Friday, November 21, 2008

'Doctor fish' clear skin disease (Psoriasis Treatment)

Psoriasis Treatment

A woman with the skin condition psoriasis has travelled to Turkey to sit in water and be nibbled by flesh-eating fish in a bid to find a cure.

Samantha Grayston, 38, from Kent, said she returned from her three-week trip to find the "doctor fish" treatment had worked and boosted her confidence.

She spent six hours a day at the spa near Kangal in eastern Turkey.

Psoriasis occurs when cells replace themselves too quickly, often causing emotional as well as physical distress.

Ms Grayston said: "People do tend to stare at you. It's because they just don't know what it is. It makes you rather insecure - it upsets me."

But then she travelled abroad for her treatment, which she said felt like "fingers tapping on your body".

The fish work by chewing away the excess cells caused by psoriasis, allowing the mineral water to reach the skin.

The spa water is rich in selenium - a mineral with skin-healing properties.

Afterwards, Ms Grayston said: "My skin is looking absolutely brilliant for the first time ever all over my body.

Ms Grayston's skin before (left) and after (right) her treatment
Ms Grayston said she no longer worries about how people will react

"My skin is smooth. You can still see that I have psoriasis - but it's pink rather than red."

She added that she could now go out without worrying about what people would see and how they would react.

"I don't need to worry because I know they can't see it," she said.

Her fiance Graham Smith said: "When she walks out with her shopping, her shoulders are back and her head is up.

"She's not conscious of anyone looking at her or checking out the redness of the skin.

"She's actually got a suntan for the first time and she smiles all the time now."

Ms Grayston, who paid £2,500 for the treatment, said she expected its skin-clearing effects to last 18 months.

Psoriasis Treatment

Thursday, November 20, 2008

What Are The Arthritis Psoriasis Treatment Options? (Psoriasis Treatment)

Psoriasis Treatment

Psoriatic arthritis, also called arthritis psoriasis, is an illness of the skin and joints that results in inflammation. Symptoms of psoriasis are patches of skin that are raised, scaly, and red. About ten percent of people with psoriasis also develop inflammatory arthritis. When these two diseases are present it is called arthritis psoriasis.

The psoriasis and arthritis usually don’t appear at the same time. In around 80% of the cases of psoriatic arthritis, the psoriasis occurs first. Arthritis happens first in around 15%. The time between the two conditions varies for each individual, but they can appear years apart.

Arthritis psoriasis can occur in both men and women and onset typically happens when the person is in his or her forties or fifties. The cause of psoriatic arthritis is unknown, though it is, in part, a hereditary disease. While treatments are available, there is no cure.

Psoriasis can happen anywhere on the body, but the elbows, knees, and scalp are some of the most commonly affected areas. The arthritis causes joints inflammation. The joints become red, swollen, hot, and painful. The most common joints to be affected by arthritis psoriasis are the knees, ankles, wrists, and hip.

Discuss with your doctor the best medications to control your condition. Common drugs for arthritis psoriasis include corticosteroids, immunosuppressant medications, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), disease-modifying ant-irheumatic drugs (DMARDs), or TNF-alpha inhibitors. Immunosuppressant medications are prescribed for severe cases, as are TNF-alpha inhibitors. Due to the side effects these can cause, they are only prescribed if the arthritis psoriasis is too severe to respond to other medications.

Corticosteroids are useful for mild cases of arthritis psoriasis. These can be taken orally or injected into the joint. They can have serious side effects and are not prescribed long term. NSAIDs are another drug that should be used on a short term basis. These can be over-the-counter, like aspirin, or be prescribed by your doctor. DMARDs can take months to work, but they can limit joint damage. They may be prescribed with a pain reliever.

Arthritis psoriasis is a painful condition that can affect your quality of life. Although there are a variety of treatments, many of them contain side effects. Because of this, discuss all of your options with your doctor. New and more effective treatments are always being developed.

by Andy Austim

About the Author:

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

An Effective New Psoriasis Treatment Method You Can Try Now (Psoriasis Treatment)

Psoriasis Treatment
Often times when you are searching for a New Psoriasis Treatment you will come across news articles speaking of the latest clinical trials for a drug to treat psoriasis. You hear how in case studies they are having a significant effect on 75% of people with moderate to severe cases of psoriasis and that all that's left is for the New Psoriasis Treatment to get FDA approval. The thing these articles don't mention is there are PLENTY of treatment methods available today which work and work well! Sure, not every psoriasis treatment is going to be 100% effective for everyone, different products work for different people, however there are still many highly successful products to choose from online.

The point I'm trying to get across here is instead of waiting for a New Psoriasis Treatment to be revealed, get to work in testing out various psoriasis treatment methods and find the one that works best for you NOW.

