What is Psoriasis?

• Psoriasis causes a skin condition wherein skin cells start dividing very fast thereby causing development of thick patches on the skin.
• These patches are thickened due to excessive cell growth and it leads to the reddening of the affected area.
• Psoriasis is a non-contagious skin disease that is assumed to be non-curable.
• It mainly affects body parts like scalp, knees and elbows.
• Psoriasis causes mental stress and embarrassment in people owing to the unsightly appearance of their skin.

Psoriasis Causes - Factors That Trigger The Skin Condition

• There is no exact information about psoriasis causes and doctors are trying to propose different theories to explain this phenomenon.
• The genetic and familial history seems to be numero uno amongst psoriasis causes, since many of the cases seem to run in families.
• The immune system of the body plays a very important role in psoriasis causes, and scientists believe that the T-cell lymphocytes are involved in development of this disorder

What are the factors that trigger Psoriasis?

• In addition to psoriasis causes mentioned above, there are certain factors that can trigger off the acute itching and desquamation episodes.
• Acute infections like those affecting the upper respiratory tract; which may be either bacterial (streptococcal) or fungal (Candida) in origin.
• Injury or trauma caused to the skin, by way of sunburn, burns, cuts, infections or bug and insect bites.
• Smoking cigarettes
• Excessive consumption of alcohol
• Too much of stress and anxiety
• Cold and chilly weather
• Use of certain medications like lithium which is often prescribed for Bipolar disorder, anti-malarial medications, iodides and beta blockers that are used to manage high blood pressure.
• Obesity is another one of the risk factors that can not only trigger off an acute episode of psoriatic symptoms but also can aggravate them due to the friction caused by the overweight thighs and other body parts rubbing against each other during movements.

What are the Complications of Psoriasis?

• Psoriasis causes multisystem complications, and many of them might turn out to be quite severe.
• Psoriatic arthritis is one of the usual complications and can be quite debilitating and troublesome
• Psoriasis can also lead to a metabolic syndrome where there is a plethora of symptoms like cardiovascular disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, high blood pressure and high levels of insulin in blood stream.
• Secondary infections of the skin over the psoriatic patches are possible.

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