Treating Psoriasis
Psoriasis is a common skin disease where red scaly patches develop and show on the skin, most commonly on the scalp, elbows and knees, and sometimes other areas of the body. These patches can be both unsightly and uncomfortable. From what we understand about the disease we know that the skin in Psoriasis patches grows much quicker than normal skin. In all of us, the epidermis (the outer layer of the skin) grows continuously and a new layer is reformed each month. In people with Psoriasis, the skin forms a complete layer of epidermis each 3-4 days - so that extra skin must be shed in scales. This sort of skin growth is similar to healing of the skin after an injury - except that normal skin knows when to slow down and psoriasis skin does not.
Psoriasis can (but not always) run in families and it is likely that some tendency to the condition is inherited. In this case, an accident, nervous shock or germ infection may bring on the condition and make it appear on the skin.
Over the past few years Wyeth has invested heavily in research and development designed to find new and more effective ways of treating the most severe cases of Psoriasis. Talk you doctor about the treatment options that are best for you.