Now I'm sure while researching New Psoriasis Treatment methods you've heard of the Dead Sea. It is a closed off sea 1,200 feet below sea level and is the lowest point on Earth. The water here has an extremely high salt content, 33%, which is pretty high considering the oceans are a mere 3%. This high salt and mineral content in combination with the hot and humid atmosphere is said to provide many natural healing benefits. In fact, people with psoriasis come from all over the world just to bathe in these waters 30 minutes at a time twice a day!

One interesting thing to note is that according to studies, about 80-90% of those who visited the Dead Sea to receive psoriasis treatments at the Dead Sea have seen their psoriasis symptoms improve significantly or even clear up. According to a study of 75 people who bathed in the Dead Sea for a period of 4 weeks, 68% were still in remission after 4 months, 43% after 6 months and 10% after 8 months.

If you don't have the cash to afford regular trips to the Dead Sea all hope is not lost. There is a New Psoriasis Treatment out which is based on the healing properties of the salts, minerals and mud from the Dead Sea itself, it's the next best thing to traveling to Israel.

Cleopatra's Choice has a great Dead Sea Psoriasis Serious Relief Package available which is highly effective. It comes with:

-A hefty 10 pounds of Dead Sea bath salts, which will last you a good number of baths.

-Dead Sea Black Mud Soap, great to use on a daily basis for washing your hands and body.

-A Face and Body Treatment Cream to use specifically for strong outbreaks.

-A Dead Sea Salt Scrub for exfoliating which removes dead skin cells and opens your pores up.

-A Mineral Body Lotion to use after you've showered to keep you moisturized for the day

If you haven't yet found a product that works for you, I highly recommend you try this New Psoriasis Treatment before anything else. It is a great daily regimen to be on to manage and reduce your psoriasis symptoms.

by Allen Iser

Psoriasis Treatment

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Treatment Psoriasis In Traditional Chinese Medicine (Psoriasis Treatment)

Psoriasis Treatment
According to a study published in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology, an effective treatment for plaque-type psoriasis can be found in traditional Chinese medicine. Yin-Ku Lin, M.D. (Chang Gung Memorial Hospital and Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan) and colleagues found that an ointment based on the dark-blue, plant-based powder indigo naturalis can be used treat the skin condition.

No cure exists for the chronic skin disease known as psoriasis, but there are therapies that lead to remission of the condition. Lin and colleagues write that, "Traditional Chinese medicine is one of the most frequently chosen alternative therapies in China and Taiwan, and psoriasis has been treated for centuries with topical and oral herbal preparations." They add that, "Indigo naturalis is one of the Chinese herbal remedies that has been reported to exhibit potential antipsoriatic efficacy. However, long-term systemic use has been occasionally associated with irritation of the gastrointestinal tract and adverse hepatic [liver] effects."

Further studying the safety and efficacy of indigo naturalis, the researchers conducted a randomized trial with 42 patients suffering from treatment-resistant psoriasis. Between May 2004 and April 2005, participants enrolled in the study that required two ointment applications on their bodies: one was an indigo naturalis ointment applied to a psoriatic plaque on an arm, elbow, leg, or knee of one side of the body, and a second was a non-medicated ointment applied to a parallel plaque on the other side of their body. At the beginning of the study and after two, four, six, eight, ten, and twelve weeks, researchers assess the patients and photographed the skin plaques.

Lin and colleagues report that 12 weeks of treatment resulted in significant improvements in scaling, redness (erythema), and hardening (induration) for the plaques treated with the indigo naturalis ointment compared to the plaques treated with non-medicated ointment. "Weighting the sum of scaling, erythema and induration scores by the lesion area and comparing between the start and end of the study, the indigo naturalis ointment - treated lesions showed an 81 percent improvement, whereas the vehicle [non-medicated] ointment - treated lesions showed a 26 percent improvement," explain the researchers.

Thirty-four patients completed the study, and none experienced worsening psoriasis conditions in the areas that received the indigo naturalis ointment. In fact, 75% of these patients had complete or near complete clearings of the psoriasis in the treated areas. Although no patients experienced serious adverse effects, four patients reported some itching in the area of the indigo naturalis ointment that last for a few days at the beginning of treatment.

The authors conclude: "We present a randomized controlled trial showing the use of topical indigo naturalis ointment for the treatment of chronic plaque psoriasis to be both safe and effective. Future research for a more potent extraction from this crude herb that can provide better absorption and convenience would help improve patient compliance with the treatment regimen. However, much more research will be necessary to clarify the pharmacology of indigo naturalis."

Clinical Assessment of Patients With Recalcitrant Psoriasis in a Randomized, Observer-Blind, Vehicle-Controlled Trial Using Indigo Naturalis
Yin-Ku Lin; Chee-Jen Chang; Ya-Ching Chang; Wen-Rou Wong; Shu-Chen Chang; Jong-Hwei Su Pang
Archives of Dermatology (2008). 144[11]: pp. 1457 - 1464.
Click Here to View Abstract

Written by: Peter M Crosta
Copyright: Medical News Today
Psoriasis Treatment