If you have Psoriasis in New York, then you should know that you are one of many. Psoriasis is the most common autoimmune disease in the country affecting about 7.5 million people.
Generally speaking, Psoriasis has no cure. Therefore, treatment focuses on managing the symptoms of the disease.
The disease speeds up the life of your skin cells, increasing the number of dead skin cells. That leads to a buildup of dead cells in the skin which causes the appearance of red patches in the skin.
There are several types of Psoriasis which include:
Plaque Psoriasis
Plaque Psoriasis is the most common type of Psoriasis that exists. It captures at least 80% of all Psoriasis patients.
This form of psoriasis is characterized by thick, red patches of skin with a silver or white layer of scaly material. The patches can appear on your elbows, knees, lower back, or scalp.
Plaque Psoriasis patches can be as large as ten centimeters in diameter. They can cover varying amounts of skin depending on the severity of the condition.
Guttate Psoriasis
Guttate Psoriasis is the second most common form of Psoriasis, albeit a distant second. It affects roughly 8% of Psoriasis patients and is often seen in children and teenagers.
This type of Psoriasis manifests itself as small red spots on the skin. They are tiny, separate, drop-shaped spots.
Guttate Psoriasis will often appear on your chest, arms, and legs. However, it can also affect your face and scalp.
Over time, guttate Psoriasis can develop into plaque Psoriasis. Guttate Psoriasis can be triggered by stress, injury, or some medications.
Flexural or Inverse Psoriasis
This form of Psoriasis affects folded skin areas. The skin under breasts, armpits, and around the groin area are the parts most affected.
The spots of flexural Psoriasis are red, shiny, and smooth. The moisture produced under skinfolds keeps these spots from shading their scaly skin.
Therefore, it is easy for flexural Psoriasis to be misdiagnosed as a fungal or bacterial infection.
Skin contact with someone with inverse Psoriasis is very painful for the patient. They will also probably have another form of Psoriasis elsewhere on their body if they have flexural Psoriasis.
Pustular Psoriasis
Pustular Psoriasis is a quickly developing form of the disease. It is also one of its most serious types.
Its symptoms include white pustules with red skin around them. When the pustules agglomerate, they can form white scales.
Pustular Psoriasis can either affect an isolated part of the body or the entire skin. They can cover the hands and feet or your entire chest.
The pustules produce pus which is non-infectious. Pustular Psoriasis can have flu-like symptoms which can lead to misdiagnosis.
Erythrodermic Psoriasis
Erythrodermic Psoriasis is the most serious form of the disease. It can also be referred to as exfoliative Psoriasis.
When this type of Psoriasis is very serious, it can become an emergency medical condition. It usually causes such high temperatures that hospitalization is required.
The effect of the abnormally high temperature is that your skin appears burnt. Erythrodermic Psoriasis is widespread and results in scales all over your body.
