Most people already know that psoriasis is a skin condition but what you may not know is that it studies show it has more in common with Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease than it does with other skin conditions. What you see on your skin is a result of an overactive immune system causing inflammation. This inflammation causes faster than normal production of skin cells; so fast that your body can’t shed the unneeded skin cells quick enough to keep up. The result is a buildup of skin cells.
There appears to be a genetic link for some people with psoriasis. However, not everyone who is genetically predisposed to have psoriasis develops the disease. For those who do develop the disease, it would be easy to think that there’s nothing they can do about it. Well, that’s not entirely true. There are environmental factors which can trigger an outbreak.
Stress
There is nothing good about stress, whether you are living with psoriasis or not. However, if you are living with psoriasis, it’s especially bad. It’s well-known that stress can lead to outbreaks and make current outbreaks worse, but did you know that many people trace their first outbreak to a very stressful event?
Stress is part of life. To completely avoid stress would be to not live a normal life and live a normal life is the only thing anybody living with psoriasis wants. However, there are plenty of ways to minimize or negate stress. They include, exercise, including yoga or other type of meditation, getting plenty of sleep and eating healthy.
Surrounding yourself with people who care about you and recognize when you need support can be critical. Whether they need to remove you from a stressful situation or just be there to help, it can make a world of difference.
Infection
Common but serious infections can lead to a form of psoriasis called Guttate psoriasis. Examples of the types of infections that can cause this type of psoriasis are strep throat and thrush. It’s impossible to predict or foresee an infection but there are steps that can be taken to prevent certain types of infections.
Good oral hygiene and not smoking are two time-tested methods for preventing thrush. If, for an unrelated complication, you are prescribed anti-fungal medication, be sure to have clear instructions from your doctor and follow those instructions closely.
Diabetes can also lead to thrush if it’s not managed properly. There are many reasons to properly manage your diabetes, preventing thrush and therefore eliminating that as a cause for psoriasis is just one of those reasons.
Alcoholism
The rarest type of psoriasis is known as erythrodermic psoriasis. There are several possible causes including unchecked plaque psoriasis, the most common type of psoriasis. A completely avoidable cause of erythrodermic psoriasis is alcoholism.
Unlike infections, the onset of which we are not always aware of beforehand, alcoholism is completely avoidable, though not always easily. If you already have plaque psoriasis, it’s very important to drink in moderation. If you are completely healthy, moderation is still a good idea.