Psoriasis
Caring for Your Psoriasis: Self-Care Tips
Medicines for psoriasis are often invaluable in controlling symptoms. But there are plenty of natural ways to treat psoriasis, too. Try these eight tips to help manage your psoriasis at home.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 1: Keep Skin Moist
Using moisturizer is an important part of self-care for psoriasis. Dry skin makes irritation and itchiness caused by psoriasis worse than it needs to be. A vicious cycle can result: dry skin can cause itching and scratching, leading to new psoriasis patches developing on the irritated skin.
The best way to keep skin moist? Apply thick ointments like petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or heavy skin creams everywhere you can reach. Pat yourself dry and put on ointment immediately after getting out of the shower.
Also, try super-moisturizing areas of skin affected by psoriasis. At bedtime, cover a patch of skin with ointment, and wrap it with a bandage or plastic wrap overnight. In the morning, wash the area gently. Over time, this can reduce scaling.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 2: Bathe, but Beware
Bathing can be another important part of psoriasis self-care, yet frequent bathing can also dry skin out, causing problems. A few tips for bathing with psoriasis: * Avoid hot water, which can irritate skin. Use lukewarm water instead. * Don’t towel off -- pat yourself dry, then apply moisturizer. * Pure water dries skin. Add bathing salts, oil, or oilated oatmeal to bathwater to make it more skin-friendly.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 3: Stick to the Plan
It can be messy and inconvenient to slather thick goo onto psoriasis patches, day after day. But consistency is key. If you’ve been prescribed topical therapy, making it part of your routine can improve results. Also, topical therapies avoid the potential side effects of pills or injection treatments for psoriasis.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 4: Get Some Sun, With Care
The ultraviolet light found in sunlight is a proven treatment for psoriasis, but sunburns can
Medicines for psoriasis are often invaluable in controlling symptoms. But there are plenty of natural ways to treat psoriasis, too. Try these eight tips to help manage your psoriasis at home.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 1: Keep Skin Moist
Using moisturizer is an important part of self-care for psoriasis. Dry skin makes irritation and itchiness caused by psoriasis worse than it needs to be. A vicious cycle can result: dry skin can cause itching and scratching, leading to new psoriasis patches developing on the irritated skin.
The best way to keep skin moist? Apply thick ointments like petroleum jelly (Vaseline) or heavy skin creams everywhere you can reach. Pat yourself dry and put on ointment immediately after getting out of the shower.
Also, try super-moisturizing areas of skin affected by psoriasis. At bedtime, cover a patch of skin with ointment, and wrap it with a bandage or plastic wrap overnight. In the morning, wash the area gently. Over time, this can reduce scaling.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 2: Bathe, but Beware
Bathing can be another important part of psoriasis self-care, yet frequent bathing can also dry skin out, causing problems. A few tips for bathing with psoriasis: * Avoid hot water, which can irritate skin. Use lukewarm water instead. * Don’t towel off -- pat yourself dry, then apply moisturizer. * Pure water dries skin. Add bathing salts, oil, or oilated oatmeal to bathwater to make it more skin-friendly.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 3: Stick to the Plan
It can be messy and inconvenient to slather thick goo onto psoriasis patches, day after day. But consistency is key. If you’ve been prescribed topical therapy, making it part of your routine can improve results. Also, topical therapies avoid the potential side effects of pills or injection treatments for psoriasis.
Psoriasis Self-Care Tip 4: Get Some Sun, With Care
The ultraviolet light found in sunlight is a proven treatment for psoriasis, but sunburns can