Psoriasis and your skin
Psoriasis is a condition of your immune system that shows itself in the skin. The treatment goes through your GP or dermatologist, and alongside that we work on your skin barrier.
Your nails and joints can be involved too. With joints especially it matters that they are looked at in time.
Stiff joints in the morning, swollen fingers or toes, or back pain that improves with movement. Mention that to your GP, even if your skin patches are mild.
Damage to a joint is permanent. This is the one part where being on time really changes something.
Four patches
They do not always flare at the same time but they do belong together. Nails and joints are the most often mistaken for something else.
From top to bottom
They belong to the same condition, even when they do not flare at the same time.
Scalp
psoriasis capitis
- What you see or feel
- Thick scales stuck to the hair, often just past the hairline on your forehead or behind your ears.
- Why this counts
- This is most often mistaken for stubborn dandruff. The difference is in the thickness and in the sharp border.
Psoriasis can appear in several places. That is why a cream tackles the patch and not the cause: the diagnosis and the medical treatment belong with your GP or dermatologist. We assess the skin and advise on supporting care.
What helps and what we advise against
Have joint complaints assessed in time. Delay there costs damage that does not come back.
This works
- To your GP with sharply bordered, scaly patches that do not go away. There is treatment for it and it starts there.
- Mentioning joint complaints straight away, even if your skin is mild. This is the one part where waiting can cause permanent damage.
- Showing your nails during that conversation. They are often forgotten and they say something.
- Keep moisturising on quiet days. Supple skin splits open less easily, and damage can trigger a new patch.
- Knowing that it runs in periods. That makes a quiet period no cure and a flare-up no failure.
We advise against this
- Scraping or scrubbing scales off. Damage in a spot can trigger new psoriasis there.
- Treating nail changes as fungus on your own. That is the most common mistake and it takes months before you know it is not working.
- Booking a cosmetic treatment on active patches.
- Stopping prescribed medication as soon as it improves, without discussing it.
- Assuming it is contagious or that it comes down to hygiene. Neither is true.
Frequently asked questions
Is psoriasis contagious?
No. It is a condition of your own immune system and cannot be passed on, not even by touch.
What can you do with psoriasis?
With psoriasis we can assess the skin and advise on supporting skincare. For the diagnosis and medical treatment we work with, or refer to, your GP or dermatologist where needed. We do not treat active psoriasis patches with damaging or intensively exfoliating treatments.
I only have pits in my nails. Does that count?
That is reason enough to have it looked at. Nail changes are often the first or only sign and are almost always mistaken for fungus.
My joints are stiff in the morning. Does that belong with this?
It can, and it is the part you should not wait on. Morning stiffness lasting longer than half an hour should be discussed, even if your skin patches are small.
Can I come to you for something else?
If your skin is calm at that moment and it is about a different subject, we will look along. We do not treat over patches and we say so when we do not think it is sensible.
When you belong
with your GP
Mention your nails and your joints in that conversation, even if you notice little of them yourself. Those two are the most often skipped. Alongside your doctor's treatment we work on your skin barrier.
Book a consultation alongside your treatment
The medication goes through your GP or dermatologist. We look at your skin barrier and at what is possible between flare-ups, in consultation with your doctor.
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