psoriatic erythroderma.
When it comes to smoking, everything is a bit simple. It is noted that the disease can provoke itself and aggravate the current form of the disease. People who smoke 20 or more cigarettes a day are especially at risk. The main problem is a decrease in the activity of the immune system due to lack of oxygen and weakening of muscle tone and vascular walls. It is also important that smoking impairs blood circulation through the capillaries, as well as suppresses antioxidant defenses.
Healthy lifestyle
A healthy lifestyle is one of the main factors that affect the well-being of the skin. It is important to have a good daily routine, including enough sleep. Doctors often recommend going to nature, fresh air, going to the sea, resorts, sanatoriums.
Physical activity helps to restore the health of the body, which is a key factor in the prevention of disease. Sports activities are excellent, especially fitness and swimming. Such a set of measures can strengthen the immune system, as well as relieve nervous tension.
Antistress
Psychoemotional disorders and stress have a negative impact on the course of the disease and often lead to its occurrence. Normalization and stability of the emotional state and nervous system are of great importance in prevention. You should try to exclude external stimuli as much as possible. Ancient practices such as yoga and meditation, as well as extra sleep, can help. In more severe cases, they use sedatives or are combined with herbal teas.
If psoriasis involves disorders of the nervous system - headache, sleep disorders, irritability, then the drug can be used. Effective - motherwort, valerian, Nervo-Vit. They help to normalize sleep, increase the ability of the immune system and improve resistance to stress.
It is difficult to get results without your own efforts, you have to accept everything more calmly.
work
Some occupations are definitely unsuitable for psoriasis. Negative factors include: high temperature, excessive dryness or humidity in the room, the use of chemicals. Also, the choice of profession should not fall on specialties with high levels of nervous tension, as well as the risk of mechanical injury. It is better to stay away from highly allergenic environments.
Use of vitamin complexes
Vitamins have an extremely beneficial effect not only on the course of the disease, but also on its prevention. Thanks to strong immunity, it is possible to prevent relapse, as well as improve metabolism, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the skin. Important vitamins are:
- A - it is responsible for keratinization, which significantly accelerates the regeneration of the skin;
- E - Evaluated primarily for its antioxidant effect. It also prevents metabolic abnormalities and acts as an integral part of DNA synthesis;
- D - a substance that regulates the metabolism of phosphorus and calcium. At the same time, it stimulates regeneration in the epidermis and normalizes the membrane, cell structure;
- Group B - actively participates in the metabolism of the skin, improves oxygen absorption. Skin elements respond positively to the presence of B vitamins, which manifests itself in the normalization of the nervous system.
Products with high amounts of vitamins or drugs are often used. Recommended - Undevit, Hexavit and Dekamevit, but they should be used on the advice of a doctor.
Medications
It is necessary to consult a doctor before taking the drug. In some cases, the agents, on the contrary, aggravate the disease, which manifests itself with an increase in symptoms. Lithium supplements, as well as gold and beta-blockers, should be avoided.
Any, even the most harmless, diseases at first glance can cause psoriasis. It is necessary to deal with the timely treatment of all diseases. Diseases of the upper respiratory tract often aggravate psoriasis.
Climatotherapy, ultraviolet rays
Ultraviolet radiation has a beneficial effect on the course and prevention of psoriasis. Patients are prescribed to sunbathe for 5-10 minutes, burning is unacceptable. Seawater also has a positive effect, especially from the Dead Sea, although this figure is individual, on the contrary, it harms some. Skin wounds are a contraindication to swimming in sea water. Do not swim during aggravation. The timing of climatotherapy should be adjusted individually.
It is necessary to use sunscreen while sunbathing. The attending physician will be able to say that sunbathing will have a beneficial effect, otherwise the risk of exacerbation of the disease is high.
Trauma
Injuries are very dangerous manifestations that can cause psoriasis, but also aggravate it. This increases the risk of secondary infection due to cuts and abrasions. Plaques often appear around the lesions. Avoid injuries as much as possible.
clothing
Factors such as quality and appropriate clothing are one of the principles of preventing psoriasis or its recurrence. It is recommended to use clothes made of soft fabrics made of natural materials, it is better to have them in a light color. This will help prevent plaque damage and reduce skin pain. A lighter color will help the silver scales look less. Linen, cotton and other soft fabrics are ideal for bedding. Avoid using wool sweaters and similar irritating materials.